Rubycon Reviews

• Tangerine Dream at the height of their power.

  
  By AEMIV6NX8QQC4 on 1999-06-07
  "Rubycon" is surely Tangerine Dream's finest hour. I see this album as the culmination of their early ultra-ambient work. It took the disparate ideas displayed on the previous album, "Phaedra" and coalesced them into a hugely satisfying whole.

  The album is worth the money for the first ten minutes alone; this is experimental synthesis at it's best, layers of beautifully sculpted sound mixed with those awesome repeating bass sequences... it just doesn't get any better than this.

  I feel the later albums lost the plot with the introduction of recognisable melodies. The mix of weird / tune was only fully realised on the "Poland" album (in my humble opinion). The track "Horizon" bringing back those early seventies strangeness and mixing it with eighties sequencing.

  If you like "Rubycon", Froese's early solo works "Aqua" and "Epsilon In Malaysian Pale" are in a similar vein, but TD only rarely recaptured this kind of form.
  
  

• Sound Effects

  
  By A1M4NJYP0WNL8Q on 2003-11-16
  I have to give Tangerine Dream some credit for taking electronic instruments out of the closet and giving them their own voices. For the longest time the public view of electronics was directly related to how well they emulated traditional instruments. And going too far out on the limb was met with raised eyebrows and confusion. Tangerine Dream, by single-handedly creating the genre of electronic elevator music suddenly gave this work a certain cachet it didn't have before.

  Unfortunately, from a technical viewpoint, their work is primarily composed of various sound effects flowing in random patterns from one to the other. Music, of course, is something more than a simple sum of its noises and Rubycon seems stuck in the kind of electronicization where the important thing isn't audibility or accessibility. Instead they often focus on a catalog of what sounds various machines are capable of making. By avoiding anything that is really irritating in their work Tangerine Dream as created an album of sound effects to read by - or be impressed with your stereo by..

  I have yet to see (anywhere, not just here) a review or discussion of Rubycon that focuses on musicality and content. For that one must turn to other musicians such as Constance Demby or even Kitaro, who use their instruments to get somewhere, not to get lost in the process. In a sense, Rubycon is superficiality made into an art form, and for me, it simply doesn't work. Which is why this album is the only Tangerine Dream album in my collection.

  For me 'electronic music' is not something that is simply made by 'electronics,' and that is a key difference. I use my share of synthesizers and electronic keyboards, but they aren't what drives what I'm trying to do. I quickly get tired of whooshes, hums, and throbs. I realize this is a matter of taste, and that there are many who would disagree with me, but I think you should look further if you are trying to find out what this is all about - Try Constance Demby and Steve Roach, for instance, I think you will be surprised.
  
  

• Beautiful miniature

  
  By A2DXVW83EVUJA8 on 2001-11-11
  I adore this album. The two tracks presented are almost mirror images of each other. Part one opens with gentle, sporadic organ sounds but then suddenly opens out into a heavenly wash of sweeping synthesizer chords, with what sounds like a seagull crying overhead. This eventually fades into Part one's central "sequencer" section. Motivic, repetitive, and pulsing. Building repeatedly to small climaxes. This kind of music first appeared on side 1 of 1974's Phaedra. It's as though TD realized that side 1 of Phaedra was infinitely better than side 2, and tried to correct this by making a more rounded album in Rubycon. Part one ends with a haunting, eerie motionless section, setting the scene for part 2.

  Part two begins with some of the most generically frightening music TD ever produced. Wailing synths rise and fall in pitch, giving the feeling of being inside a haunted house at a fair. Soon the synth sound is replaced by human voices in a demonic choral section that takes you out of the funfair and somewhere far darker! This music puts shivers up your spine if you're listening after dark with the lights out. Then comes part two's central "sequencer" section. Much darker than that in part one, but also much more syncopated. This is the "dark side" to part one's "light side". Just when all seems hopeless however part two fades into one of the most beautiful endings to any of their albums, a gentle dreamlike wash of sound and harmony reminiscent of the beginning of part one (although musically very different).

  So there it is. Tangerine Dream's most perfect album? In my opinion it quite possibly is. It is the only time that they have ever created an album that plays like a symphony, in that both movements are well structured and work well separately. Yet when heard together they form a wonderful journey into the heart of darkness. And back.
  
