Ruby Sea

Thin White Rope | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 6, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Frontier Records
• ASIN: B000003STZ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,115 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Ruby Sea follows in the progression that most of Thin White Rope's albums followed, slowly shedding their more blatantly psychedelic influences and polishing their sound as a surreal and chilling rock band. The record is a cold and dramatic slice of desert rock that manages to be gripping more often than it is simply campy. The band's always-keen sense of guitar dynamics serves them well, as do strangled vocals reminiscent of Peter Murphy; some of the album's production unwisely accentuates the band's already-slick presentation, but this is easily overlooked. ~ Nitsuh Abebe, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars deep, August 7, 2001

By 

Richard Cody "witer of fine and not so fine p... (Big Sur, The Golden State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ruby Sea (Audio CD)

This was the recording that introduced me to Thin White Rope and, after buying two of their earlier efforts ("In the Spanish Cave" and "Sack Full of Silver"), it remains my favorite. This underrated band possessed a unique sound amid the late 80's and early 90's clutter of indie and lo-fi rock n' roll - a sound that I believe is crystallized on this album. It is easy and true enough to label "The Ruby Sea" a rock album. It is, however, a rock n' roll haunted by the ghost of a distant punk influence, shaped by a poetic vision of the human condition and unafraid to blur genres. There are moments of somber, almost gothic, introspection ("Puppet Dog" and "The Fish Song" for instance) and times when a twisted country influence seems to shine through ("Bartender's Rag", "Christmas Skies"). Each track, different as one may seem from another, fits perfectly into the whole that is "The Ruby Sea", resulting in a disc that demands to be played and played again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dense, January 5, 2009

By 

Robert Mccrary (Clemson, SC,USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ruby Sea (Audio CD)

Sure, they had a sense of humor, but "Hunter's Moon" is scary and wound as tight as a tick. I found this on cassette for 50 cents about 15 years ago, and it remains my favorite of their recordings, although "Moonhead" is a close second. Both are essential, and I'll even throw in "Sack Full Of Silver" for a trinity.