"The Golden Path" is a song recorded by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, taken from their first greatest hits album, Singles 93–03. Featuring the Flaming Lips, the lead vocals were performed by Wayne Coyne with Steven Drozd performing backing vocals. The song reached number 10 in Spain, number 17 in the United Kingdom, number 20 in Ireland, and number 32 in Italy.

Production

Coyne said: "I love that band; they are one of the greatest inventions of our day." Coyne recalls about the recording process of his band's vocals: "We recorded our part very quickly, almost flippantly, like we'd get a second chance. Then Tom and Ed left a message within 20 minutes of receiving the tape. You could hear them jumping up and down in the background, shouting 'We're ecstatic.'"

Critical response

Choosing it as one of album's best tracks, John Bush from AllMusic said the song "delivers on most of its promise as a soundclash for two of neo-psychedelia's most interesting acts" while calling it "a cool, crisp song" with two surprises: its reminiscence of Echo & the Bunnymen and Drozd's vocal debut. More critical was Michaelangelo Matos of Spin, cited the track as possible evidence for a Chemical Brothers "decline into middlebrow irrelevance."

Music video

The video was the first directorial work by American artist Chris Milk, involves a man (played by Fran Kranz) in a depressing grey office environment, dreaming of a more colorful world full of joy and dancing in the sunshine. It was shot at Los Angeles Center Studios. The Chemical Brothers make a brief cameo appearance as conjoined twins commemorated on a wall of "employee of the month" plaques.

Track listings

CD single DVD single 12-inch single

Charts

Release history