  

• Another Tangerine Dream Classic

  
  By AQ7Q0VSKT6QOU on 2005-01-21
  "Rubycon" is TD's 5th album release,coming right off the huge international success of their previous release,the now-classic,"Phaedra".In many ways,"Rubycon" is similar to "Phaedra",both in style and in the use of instruments,such as mellotron,etc.,but there are also many differences as well,with one of the most obvious being the lesser amount of only two tracks instead of the usual four,but even with the fewer tracks,"Rubycon" is still able to dazzle you with its lush mellotron soundscapes and stimulating musical directions.The first piece,the appropriately titled "Rubycon",can be considered the light side of the album,with its gently pulsating mellotron in the background and the other synths taking you away,sucking you into a whole other dimension of sound that you will never want to leave from.The beauty of this early ambient piece surrounds and consumes you,leaving you in a natural,music-induced high.Once again,I find that words cannot fully describe the emotions that I feel while listening to this electronic soundscape of no return.Simply breathtaking.This brings me to the final piece,"Rubycon Part 2",which is the dark side of the album.From the very first seconds of listening to this piece,you will instantly know that this track will be different than the first.The first few minutes consist of what I believe to be some of TD's most darkest sounds ever in their entire history,with electronically generated chorus-sounding male voices that remind me of some gothic horror film,truly an eerie few moments of dark ambient bliss.Eventually,the artificial chorus gives way to some equally eerie sounding synths,continuing in this pattern for a good portion of the rest of the track.Simply astonishing,considering this was recorded in 1975!The final few minutes of the piece sees the eerie atmosphere slowly dissipating,and for the rest of the piece,the darkness gradually fades and the sun starts to peak out of the black clouds for the first time since the beginning of the album,with the piece ending with a beautiful,brighter melody of calm,and then,sadly,the album comes to a close,leaving you with the mindset that it could have gone on for all eternity and you wouldn't have minded.This album's theme is most accurately described as a journey to the darkest corners of the universe and back.A powerful early ambient masterpiece by Tangerine Dream.Very Highly Recommended!
  
  

• Timeless Masterpiece

  
  By A14GK0E64J0WAS on 2000-05-27
  I cannot even begin to guess how many times I have played this album since its release 25 years ago. It is astonishing how easily Rubycon has stood the test of time. Part I remains one of my all-time fave TD pieces, starting off slowly and then developing into a storm of multiple layers of synths and threatening sequencers, ultimately gently fading away. It is difficult to reconcile the classic TD sound on Rubycon with the "TD-lite" sound on the TD releases in the 90s. I make it a point to stay open-minded about how bands develop over time, but when I hear some of the things TD dares to release nowadays, I can only shake my head and think how truly ground-breaking they once were. Rubycon shows how and why.
  
  
• The shortest album in their history
  By on 2001-05-10
  In January of the memorable Anno Domini 1975 Tangerine Dream topped anyone's expectations. The shortest album in their history knocks you literally down. It's just perfect. Short, yes, very short, but there goes a saying - small is beautiful! Mein Gott, it starts as if it were an ancient soundtrack to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum". The impressions you have bear by no means slight a resemblance to horror. Even if you know Rubycon and are familiar with its mysteries, the intra to each of the two compositions are still creepy. "Rubycon - part II" reminds me the end of the world, in particular.

  The nucleus of each theme on Rubycon is your beloved (as I can guess) ostinato. The first one is monumental, slow and getting progressively louder. It rocks! The second one is as wild as Franke himself. The never-ending spiral mutates abruptly into sea, as if they dumped their Moogs and Mellotrons into the brainwaves of Mother Earth. From there again emerges the tune. Mesmerizing tune by Peter Baumann. It will stay with you, for long. Maybe for your whole life. In fact, sometimes I think they are smart. Loosely thinking in the dark I sometimes think that they did it on purpose. A giant recording company paid them extra money to make the album short enough to force audiophiles to use the loop function in their players. Oh my, I do loop my player. All this is certainly my own madness, but what I want to do is to plant a seed in your own head. To rescue you from pain that is inevitable, if your player is set on a play-once option. Loop yourself and send a check of gratitude to my secretary.

  Rubycon is memorable. Rubycon is my friend. Rubycon is what I listen to while reading good novels. Rubycon is what I think about, or hum, while I climb. Rubycon is a private treasure that I never share with anyone, even with my women. I need Rubycon. I simply couldn't have lived without Rubycon. What else can I write to encourage you to purchase the thing? I honestly don't know.
  
