Rubycon is the sixth studio album by German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. It was released in 1975 on the Virgin label.[1] It is widely regarded as one of their best albums. Rubycon further develops the Berlin School sequencer-based sound they ushered in with the title track from Phaedra.
| Rubycon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 March 1975 | |||
| Recorded | January 1975, The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 34:53 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Tangerine Dream | |||
| Tangerine Dream chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
Rubycon: Part 1" | ||||
Although not quite matching the sales figures for Phaedra, Rubycon reached number 10 in a 14-week run, their highest-charting album in the UK.[2]
Music
editThe album consists of two long tracks, each just over 17 minutes long. "Rubycon, Part One", the A-side of the LP, "ebbs and flows through tense washes of echo and Mellotron choirs, as primitive sequencer lines bubble to the surface”.[3] The B-side, "Rubycon, Part Two", "opens in a wonderfully haunted way" before "the synthesizer arpeggios return to drive things along". [3]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Head Heritage | positive[4] |
In contemporary reviews, Chris Salewicz of the NME wrote that the album was "a touch more electronically sophisticated than Phaedra [...] perhaps, and the technological massed choir that floods out of the speakers a couple of minutes into Part Two indicates a considerable degree of carefully wired panache." Salewicz summarized the group as being "so thoroughly frustrating because there's nothing you come across which you find you can actively dislike. On the other hand there really does appear to be little there for the moment which warrants more than a luke-warm vague affection that, broken down, would seem close to some nebulous sympathy."[5]
Tom Moon includes Rubycon in his 2008 book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, saying: "This voyaging vision of sound, ever-unfolding and not quite ever arriving, has been imitated endlessly since 1975. But somehow its admirers haven’t quite captured the openness and faraway grandeur of Tangerine Dream."[6]
In his 1997 book Digital Gothic: A Critical Discography of Tangerine Dream, music journalist Paul Stump praises the album, noting: “Rubycon is simply a refinement of its predecessor—but to an acme of excellence, and demonstrates a mastery of primitive technology breathtaking in its audacity, tenacity and sheer artistic vision. It is probably the best album the band have made…” [7]
Tour
editAfter the album was released, Christopher Franke's Moog synthesizer was damaged in transit during a tour of Australia and when Franke powered it up, for the first time after the journey, he was nearly killed by an electrical shock.[8]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rubycon, Part I" | 17:18 |
| 2. | "Rubycon, Part II" | 17:35 |
A new CD version was issued in 2019 re-mastered from the original master tapes. It contained the bonus track "Rubycon (extended introduction)" mixed by Steven Wilson. This track was previously unreleased.
Personnel
editSource: Rubycon, Virgin Records, L-35399 & V-2025, liner notes
- Edgar Froese – Mellotron, guitar and VCS 3 synthesizer on "Rubycon, Part One"; organ, Mellotron, guitar, gong and VCS 3 synthesizer on "Rubycon, Part Two"
- Christopher Franke – double Moog synthesizer, Synthi A, organ, modified Elka organ and prepared piano on "Rubycon, Part One"; double Moog synthesizer, gong, Synthi A, and organ on "Rubycon, Part Two"
- Peter Baumann – organ, Synthi A, electric piano (Fender Rhodes) and prepared piano on "Rubycon, Part One"; electric piano (Fender Rhodes), organ, EMS Synthi A, voice and ARP 2600 on "Rubycon, Part Two"
Production credits
edit- Monique Froese – photography
- Mick Glossop – engineer
- Roland Paulick – technical assistance
Charts
edit| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 95 |
| UK Albums Chart | 10 |
Single
editA single titled Extracts From "Rubycon" was released in March 1975.[10]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Extracts From "Rubycon"" | 3:07 |
| 2. | "Extracts From "Rubycon"" | 3:09 |
Both tracks of this single were included as part of the compilation The Virgin Years 1974–1978 in 2011.
References
edit- ^ Berling, Michael (29 September 2016). "Rubycon". Voices in the Net.
- ^ "Tangerine Dream". Official Charts.
- ^ a b c Swan, Glenn. Rubycon at AllMusic
- ^ "Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage | Unsung | Reviews | Tangerine Dream – Rubycon". February 2010.
- ^ Salewicz, Chris (5 April 1975). "Tangerine Dream: Rubycon and Alpha Centauri". NME. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via Rock's Backpages.
- ^ Moon, Tom (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener's Life List. New York: Workman Publishing Company. p. 762. ISBN 978-0761139638.
- ^ Stump, Paul (1997). Digital Gothic: A Critical Discography of Tangerine Dream. Trowbridge: SAF Publishing Ltd. p. 67. ISBN 0946719187.
- ^ Prendergast, Mark (1994). "Tangerine Dream: Changing Use of Technology, Part 1: 1967–1977". Sound On Sound. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
According to Franke: 'All the modules had been built into one big case, to save time setting up on stage. The large case was shipped upside-down, and after 48 hours on the plane, the heavy transformers came loose and fell through the circuitry. When I first plugged it into the mains in Australia, I got a heavy electric shock. It wouldn't make any sound, and two days were spent repairing it and flying stuff in from Germany. That was a nightmare – I nearly lost my life on that one'.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 304. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Berling, Michael (29 September 2016). "Extracts From "Rubycon"". Voices in the Net.
External links
edit- Rubycon at Discogs (list of releases)
- Official audio excerpt: "Rubycon Part One" on YouTube