Ride

Ride樂隊成立于1988年的牛津，的牛津走出的最有影響力的樂隊。樂隊的四名成員，Andy Bell，Mark Gardener，Laurence Colbert, Steve Queralt相識于Banbury藝術學院。樂隊于1996年解散。2001年樂隊曾短暫的重組為BBC做了一次表演。
 
樂隊的兩位靈魂人物Andy和Mark相識于牛津的Cheney School，1988年10月，兩人進入Banbury藝術學院繼續(xù)學業(yè)，結識了Laurence Colbert和Steve Queralt。Andy說他是被The Smith的一場演出激發(fā)了組建樂隊的想法。在1988年末的圣誕晚會上樂隊做了第一次演出。在校期間樂隊錄制了一張Demo，錄制地點是Steve Queralt的寢室和門廳，包含了"Chelsea Girl" 和 "Drive Blind".這樣日后著名的曲目。The Jesus and Mary Chain的JimReid聽到了這張Demo，這引起了他們的經(jīng)紀人Alan McGee的興趣，1989年以慧眼識珠而著稱的Alan McGee將Ride簽入Creation Record。日后，Andy Bell被評為當代三大吉他手之一，Creation的Golden boy，Ride在Creation旗下發(fā)行的《Nowhere》和《Going blank Again》是Shoegazing中的絕世之作。
 
1990年一月到九月Ride發(fā)行了三張EP：《Ride》、《Play》和《Fall》?！禦ide》和《Play》兩張EP合并為《Smile》于90年7月在美國發(fā)行。1990年10月，樂隊發(fā)行了他們的第一張專輯《Nowhere》，這張專輯被評論界公認為Shoegazing運動中的里程碑式專輯之一—近一個小時的旋律縹緲的吉他噪音宛如聲音洪流一般將你吞沒，帶你進入一種半催眠的迷幻狀態(tài)。（似乎沒有其它音樂流派比Shoegazing更能對吉他噪音進行如此完整的詮釋）就像專輯封面所呈現(xiàn)出的概念一樣，看似波瀾不驚的海面充滿了細碎的波紋并且蘊藏著吞沒一切的巨大能量（足以摧毀一個正常人的心智）。這張專輯的成功使媒體將ride評為91年最值得期待的樂隊。1991年3月，樂隊發(fā)行了Ep TodayForever。Ride開始了他們第一次國際巡演，去到日本，澳大利亞，法國等地，日本站的門票在幾分鐘內售完。
 
1992年2月，Ride的單曲"Leave Them All Behind",闖進英國流行榜單的top 10。1992年3月，樂隊發(fā)行第二張專輯《Going Blank Again》，這張專輯被視為樂隊在Shoegazing時期最具代表性的作品，在這張專輯中，樂隊的創(chuàng)作力和對噪音墻的運用日漸完美，樂隊里兩位慣用哇音踏板的核心人物Andy和Mark之間的默契配合依然是高水平音樂的保證。
 
1994年，樂隊發(fā)行了第三張專輯《Carnival of Light》。專輯由John Leckie制作（曾擔任Stone Roses，Radiohead的音樂制作人）在音樂風格上有不小的轉變，多少受到當時盛行的Brit-Pop影響，旋律相對于之前的Shoegazing風格，變得更加流暢、相對緩慢，自然這張專輯也在樂迷中引發(fā)了不小的爭議——對它的評價幾乎是兩個極端?；蛟S這不是他們最具革命性質的一張專輯，沒有前兩張專輯中那樣過于厚重的利用吉他噪音和后期制作產(chǎn)生的‘音墻’，但不可否認這是一張可聽性相當高的專輯，在‘Moonlight Medicine’、‘RollingThunder’中，似乎能隱約感到印度音樂對他們的影響；而像‘Birdman’、‘From Time to Time’、‘HowDoesIt Feel to Feel?’都是他們后期風格的代表作。在錄制這張專輯時，Andy和Mark的分歧日益嚴重，andy曾說不愿自己的歌和Mark的放在一張專輯中，最后的結果是專輯的前一半是Mark的歌，后一半是Andy的歌。這張專輯并不為媒體好評，樂隊也漸漸走向解散。
 