  

• A sustained meditation on a frightening theme
  By A3LLNS2Z67EY8E on 2003-11-18
  I've worn out my original UK import LP of this album in the 1970s (yeah, I'm o-l-d). I then bought a US pressing, was disappointed by the quality (or lack thereof) of the copy, and found another import copy to wear out. I then bought the UK CD in the 80s because the US hadn't released it yet. Then I got the re-mastered version. I recently bought the SACD(which has a CD layer so it can be played on conventional CD players, too). This album has always been, and will always be, a major component to the soundtrack of my life.

  It is similar to Tangerine Dream's previous album, 'Phaedra', in that it is music that melts. But they take it a step further this time. I think it might have had to do with the advancements in the technological prowess of their equipment at the time, but on this album they were able to sustain the mood set by their synths for longer periods of time, thus the two sidelong pieces. But it is in the aural painting with such a wide palette of colors and textures, and at the same time mimicking the mania that might occur from sustained meditation on a frightening theme that sets it miles apart from their previous work, and all work to follow. Not only their work, but also every other attempt at extended tone-poem pieces that has been composed by an electronic artist.

  The beginning and of each piece are either nightmarish introductions or narcotic-like releases from the sequencer onslaught of the center of the pieces (and centerpieces). The mellotrons mimicking human voices on the start of 'Part II' is almost a direct quote from Ligeti's 'Requiem', and whether they knew this at the time or not, Tangerine Dream might have been touched by the same divine musical muse. The climax of each piece is evocative of an auditory house of mirrors, or an acoustic maze - even on repeated listenings, the sense of not knowing where the piece might take you is intense. I'd rather not use the analogy of an acid-trip beginning, climaxing, and ending, but I have a strange (and rather strong) feeling that this is what The Dream might have intended.

  Many have stated that they like to use this album as background music, or music to fall asleep to. I agree, it can be used like that. But Tangerine Dream at this time in their career played this material live at almost deafening volumes, and I highly recommend that you try it with the volume on 11 once or twice.

  One may question whether or not this album is 'music'. Well, if you are open minded, you will agree that music is any organization of sounds that is either pleasing to the ear, or elicits an emotional response when played. Yet this is sound that is synaesthetic. It is music that you will see with your ears.
  
  

• Blue period
  By A5AZ8WVN95VF on 2000-05-16
  In 1975 TD continued their 'cosmic adventures beyond the ultraworld' with this 35-minute album. Although the music of "Rubycon" is experimental and not easy to swallow, it is one of TD's most successful efforts, both commercially (UK charts #12) and artistically. An elaboration of the sequencer/synthesiser technology explored on their early masterpiece "Phaedra", "Rubycon" adds a slightly threatening, uncanny flavor to the lofty, open-ended compositions. It's the soundtrack for swimming and diving in a cold, clear lake, but with dark clouds ahead. The two tracks take a similar path, featuring occasional (under)water noises, low frequency sequencers, high-flying synth sounds, and choral effects, building an utterly hypnotic music which can be immensely powerful and fascinating. "Rubycon" is the highlight of TD's most influential era, and a must-have for every serious fan of electronic music. Even so, it's hard work for the uninitiated and for fans of TD's lightweight, melodic latter-day work. Also to consider: "Firmament II" by Main, an album which transfers the aesthetics of '70s ambient music into '90s post-rock.
  
  
• Indispensable, just indispensable!
  By A3P222CN9HAPTF on 2001-12-07
  25 years since I first heard it, Tangerine Dream's "Rubycon" still has the power to send shivers down my spine! Their second album for Virgin records, and consisting of just a single 35-minute work (split in the middle for the old vinyl side-change, of course) this is perhaps the most symphonic of Tangerine Dream's works. It is certainly, even now, the most beautiful and the most elegantly structured, as well as the most mystical, with its soaring, contemplative mellotron choirs, lush tam-tam rolls and hypnotic pulse-laden textures. It is also the least overtly 'pop' in style and steadfastly refuses classification even now. Haunting and delicate synthesiser motifs blend with the sounds of prepared pianos and custom modified organs and other electronics, all of which ensure a uniqueness to the sound world which no-one has ever come close to emulating. A superb mastery of minimalist rhythmic patterns, together with a perfect sense of timing in the development of their material and knowing just when to introduce new elements combine to make this a truly great masterpiece that is set to live forever.

