Track Listing

1. Leaving the City
2. Sinking Feeling
3. Night of the Dancing Flame
4. Through Time
5. Sow into You
6. Dear Diary
7. If We're in Love
8. Ramalama (Bang Bang)
9. Ruby Blue
10. Off on It
11. Prelude to Love in the Making
12. Closing of the Doors

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17467 in Music
• Released on: 2005-06-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Album Description
The lead singer of Moloko takes a step to the side to release her first solo endeavor, co-produced by Matthew Herbert. This is the first time electronic pioneer Herbert has lent his production skills to anything other than his solo works, and it's being called his best work yet. Packaging features the vibrant artwork of Simon Henwood. "Ruby Blue" is an underground classic waiting to spread its wings.

BPM
"A mischievously exotic and inventive brew of melancholic northern soul"

Pitchfork
"Something of a mini masterpiece"

Customer Reviews

So you think you can sing?
I was watching "So You Think You Can Dance" with my wife and we caught a cool song called "Ramalama (Bang Bang)". My ears are going so we had captioning on, which tells you the artist and song. I quickly jotted down the name and went looking online for the song and album.

Wow, what a great find this turned out to be. I've done two straight-through listens in addition to a few shuffle-plays with other songs, and I've finally figured out all the tastes I'm hearing.

It's Bjork and Aphex Twin with classic AM radio female vocals a la Carly Simon, with some inevitable Kate Bush/ Tori Amos splashed in. Ultimately, you have and have not heard anything like this album. The ingredients, yes, but the dish? All its own, and it works very well. Enjoyable and quirky, and I think because I'm going through a jazz phase now, it resonates deeper within me than if I were to bne traveling through, say, my death metal or Hendrix phases.

Worth picking up, for sure, but maybe a note of caution for more conservative listeners, it's something to give a dedicated ear to appreciate.

-Fred

Break out the superlatives starting with FABULOUS...
I confess I was introduced to Roisin Murphy courtesy of Fox's hit show "So You Think You Can Dance". The Ramalama song stuck in my head and I simply had to know more about the artist. And so I found Ruby Blue. And I am thrilled I did!

Fabulous and funky, this CD defies classification. Murphy's voice is captivating as she deftly toys with the listener, soaring through the scales, leaping from a smoky alto to a crystal soprano with never a falter. If this gal doesn't top the charts it will be wholly a marketing failure because vocally she delivers the goods, making the exquisite effortless. She is a joy to listen to and has not only one of the most unique, but one of the best female voices I've heard in quite some time, leaving the likes of Beyonce, Carey, Dion and Krall totally in the dust.

Now I've gushed about the artist, one might wonder at the 4-star review. This is only a caution to those looking for "mainstream" because not one of these tunes comes ANYWHERE near that categorization (which is what makes them so FABULOUS). A little jazz, a little funk, a little hip-pop (yes, that's pop and not hop), even a little Asian and Indian influence. If you're open minded and love creative music and stellar vocals, do NOT pass this one up!!

You're my ruby blue
You know her best as the eccentric pop voice in Moloko, that wacky dancepop group that turned out some of the U.K.'s best electronica. Alas, after 2003's "Statues," Moloko is no more. But lead vocalist Roisin Murphy is just beginning... her solo career, that is.

Don't expect Moloko's experimental pop, however. In "Ruby Blue," Murphy tries out some entirely new sounds such as jazz, low-key trip-hop and funky piano-pop, with a slightly psychedelic quirky edge. Sometimes it suits her unique vocals, and sometimes not -- more often than not, the wild little songs work out just fine.

"Ruby Blue" slinks into our ears with "Leaving the City," a jumbled pop melody full of tinny percussion and subtle horns. Murphy sings in a dreamy manner over the quirky arrangements. This gives a feel for what the album's sound is going to be like: It's not like her past work, but not like anything else either, really.

After that comes a string of unusual dancepop -- rather than your usual electronica, there's a funky, jazzy, slightly insane edge to Murphy's music. Yes, there's some keyboard on there, yet songs like the wild "Night of the Dancing Flame" or the fiery, bouncy "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" rely more on the organic drums and beats.

Not all songs on "Ruby Blue" are that much fun; "Through Time," for example, is pretty but unexciting compared to the other songs here. It's midtempo but very steady and quiet, and so after a while it gets boring to listen to. And the finale is a pretty song, yet somehow doesn't fit in with the rest of the album. Murphy doesn't sound entirely comfortable over a simple piano ballad.

In fact, Murphy's quirky, breathless vocals work best when she's singing over earthy beats and trippy tunes. When the songs are quirky and wild, she sounds amazing. In the quieter songs, she sounds distinctly out of place, not unlike a country singer trying to rap. Not bad, but a bit square-peggish.

Some of the songs lag a bit, or don't fit around Roisin Murphy's style. But "Ruby Blue" is an entertaining, slightly bizarre solo debut. Lots of fun.