1996年樂隊發(fā)行了最后一張專輯《Tarantula》，Andy對此專輯報以很大的期望，但Mark放逐自己，極少參與專輯的錄制。最終，在專輯發(fā)行的同時，樂隊宣布解散。在錄制過程中Mark和Andy之間的隔閡已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生了做用，Mark在專輯中所占的份量明顯減輕了，大部分曲子是由Andy Bell獨立創(chuàng)作的。離別的傷感和對未來前景的懷疑，不安情緒籠罩了整張專輯，12首曲子顯得格外的真切，感人。與樂隊的上一張專輯《Carnivalo flight》相比，《Tarantula》更接近于樂隊早期作品的風格，既以迷幻和民謠為基本元素，適度地添加一些電吉他噪音效果，清新閑適中透過一種別樣不安和無奈。畢竟，THE STONE ROSES，RIDE這類的曼徹斯特樂隊所玩出的電吉他噪音和朋克式的狂躁有著很大的不同，RIDE這張專輯中的"WallonWater"是很能說明這種差異的，它必需與英國清新悅耳的音樂感覺相協(xié)調。雖說曼徹斯特風格多以流暢明快，灑脫不駒的體現(xiàn)新一代嬉皮青年樂派的快歌為標志，而RIDE的這張專輯中也不泛類似作品，但"Mary Anne""Castle" on thehill""Ride the wind"這類的慢歌這次卻顯的格外引人注目。"Mary Anne"后段長長的迷幻吉他SOLO聽的人騰云駕霧，"Castle"on the hill"是Andy寫給Mark的一聲嘆息，其間有一段木吉他和電吉他的對答重奏，皆是罕有的絕妙佳作。
 
樂隊解散后，Mark Gardener和Laurence Colbert組建了The Animalhouse，Steve Queralt離開了搖滾樂，在牛津某足球隊踢球，并結婚生子。Andy投身于他心愛的brit-pop浪潮，于1997年組建樂隊Hurricane #1，發(fā)行了兩張專輯《Hurricane #1》《Only The Strongest Will Survive》，同名專輯的首發(fā)單曲“Step into My World”有極美的尾奏，可算Brit-pop時期的佳曲。1999年Andy離開Hurricane #1，加入Brit-pop樂隊Oasis作為貝斯手。（Oasis于2009年8月解散）
 
With their first records, Ride created a unique wall of sound that relied on massive, trembling distortion in the vein of My Bloody Valentine but with a simpler, more direct melodic approach. The shatteringly loud, droning neo-psychedelia the band performed was dubbed shoegazing by the British press because the bandmembers stared at the stage while they performed. Along with their initial influence, My Bloody Valentine, Ride stood apart from the shoegazing pack, primarily because of their keen sense of songcraft and dynamics. For a while, the band was proclaimed the last great hope of British rock, but they fell from the spotlight nearly as quickly as they entered it.
 
Ride were formed in Oxfordshire, England, in 1988 by guitarist/vocalist Andy Bell, vocalist/guitarist Mark Gardener, bassist Stephan Queralt, and drummer Loz Colbert when the group was still in its late teens. The band soon earned a dedicated following through their blisteringly loud, intense live shows. Creation Records signed the band in 1989 and the group released its self-titled debut EP later in the year. Not only did the British music critics praise the Ride EP, but it climbed into the lower reaches of the U.K. charts.
 
Play, Ride's second EP, appeared in the spring of 1990 and it surpassed the success of its predecessor, entering the Top 40 upon its release. Ride continued to gain new fans and quickly became darlings of the U.K. press. Nowhere, the group's first album, was released at the end of the year and became a significant hit in England, peaking at number 14. The band's third EP, Fall, was released in the summer of 1991 and became a Top 20 hit in the U.K. Ride released their second album, Going Blank Again, in the spring of 1992. Going Blank Again was successful, particularly in the U.K. where its first single, "Leave Them All Behind," went into the Top Ten, but didn't increase their audience dramatically.
 
That lack of a breakthrough success caused tensions within the band, especially between Bell and Gardener. After completing a frustrating American tour, the band decided to take an extended break. It would be two years before Ride re-emerged with their third album, Carnival of Light.
 
Carnival of Light represented a major shift toward conventional psychedelic rock and it turned out to be a commercial misstep. Not only did their die-hard following dislike the record, but Ride failed to pick up a new batch of fans with their stylistic makeover. Wounded from a lack of sales and critical respect, the band moved to the studio in the summer of 1995 to record its fourth album, Tarantula. Tensions between Bell and Gardener escalated throughout the recorded sessions. After Tarantula was completed in August 1995, Gardener left the band; Bell followed immediately afterward. Ride announced its disbandment in January of 1996. The album was released in March of 1996.