  This newly remastered edition is a joy to hear, too. Although some parts of the quiet opening passage remain a little murky, many of the technical problems of the original have been more or less eliminated (or at least substantially reduced) and the louder passages have come up an absolute treat. The flanging of the recorded beach-breakers in the middle of Part II comes through beautifully, too-much clearer than on older releases. The rather raggy ending of the original has been tidied up too and I think Virgin are fully justified in labelling this release as the definitive edition!

  At less than 35 minutes overall, this CD remains as scandalously stingy as it ever was, but its beauty soon forces you to forgive it this failing. Own it! Treasure it! Short it may be, but it is oh, so sweet!
  
  

• It is the analogue of what particle physicists do.
  By AUBIF50IF7CMP on 2000-08-05
  I thought that after Vangelis' "Albedo 0.39" there could be no other music/sound comparable to that. I was dissapointed by pretty much everything else on this category besides Vangelis,Klaus Schulze and the first two albums of Jarre.

  Rubycon changed everything. It redefined my point of view and made justice to a group that I disliked for a long time because of their 90's Yanni-like elevator music.

  Tangerine Dream, I am really sorry, I didnt know about this work. As you have already found out I am a very harsh reviewr when it comes to the early 70's scene of electronic/space music. This comes from the outmost respect to the artists/researchers that broke all conventional bonds of music and spent countless hours of exploring the new technology and composed pioneering music, unheard of at the time. We have to be serious when we review this kind of music because what we are really doing is judging people that revolutionized the concept of music and made educated listeners all around the world to think of science, space and cosmology (at least these are the thoughts that come to my mind when I listen to these sounds - Vangelis was a great influence to my carreer as a particle physicist despite how ridiculous this may sound).

  Tangerine dream belong to this elite group of researchers, thats what they really are, and this album is the crowning achievement of their efforts.It is the number one on my chart and I challenge you to listen to this music.

  Rubycon is a journey. It is the analogue of what particle physicists and cosmologists do in their effort to unveil the laws of universe. They do it with mathematics, Tangerine dream do it with music. It is the same thing if you are open minded enough.

  I will not describe the music in this album.The beginning of the two tracks pave the way for the synthesizers. 7 minutes and 17 seconds after the beginning of Rubycon Part I the sequencer starts. Take it from there.
  
  

• The Diamond of Electronic Music!
  By AUR9OG1PGI3Z9 on 2001-04-07
  I love jewels, gems and precious metals. "Rubycon" could be classified as all three, such as "pure gold," but among the gems of electronic music it is definitely a flawless diamond with unparalled clarity. Yes, you can belive all the five-star reviews of Tangerine Dream, as I have been listening to them since the late 1980's (I regret not discovering their musical genius earlier!). Tangerine Dream deserves their own classification.

  The power of "Rubycon" lies in its ability to take the listener away to unexplored territories of the mind, the entire journey almost ecstatic in nature. The genius of Franke & Froese are at work with every note and glorious chord on this album, almost incapable of being described, but if you have any musical taste at all you will let the harmonies of "Rubycon" take you to new dimensions of deep, meditative thought. And for that reason, this album, as with all of Tangerine Dream, is best as a private experience, fully savored with a good pair of headphones after a hard day's work or right before bedtime.

  "Rubycon," as with earlier music from TD, is relatively short, and for that reason you need to put REPEAT ON. I have fallen asleep to Rubycon and drempt wonderfully, having wakened several hours later in an almost angelic state. TD seems to have a set of keys to the alpha and theta brainwave "gates," and how they did that is certainly unknown. Put they put their "keys" into their music. So how in the world can you put a price on such feelings? Buy this album today, if you don't already have it, as it can only help to whittle away at any negative emotions in your life, especially aggression and violence. If you are not familiar with electronic music, give it time. At the end, you will not at all regret such an acquisition. Top recommendation!!
  
  

• Sublimely beautiful...and terrifying
  By AO2AQRPPSTABB on 2003-03-18
  This is perhaps Tangerine Dreams finest recorded work, and is both sublimely beautiful and terrifying. With an arsenal of analog synthesizers (ARP 2600, mellotron, mini-moog VCS3 etc...), Tangerine Dream shapes icy, grey soundscapes punctuated only briefly by patches of sunlight, and distant ocean waves. It is this integration of the natural and the mechanical that makes "Rubycon" such an interesting piece of electronica. In addition to the contrast of the organic with the inorganic, the pulsing and deeply rhythmic lower frequencies, the mellotron, and the otherworldly sounds produced by the ARP 2600 combine to suggest a larger and much more complicated ensemble. Absolutely essential stuff!
  
