''Ruby Vroom'' is the debut studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Soul Coughing, released in 1994. The album's sound is a mixture of sample-based tunes (loops of Raymond Scott's " Powerhouse" on "Bus to Beelzebub",

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, Howlin' Wolf, The Andrews Sisters, and The Roches on "Down to This", and a loop of sampler player

Mark Degli Antoni Mark degli Antoni (sometimes credited as Mark De Gli Antoni) is an American composer, known for his work as co-founder and keyboard sampler for the band Soul Coughing from 1992 to 2000.Huey, Steve.Soul Coughing - Biography, AllMusic.com. Since lea ...

's orchestral horns on "Screenwriter's Blues", among others). It also features guitar-based tunes like "Janine", "Moon Sammy", and "Supra Genius" and jazzy, upright-bass-fueled songs that often slyly quoted other material—the theme from ''

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'' on "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago",

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

's "Misterioso" on " Casiotone Nation", and Bobby McFerrin's cover of Joan Armatrading's "Opportunity" on "Uh, Zoom Zip". The album sold approximately 70,000 copies, as of April 1996, according to ''

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''.

Title

''Ruby'' was named after a mispronunciation of the name of Ruby Froom, daughter of record producer Mitchell Froom—a frequent collaborator of ''Ruby Vroom'' producer Tchad Blake—and singer/songwriter

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Recording

The album was recorded at Sunset Sound Factory in Hollywood, Blake and Froom's usual haunt—a storage room near the studio's lounge was filled with vintage keyboards and road cases filled with toys—whistles, baby rattles, children's toy xylophones. Many of these ended up in the songs, such as a train whistle played by Doughty on "Uh, Zoom Zip". This was in keeping with Tchad Blake's spirit of maverick experimentation, which included sticking a binaural head-shaped microphone in front of Yuval Gabay's drumkit, sticking a mic in a car muffler, called "the Bone" and sticking that in the drum booth as well, and having Doughty improvise wild, yelling ad-libs on "Casiotone Nation", singing into a cheap amplification system called an Ahuja that Blake bought in India. The speaker was essentially a huge bullhorn atop a stick. The album's lone guest is Rachel Benbow Murdy, band founder Mike Doughty's ex-girlfriend, who supplies a vocal on "Janine". Doughty had Murdy go out to a payphone in Sheridan Square in New York and sing a rendition of " Lemon Tree" with an improvised melody into their answering machine. Recorded a year before the ''Ruby'' sessions, Doughty and bass player

Sebastian Steinberg Sebastian Steinberg (born February 20, 1959) is an American bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing. Biography Steinberg played with Soul Coughing throughout the band's entire history, from 1992 to 2000. In 2001, Steinberg ...

recorded the tune at the avant-garde jazz club The Knitting Factory during the daytime, when the club was closed, with club soundperson James McLean. McLean put a mic on the answering machine, which Doughty had brought to the session.

Track listing

#"Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago" – 3:48 #"Sugar Free Jazz" – 3:55 #"Casiotone Nation" – 3:50 #"Blueeyed Devil" – 4:12 #"Bus to Beelzebub" – 4:33 #"True Dreams of Wichita" – 5:00 #"Screenwriter's Blues" – 5:08 #"Moon Sammy" – 4:09 #"Supra Genius" – 3:59 #"City of Motors" – 4:38 #"Uh, Zoom Zip" – 3:56 #"Down to This" – 3:49 #"Mr. Bitterness" – 5:32 #"Janine" – 4:58

Personnel

* Mike Doughty (billed as "M. Doughty") – vocals, guitar *

– bass guitar,

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, backing vocals,

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* Mark de Gli Antoni – keyboards, programming *Yuval Gabay – drums, programming

References

{{Authority control 1994 debut albums Soul Coughing albums Albums produced by Tchad Blake Slash Records albums