Ruby Red (Dambuilders album) explained

Ruby Red
Type:studio
Artist:the Dambuilders
Cover:Ruby Red (Dambuilders album).jpg
Released:1995
Label:East West/Elektra[1]
Producer:Don Gehman
Prev Title:Encendedor
Prev Year:1994
Next Title:God Dambuilders Bless America
Next Year:1996

Ruby Red is an album by the American band the Dambuilders, released in 1995.[2] [3] It was the band's first major label album of completely new material.

The first single was "Teenage Loser Anthem".[4] The band supported the album by touring with Better Than Ezra.[5]

Production

The album was produced by Don Gehman.[6] [7] Its lyrics were written by the singer and bass player Dave Derby; all four band members wrote the music.[8] Gehman encouraged the band to think more about its vocal harmonies, and the intertwining of Derby's and Joan Wasser's voices.[9] "Smooth Control" employed a pedal steel guitar.[10]

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that "there are some good songs, and Derby does some nice things vocally—his falsetto on 'Down' would give Radiohead’s Thom Yorke a run for his money —but it’s a letdown from a band that has rarely disappointed in the past."[6] SF Weekly thought that "Derby's lyrics alternately capture the urge to move (down the highway, into the stratosphere) and the realization that you're often literally or figuratively stuck in one space."[11] The Nashville Scene deemed the album full of "bombastic would-be anthems and strained power ballads."[12]

CMJ New Music Monthly called it "a crystal-clear confection of hooky, muscular guitar riffs and occasional flights of fiddle."[13] The Boston Globe opined that the band "has shifted away from dissonance (good move) while retaining the punk, punch and power."[14] The Wisconsin State Journal stated that the songs "coolly incorporate violins and creative guitar work to create a uniquely creepy, undeniably compelling rock sound."[15]

AllMusic called the album "a raw, unpretentious indie masterpiece that seems to have had few champions."

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Book: Earles, Andrew. Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. September 15, 2014. Voyageur Press. 978-1-62788-379-5 . Google Books. August 18, 2021. August 18, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130501/https://books.google.com/books?id=D_eKBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA75. live.
  2. Web site: The Dambuilders Biography & History. AllMusic. 2021-08-18. 2021-08-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130502/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-dambuilders-mn0000139703/biography. live.
  3. News: Music: The Dambuilders Final Frontier (Salt Lake City Weekly . 10-20-97). The Weekly Wire. 2021-08-18. 2021-08-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130503/http://www.weeklywire.com/ww/10-20-97/slc_scene.html. live.
  4. News: Miller . Nerissa . Spring Grove drummer finds home with the Dambuilders . The York Dispatch . 3 Aug 1995 . E11.
  5. News: Ruby Red The Dambuilders . The Albuquerque Tribune . 11 Aug 1995 . E19.
  6. Web site: Dambuilders . Trouser Press . 18 August 2021 . 18 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130503/https://trouserpress.com/reviews/dambuilders/ . live .
  7. News: Cellars by Starlight: Dambuilders then and now. Boston Phoenix. 2021-08-18. 2021-08-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130503/https://bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/cellars/documents/03084946.asp. live.
  8. Wolff . Carlo . Dambuilders Cover States, One By One . Billboard . Jul 1, 1995 . 107 . 26 . 19.
  9. News: McLennan . Scott . Dambuilders make case for rock violin . Telegram & Gazette . 7 Sep 1995 . C4.
  10. News: Younk . Dave . The Dambuilders stem tide of fast-paced rock . St. Cloud Times . 17 Aug 1995 . 4E.
  11. News: Recordings. August 30, 1995. SF Weekly. August 18, 2021. August 18, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130502/https://www.sfweekly.com/music/recordings-87/. live.
  12. News: Notes. Nashville Scene. 2021-08-18. 2021-08-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130501/https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts_culture/notes/article_d63974ef-780b-57bd-b70e-7ed5c4aa7597.html. live.
  13. Moed . Andrea . Reviews . CMJ New Music Monthly . Oct 1995 . 26 . 30.
  14. News: Sullivan . Jim . Life is better than ever for Better than Ezra . The Boston Globe . 11 Sep 1995 . Arts & Film . 33.
  15. News: Thompson . Stephen . It's a Big Music Week . Wisconsin State Journal . 4 Apr 1996 . Rhythm . 7.

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