  
• flowing with the current
  By A149B6X240JF6K on 2004-11-08
  This is certainly one of the best electronic albums I have ever heard. It's chilling and creepy and horrifying and delightful, with tinges of melancholy and sadness. The two 17-minute long pieces take you for a journey to the outer (or inner?) space where you just let yourself be carried away by the current of the pulsating electronic beat. The sounds come and go like shapelss animals parading just before your eyes (ears?).
  The first part begins slowly with a relaxing flowing sounds to throw your mind into a soundtunnel, first gently, the beat emerges from the oblivion, but it soon picks up momentum and you are taken aback by the wall of sounds that dazzles you and leaves you in awe, as the music ceases to end the first movement.
  The second part starts off like a horryfying nightmare, then again the pulsating bass enetrs to once more take you on a crazy ride on the oceans of imagination. Soundtunnel of mind, sounds and shapes that pass you by as you flow, freed from all earthly cares. Then the music gets more melancholic: with Peter Bauman's lonely flute leading us out of the dream, delicately restoring our senses.
  We are awake and realize we want to return, and we return, this is how my (tangerine) dream began... It still goes on... I'm inviting you to this magnificent world where music interplays with imagination. Come and enjoy, you'll like it.
  
  Practical note: if you can, buy the 1995's Virgin Definitive Edition or any that has been remastered. The sound should be much better, so your listening enjoyment will not be spoiled. Cheers:)
  
  
• A Cosmic Symphonic Masterpiece
  By A3HMXRONU4BB4Z on 2000-11-30
  If you've never heard any early electronic-ambient TD, buy this CD. This sequenced cosmic masterpiece is the only recording I've ever owned in LP, cassette,and CD formats--wearing out each one (except the CD) with successive listenings. Although somewhat short at 35 minutes, Rubycon is nonetheless guaranteed to send your senses soaring to other worlds. Mere words cannot give adequate justice to its moody intensity, startling one moment and relaxing the next. A friend of mine once claimed he "saw God" listening to Rubycon on his Walkman as he camped in the Utah desert. Multiple listenings to this layered sequencer symphony and you might agree. TD's best, by far.
  
  
• Aural Orgasm
  By on 2001-05-15
  This was the FIRST CD that I ever bought, when cd's first came out,(yes I am an old geezer). This album is IT. There is no finer music ever produced by a group using synths. If you buy only one TD CD, make this the one.
  
  
• Good muzak, okay music...
  By A1RLUC16AVFOMR on 2003-03-22
  This CD is definately meant for background music. It's not exactly captivating enough to leave you on the edge of your seat, leaned waaaay forward like it'd help you hear anything.

  It's good, in its own respect, though. Something nice to chill out to, while reading, or working. Don't buy it if you're looking for truly involving music though.
  
  

• Mystical soundscapes
  By A1MKFYZZ2X46RA on 2004-07-17
  Tangerine Dream followed their masterpiece Phaedra (see my review) with Rubycon, an album that is just as beautiful. The two works share numerous traits: an emphasis on vast and free soundscapes rather than on tightly constructed songs, the inclusion of perpetually morphing sequenced basses, and a calm, flute-driven conclusion. Rubycon does introduce several new constituents in the Tangerine Dream canon. 'Part 2' in particular shows the influence of some of Gyorgy Ligeti's music (used by Kubrick in 2001): it begins with dense, swirling mellotron and synth parts which echo Ligeti's sound clusters, and they gradually melt into a mystical chant of modulating voices. (Incidentally, the titles of two Ligeti pieces, 'Atmospheres' and 'Apparitions', would be very adequate subtitles to 'Part 1' and 'Part 2', respectively.) It is impossible not to think of 2001 while listening to Rubycon, because this music irrestibly evokes the mysterious and ineffable. Both 17-minute sections are remarkably coherent and sustained works, filled with detailed interlocking episodes. A sublime album.
  
