Ruby Vroom

''Ruby Vroom'' is the debut studio album by American rock 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", Toots and the Maytals, Howlin' Wolf, the Andrews Sisters, and the Roches on "Down to This", and a loop of sampler player Mark Degli Antoni'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 '' Courageous Cat'' on "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago", Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso" on "Casiotone Nation", and Bobby McFerrin's cover of Joan Armatrading's "Opportunity" on "Uh, Zoom Zip". On September 12, 2024, the band announced on Jimmy Kimmel Live that a remastered 30th anniversary version of the album would be released on CD and vinyl, which includes bonus songs from the era.

The album sold approximately 70,000 copies, as of April 1996, according to ''Billboard''.

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 Suzanne Vega.

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 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.

Critical reception

''Ruby Vroom'' was positively received by critics. ''Entertainment Weekly'' described the album as "elegantly spare, dramatic, and danceable", and ''Rolling Stones Michael Azerrad applauded Soul Coughing for combining its disparate genre influences into "a compelling and profoundly original sound". The sampling work of keyboardist Mark de Gli Antoni was singled out for particular praise: Michael Azerrad stated that Antoni "revolutionize what sampling can do as a rhythmic, harmonic, textural and melodic tool", while Sean Westergaard of AllMusic opined that he "set the bar for sampler players in the pop world". Vocalist Mike Doughty was also praised for his work, with critics noting that he was able to effectively balance wry cynicism against earnest descriptiveness. Robert Christgau argued that, on ''Ruby Vroom'', Soul Coughing demonstrated stronger musicianship than other acts who shared the band's "hipster cynicism".

In a retrospective review from AllMusic, ''Ruby Vroom'' was labeled "one of the great debut albums of the '90s".

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

Remastered 30th Anniversary Edition track listing

#"Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago" – 3:47
#"Sugar Free Jazz" – 3:55
#"Casiotone Nation" – 3:50
#"Blueeyed Devil" – 4:12
#"Bus To Beelzebub" – 4:34
#"True Dreams Of Wichita" – 5:00
#"Screenwriter’s Blues" – 5:04
#"Moon Sammy" – 4:09
#"Supra Genius" – 3:59
#"City Of Motors" – 4:39
#"Uh, Zoom Zip" – 3:56
#"Down To This" – 3:50
#"Mr. Bitterness" – 5:29
#"Janine" – 4:58
#"Buddha Rhubarb Butter" – 3:31
#"Murder Of Lawyers" – 7:14
#"Amy Fisher" – 2:35
#"Theme from Rachel's Sitcom" – 1:08
#"Screenwriter’s Blues (Mood Swing Mix)" – 6:29

Personnel

* Mike Doughty (billed as "M. Doughty") – vocals, guitar
*Sebastian Steinberg – bass guitar, upright bass, backing vocals, sampler
*Mark de Gli Antoni – keyboards, programming
*Yuval Gabay – drums, programming

References

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