Ruby Vroom

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.{{Cite news |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-19/features/9611190145_1_babies-rock-shannon-hoon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926202747/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-19/features/9611190145_1_babies-rock-shannon-hoon |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 26, 2015 |title=Babies Become Newest Rock 'N' Roll Fad |last=Brown |first=Mark |date=1996-11-19 |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=2018-04-19 |language=en}}

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.{{cite news |last=Young |first=Simon |url= https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-essential-playlist-mike-doughty |title=The Essential Playlist: Mike Doughty |work=Metal Hammer |date=October 27, 2015 |accessdate=July 2, 2020}} 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.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/ruby-vroom-mw0000119107 |title=Ruby Vroom – Soul Coughing |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=May 28, 2012 |last=Westergaard |first=Sean}}

| rev2 = Christgau's Consumer Guide

| rev2score = A{{cite book |chapter=Soul Coughing: Ruby Vroom |chapter-url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=3239 |accessdate=December 5, 2012 |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s |title-link=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |year=2000 |isbn=0-312-24560-2}}

| rev3 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Soul Coughing |chapter-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195313734.001.0001/acref-9780195313734-e-64355 |accessdate=September 8, 2016 |chapter-url-access=subscription |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=4th |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-972636-3}}

| rev4 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev4score = A{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/1994/09/16/ruby-vroom |title=Ruby Vroom |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=September 16, 1994 |accessdate=October 9, 2016 |last=Mirkin |first=Steven |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119065930/http://www.ew.com/article/1994/09/16/ruby-vroom |archive-date=November 19, 2016 |url-status=dead}}

| rev5 = The Guardian

| rev5score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news |title=Soul Coughing: Ruby Vroom (Slash/London 9 45752-2) |work=The Guardian |date=October 14, 1994 |last=Romney |first=Jonathan}}

| rev6 = The Philadelphia Inquirer

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|4}}{{cite news |title=Soul Coughing: Ruby Vroom (Slash/Warner Brothers) |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=October 9, 1994 |last=Warren |first=Bruce}}

| rev7 = Rolling Stone

| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soulcoughing/albums/album/102417/review/5943782/ruby_vroom |title=Soul Coughing: Ruby Vroom |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 15, 1994 |accessdate=May 28, 2012 |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Azerrad |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001001716/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soulcoughing/albums/album/102417/review/5943782/ruby_vroom |archive-date=October 1, 2007 |url-status=dead}}

| rev8 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Soul Coughing |last=Sarig |first=Roni |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/760 760]}}

}}

Ruby Vroom was positively received by critics. Entertainment Weekly described the album as "elegantly spare, dramatic, and danceable", and Rolling Stone's 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[d] 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".

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

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

• 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

{{reflist}}

{{Soul Coughing}}

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Category:1994 debut albums

Category:Soul Coughing albums

Category:Albums produced by Tchad Blake

Category:Slash Records albums