  
• GREAT MUSIC FROM PRE NEW AGE SUPERSTARS
  By A3DZC6JQ05IYFZ on 2005-09-30
  THIS IS A TRIP BACK TO WHEN EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC WAS ALLOWED. I RECOMMEND THIS TO SOMEONE LOOKING TO HEAR A TRIPLE KEYBOARD BAND. AMAZING
  
  
• IF YOU ONLY OWN ONE TD ALBUM, MAKE IT RUBYCON
  By AXQXD1FKPVDQ1 on 2000-04-19
  I'm a big TD fan, have been since the 70's. I currently ownabout ten of their albums. But, I've heard nearly all (they havedozens). It's hard to choose a favorite, as they vary in style fromalbum to album. Stratosfear, White Eagle, Hyperborea, and of course the Thief soundtrack are among the best. But if you only choose one TD album to own, make sure you choose this one. Rubycon is two long pieces of music, interdependent on each other. You can fall asleep to it. But, that doesn't mean it's numbing. It's a musical voyage through the mind. It relaxes you without being too ambient, and it enlivens you without being too spirited. Sometimes, I put my CD player on repeat disc and listen to it continuously. Get it on CD. The sound is slightly better than cassette, and it beats having to flip a cassette over and interrupt the mood the album creates.
  
  
• Experimental Music At Its Best
  By A38WNFBD9QFNJT on 2006-05-28
  I have had both Pheadra and Rubycon since they first came out on imported LP's!. When they finally released them on CD I bought 2 copies of each title!. This is experimental or if you prefer advant-garde music at its best. I have most of Tangerine Dream's CD's and even saw them live at Radio City. I can tell you Rubycon and Pheadra are thier best works. When I really want to get away from it all, this is the music I listen to. Only early Steve Roach (Structures From Silence)comes close.
  
  
• Woooossshhh!
  By A24O85VDQBONEM on 2006-11-08
  My hat is off to anyone who can describe this music. I love this album, and since getting in on cassette a month ago (after having it on vinyl for about ten years) have been listening to it almost every night at bedtime...and almost every morning as I get up! I love this era of Tangerine Dream, from 1974's Phaedra up until about 1983. Though there are not too many melodies floating around, I find I can both fall asleep to it and listen to it. Actually, this isn't music that you really listen to...you put it on and just let all the synthesizers and keyboards and sequencers wash over you and absorb you. Even their album covers put me to sleep! Actually, the music is like the soundtrack to the cover...when I listen to the music, I think of the cover and the inside sleeve.
  
  I would say this album is a slight improvement over Phaedra...I don't know why. Maybe because I think it flows better or the fact that it only has two seventeen minute songs (or pieces, or movements) on it. My only complaint? It's not long enough!!! This is wonderful electronic, ambient music, and at the time being, one of my favorite Tangerine Dream albums.
  
  
• Not much going on here. Basically background noise.
  By on 1999-08-02
  Bought this album because of a great review I read recently. Very disappointing. Don't see what all the fuss is about.
  
  
• Great for listening if in the mood for dozing off
  By on 1999-04-26
  This CD is far from there best. In my opinion they ran out of ideas and were just making sounds. I mean that's cool to an extent, but it gets kind of boring after a while. I would listen to this if I was reading a book or something that didn't require much thinking.
  
  
• the best TD album
  By AN3XN106FN3Y2 on 2001-03-06
  its beautiful. buy, put it in your cd player, close your eyes, turn off the lights, disappear.
  
  
• Hard to review
  By A1QP5C3FN51ANJ on 2003-01-03
  I really like this album, but it doesn't have the immediate impact as "Phaedra" does. What I mean is that you can't really sit down and listen to this album as attentively as you can with "Phaedra." You have to be really relaxed to get the full effect...but what effect! I almost prefer this album to "Phaedra" because there are less songs, ergo less changes in mood, and the sound sort of drifts from one mood to the next. Also, this album is a lot more relaxed than thier previous. Listening to this album is like watching the times of day go by in a little over half an hour. Definatly not reccommended to those with a short attention span!
  
  
• Behold the beautiful music
  By A11WB64VVM0BXJ on 2003-03-01
  The two songs here flow together perfectly. Clocking in at around 15 minutes each. This album is a tremendous step forward for this group (or was), and probably will be remembered for a long time to come, also for influencing many musicians of the electronica genre and also others (i.e. Porcupine Tree).

  Being a fan of this type of music I find a maturing in the music s sound from the beginning records up to this one. Zeit was definitely the second strongest record made between 1970 and 1975 (this is only my opinion). And Rubycon goes up to Numero 1.

