b o b

Rubycon is a new-agey, instrumental album performed mostly with keyboards. I'm guessing that describes most Tangerine Dream, but I haven't heard enough to say. On this disc, track one begins with around seven minutes of slow waves of sound and what sounds like occasional chiming gongs in the background. Around the 8 minute mark, it starts to pick up speed, gets a repetitive background pattern going and lays various keyboard melodies over top. The backing pattern peters out around the 15 minute mark, leaving backwards-sounding piano chords floating around, which finally fade away after a couple minutes. Part two has an eerier sound to it overall, particularly the opening section of ambient drones that remind me a bit of the "screaming seagull" part of Pink Floyd's "Echoes". After a few minutes, this shifts into a section of what sounds like a ghostly chorus which reminds me of the ending of the movie 2001. Around the five minute mark the song picks up a repetitive backing pattern similar to that of part one, with various keyboard lines drifting in and out over top of it. Twelve minutes into the track the repetitive pattern fades into the sounds of ocean waves, and then the piece moves into floating chords that manage to sound both gentle and brooding at the same time. This continues to the track's eventual fadeout five minutes later. To be honest, the first time I heard this album I thought it was kind of boring. I still have to be in the right mood for it, but when I am it's a tasty little number. On a recent vacation, I took my walkman out on a beach and listened to Rubycon at night while watching waves crash against huge rocks, and it was perfect for that occasion. review by Bob Eichler — undated —

j o e

The follow-up to the band's phenomenally successful debut, Phaedra, on Virgin Records, Rubycon is measured in two parts coming in at a very tidy and well-used 34 minutes. The opening six minutes of "Part One" make for a warmer opening than that of Phaedra. Arising out of the murky depths of shimmering organs, Froese and friends bask the listener in lush swashes of keyboards, the musical equivalent of an aurora borealis sweeping away gently in the distant arctic. However, it is at around the seven minute mark and with the advent of echoing metallic sounds that a more ominous atmosphere begins to take over. Not soon after, the pulsing synth beats and string mellotron that are associated with the band's peak period arrive. Notice how when it begins the pulsing subtly expands from 4/4 to 5/4 to 6/4; I love bits like that. As this section of the piece picks up in dynamic, it reminds me a lot of something one might have found on Pink Floyd's Meddle, even with the same seabed organ sounds and backwards crescendo effects that were used to great effect on "One of These Days." "Part Two" follows a similar structure to "Part One." It begins with a free-form, rhythm-less opening primarily comprised of audio warping that increases and decreases slowly in register. This dissolves into a void of vocals. At around five minutes, this prelude once again gives way to an echoing, sequenced bass pattern and processed string mellotron. These continue along a steady plane with all manner of effects whisking by, before eventually collapsing back into amorphousness at just under twelve minutes, then finally arriving at an end state of repose (flute mellotron). This album paints a vast, abstract picture. I would say it is more accessible and less diverse compositionally relative to Phaedra, but by no means less mysterious or powerful. Like its predecessor, Rubycon is another classic Tangerine Dream work that is a must-have for those who want to experience the band on their game. review by Joe McGlinchey — 6-28-06 —