How does one describe the sound of the beat on “Pony”? Belching synthesizer? Squelching vocoder? Hungry jury? I like to think of it more as a croaking toad, but whatever the case may be, the timeless classic vaulted both Ginuwine and Timbaland into stardom for good reason.

There’s a lot more to Ginuwine’s debut album, however. Timbaland and Ginuwine’s Virginia-based crew (including Missy Elliott, among others) came up under the tutelage of Jodeci’s DeVante Swing. Transplanted to New York, where Jodeci was working with the late Andre Harrell’s Uptown label, Ginuwine and the 23-year-old Timbaland recorded in Rochester (where Jodeci made their third album) and Ithaca. The late, great Static Major wrote the hook for Pony, and the rest of the music was Timbaland’s creation.

Timbo’s value and influence here cannot be understated. The use of space, bass, stuttering drums and unconventional (often squeaky or “squiggly”) sounds created something darker and cooler than the majority of 90s R&B, and it still knocks to this day. What makes both Ginuwine and Aaliyah’s voices so perfect for Timbaland’s production in this time is their sense of restraint and minimalism. Instead of belting and warbling like R. Kelly and Mariah Carey, Timbaland’s singers brought something slick and chill to fit snugly into the folds of Timbo’s futuristic grooves. Nothing is rushed on Ginuwine… The Bachelor: no song runs under 4 minutes in length, and most are over 5. Maybe it’s the lack of immediacy (outside of “Pony”, the album’s first proper track) that has kept this album from being canonized alongside other R&B classics.

The Bachelor does have the songs, though. “Lonely Daze” flips the guitar from “You Are Everything” with a sublime performance from Ginuwine. “Only When ur Lonely” is perhaps the most emotionally charged track here, building to a superb climax (sampled well by the Ginuwine-worshipping PARTYNEXTDOOR on “Muse”). Throw in a great cover of “When Doves Cry”, complete with Timbo’s deep background vocals (10 years before Futuresex/LoveSounds!) and you already have a few standouts. Also, Missy Elliott raps over Portishead’s “Numb” on “G Thang”.

“World is So Cold” is my favorite track here. Any R&B song that can make me wistfully stare out of a window (other examples include Aaron Hall’s “I Miss You” and Tweet’s “Smoking Cigarettes”) is an instant classic in my eyes. This one also has one of those amazing moments where everything goes up an octave, adding significantly to the impact of the ballad. After some unnecessary 3-second interludes (remember when silent interludes were included at the end of CDs?), The Bachelor concludes with a banger in “550 What?”. The drums and group vocals will have you wanting to party at Ginuwine’s address, even when you have no idea where the hell they are talking about.

Ginuwine’s follow-up 100% Ginuwine rules too, that one being his final album-length collab with Timbaland. “Pony” and other hits have stayed in the collective conscious, thanks in part I guess to Magic Mike and Parks & Rec. But Ginuwine’s debut should be taken seriously as an R&B classic, and a wonderful document of the blossoming of Timbaland’s fruitful career.

Listen to Ginuwine… The Bachelor on Spotify.