  I see no pointless or sub par playing on rubycon. This band IMHO rarely made an uninspìred record. That would be a cowardly thing to say (that they did). Maybe some of the ones they did in the 80 s or 90 s were much different than the Kosmiche musik classics made in the early to mid 70 s, but they remained inspired.
  I believe this band is one of the strongest in its genre that exists or existed. Please, go buy yourself this record, or I would also recommend Zeit or Alpha centauri to begin your musical experience w this heavyweight of electronica groups that ever made music on this planet.
  
  

• Great followup to Phaedra
  By A2JJSCIGPZDWHI on 2004-06-30
  Phaedra helped make Tangerine Dream in to one of the big-name electronic acts, after releasing four bizarre, experimental albums in the early '70s for Ohr. The success of Phaedra was actually pretty unexpected, and from listening to that album, you can see why. But the band had little problem following up that album and they proceeded to give us another classic, in this case Rubycon. And since they were known for side-length cuts, they decided to make this album basically one cut that takes up both side, with only Part 1 and Part 2 dividing the sides. Pretty much picks up where Phaedra left off. The album starts off with some nice, stunning Mellotron work with great electronic effects before the band goes in to sequencer overdriver. Eventually it fades, and the use of prepared piano pokes its head. The second half starts off with the sounds of air raid sirens before going back to the sequencers, before going in to a more dreamy passage dominated by Edgar Froese' Mellotron flute. This album is another must have for electronic music fans.
  
  
• Musical trip experience for your ears
  By A3M1091E7F2E19 on 2004-07-09
  This electronic German unit made a basis for all the EUROBEAT SONGS,and other related TECHNO MUSIC.They resourcefully used sequencer and synthesizer sound to build their signiture sound.This original music can be utilized as a BGM or hallucination experience.That means you can listen to this CD with positive attitude or passive attitude.This sound can be a sound illusion,sound experience,sound therapy,sound drug.This CD has a lot of purpose for all the listeners.Effective sound trip awaits for you.
  
  
• Classical Musical of the 20th Century?
  By A2E3IB2ZHJ7QXJ on 2008-01-20
  This album must be listened to in the dark. Pitch black. Seriously. You don't want to be distracted, because this music can do stuff to you. It has to me. It is, to me, the audio equivalent of an 0rg@$m. The cover on it is another description of the music. Sublime.
  
  While this album is only 30 years old (unlike classical music which is obviously older), I seriously feel that, like classical music, this stuff can give off so many emotions like classical music, it's expressive without a hint of lyrics, can take you places, and requires your full attention. Like one of the other reviewers, my hats off to you if you can describe the music in words. This stuff can do a lot of images. Heck, I'm just anaylzing it like crazy here. And for those of you who want something emotional out of music (not just something for psuedo music fans that tickle their fancy dissecting technical music), it's here. All those expressiveness and places will bring up emotion, although it's sublime. Heck, get this album yourself and listen to it. I look forward listening to this album...again!
  
  Before I wrap this up, I want to address some of these people calling this not music. It's easy to say that because it just doesn't have a beat or isn't structured like a song by Kiss, the Eagles, etc. It brings up emotion, it relies on the sequence of sounds to make something with a bit of repition, it has a structure, it has melody, texture, and timbre. It's a collection of organized sounds and you get something by letting it consume you and basking, thinking, feeling emotions. For the people who intend using this as backround music for reading or some other stupid ______, I'm sorry, but those people are missing something. THis isn't backround music, it requires attention, and you people should put the ________ book away and turn off the light, and let this music do something to you.
  
  Hopefully somedays, people will figure out more about these guys. Despite that this music demands attention and lacks any convential melodies like the disposable _____ today, even the MTV fanatic tween (hey they have feelings too!) could get something out of this. Dammnit, if those people had an attention span, they could even get something out of this. Seriously. If you don't have a soul, than yes, you really will not like this at all. But that will never happen, so there's no excuse for anybody for not giving this a try. Create your own world inside Rubycon.
  
  10/10
  
  
• Blew Me Away
  By on 2000-09-22
  Rubycon is the closest I've heard a recording come to painting pictures in one's mind. My favorite followed by Phaedra, Force Majeure (which isn't available for some reason), and Tangram.
  
  

• Phaedra
• Stratosfear
• Ricochet
• Tangram
• Underwater Sunlight