RUBYCON

In my opinion, Rubycon is the pinnacle of Tangerine Dream's achievements in electronic music, surpassing even the wonderful Phaedra. Over the course of its two side-length tracks, Rubycon provides a little taste of everything that we've come to love about the band. There are dreamy synthesizer washes, dark and broody ambient bits, pulsing electronic rhythms, strange sound effects, even Ligeti-like vocal harmonies. It's as if the band had collected everything they learned from their previous albums and summed it all up in a single concise piece of music.

Some people complain about the length of Rubycon, which barely tops 30 minutes. While I can understand this complaint, I don't agree with it. This type of electronica is wonderful, but do we really want to listen to it for a whole hour at a stretch? If Rubycon were stretched out beyond its natural length it would quickly become tedious, and I personally feel grateful when a band knows when to quit, rather than trying to pank as many minutes onto an album as they possibly can.

I would recommend Rubycon to anyone, whether they are new to the band, long time fans, or even people who just show a passing interest in electronica, without hesitation. It is quite simple one of the best examples of analog synthesis avaailable.