Re: Rupert Hine Died Today

Dang it, Ruper Hine just died today at 72. No cause of death mentioned yet. He was an amazing musician; being heavy into tech in a way I found riveting. His solo and Thinkman albums were some best of breed hi-tech rock music. Prog roots, for sure, but no fat on those bones. "Immunity" was an amazing calling card to me in 1981. Up there with the sort of stuff Peter Gabriel was doing at the time [before he went soft in 1985]. The first Thinkman album was all Rupert with a fake "band" of hired actors [including Julian Clary] to deflect attention away from himself since it was determined that he did not have sufficient charisma to be a solo act! Crazy... and almost up there with what The Alarm did.

Hine was most successful, unfortunately, as a producer. The vast bulk of his successful production career did nothing for me. Tina Turner comeback. Howard Jones. The Fixx. Chris DeBurgh. The only of his productions I've any enthusiasm for was the Jona Lewie album "Heart Skips Beat." Though I thought he was a good fit for Rush, the two albums he helmed are merely okay. The last Rush albums from their imperial '79-'91 run where they started to move away from the technology after a great run of albums. Due to the success he found as a producer, his last album of original material was in 1994. A shame.

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Bummer! That first Thinkman album is really good, and I like some of his solo stuff. It's a bit creepy at times...but that's not a bad thing necessarily. Unlike you, Monk, I really enjoy those first three Fixx albums. And I just recently learned that Hine produced Saga's World's Apart album which has long been a favorite of mine.

> Though I thought he was a good fit for Rush, the two albums he helmed are merely okay.
> The last Rush albums from their imperial '79-'91 run where they started to move away
> from the technology after a great run of albums.

Yeah, it's interesting that Hine -- a producer so associated with keyboard-centered acts like The Fixx, Howard Jones and Thompson Twins -- would steer Rush (and Geddy Lee in particular) away from the techno-centric sound of their '80s work. He's interviewed briefly in the Rush doc Beyond the Lighted Stage. He claims to have told Rush, during their pre-studio meetings, "It's absurd that one of the last great guitar-bass-drums power trios in rock is smothering itself with keyboards." I think that says a lot to his integrity as a producer. (And those two albums he produced, Presto and Roll the Bones, both are solid.)

Delvin Wrote:
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> Yeah, it's interesting that Hine -- a producer so
> associated with keyboard-centered acts like The
> Fixx, Howard Jones and Thompson Twins -- would
> steer Rush (and Geddy Lee in particular) away from
> the techno-centric sound of their '80s work. He's
> interviewed briefly in the Rush doc Beyond the
> Lighted Stage. He claims to have told Rush,
> during their pre-studio meetings, "It's absurd
> that one of the last great guitar-bass-drums power
> trios in rock is smothering itself with
> keyboards." I think that says a lot to his
> integrity as a producer. (And those two albums he
> produced, Presto and Roll the Bones,
> both are solid.)

Hine was never an "auteur" producer. I can't say he gave a particular stamp to his projects. As producer, he was a facilitator, not a dictator.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2020 10:14AM by Post-Punk Monk.

I was just listening to the 1981 episode of Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness's The Album Years podcast, and they both spoke very enthusiastically about Immunity. I looked it up on Discogs immediately after, and it's a tough album to find in good condition AND a reasonable price.

Immunity used to be on Spotify, where I listened to it a few years ago. No longer. It's a really good album. I also was recently looking for it on vinyl on Discogs and balked at the price. But I purchased the first Thinkman album instead at a very reasonable price...not a bad compensation prize.

There's a compilation on Spotify that would at least give me the flavor of his work. I did listen to "I Hang On to My Vertigo," which Wilson and Bowness posted in their 1981 playlist. (Sorry, Monk, I don't use iTunes.)

My local shop End of an Ear has a copy of a Thinkman album. It's listed as "VG" for the vinyl quality, though, so gives me pause. I'd have to look at it to see if that means it's marred, or if it just needs cleaning, and the store still isn't open for in-person visits.

"Immunity" is still in the iTunes Store for the right price. Along with a 2nd bonus track not on my mid-80s CD copy. EVERYONE should speak enthusiastically about "Immunity!" It's that great. Another classic from the year stuffed with classics.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2021 08:34AM by Post-Punk Monk.

I picked up a vinyl copy of Immunity through Discogs. (CDs were just too expensive.) Spinning it now. I like how he takes synth-pop and gives it enough arrangement pizzazz to keep it from sounding typical - it's more art pop than something one would hear on top 40 radio. I can see (hear) why he became a producer. I like his voice as well.

I'm also very appreciative of Phil Palmer's guitar work. That guy is perpetually underrated.

Michael Toland Wrote:
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> I picked up a vinyl copy of Immunity
> through Discogs. (CDs were just too expensive.)
> Spinning it now. I like how he takes synth-pop and
> gives it enough arrangement pizzazz to keep it
> from sounding typical - it's more art pop than
> something one would hear on top 40 radio. I can
> see (hear) why he became a producer. I like his
> voice as well.
>
> I'm also very appreciative of Phil Palmer's guitar
> work. That guy is perpetually underrated.

He also pushed the arrangements further than pop really supported at the time. The LP had label-mandated mixes of "I Think A Man Will Hang Soon" and "Make A Wish" that were replaced with Hine's preferred mixes on the CD versions years later. He said he was accused of rubbing musical salt into wounds at the time by A+M. On CD "Make A Wish" is 30 seconds longer as well. I've not actually heard the LP mixes of those tracks. Still, good on yer for getting to hear "Surface Tension" in any way possible. A glorious sound.

What about Hine's 70s band Quantum Jump?

Michael Toland Wrote:
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> What about Hine's 70s band Quantum Jump?

Quantum Jump is downright freaky stuff! It's a queer blend of Prog and JazzFunk that was like little I'd ever heard. The second album ["Barracuda"] was far more polished and you can hear the 80s coming like a freight train. The debut was one of those chimerical albums that existed in their own unique bubble. The third Quantum Jump album, "Mixing," was a remix compilation cashing in on the hit years after the band was defunct. It was made after the band had split when the song "Lone Ranger" was reissued in 1979 to become a hit on back of The Kenny Everett Video Show using it for its theme. It was the only hit that Hine ever managed of his own work. He might have come close in West Germany with his mature A+M solo and Thinkman period.

Sounds right up my alley - thanks!

I saw the thread title and this is the first song that popped into my head:

[youtu.be]

Wrong Rubert, I know, my apologies for the earworm.

Went to a local record shop today and picked up a vinyl copy of Immunity in nice shape for $3.99! I was thumbing through the "H" section and wasn't even thinking of Hine, but there it was. They actually had two!

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2021 11:18PM by That One Guy.

That One Guy Wrote:
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> I saw his name up there once, but it occurred to
> me, one album that hasn't been mentioned is Chris
> DeBurgh's Man On The Line. The songs, all CDB's.
> are mostly OK (even if he really is kind of a
> sniveling little bastard at the end of the day),
> but production wise, in some ways it's one of
> Rupert's absolute finest moments. As usual, apart
> from the odd embellishment, it's mostly all him,
> and the sound really does have a hard bite to it.
> The golden era of the Yamaha TX8/DX7 combo, for
> any gearheads out there.

As much as I love Hine's work, much of his productions were with artists I did not care for. Add DeBurgh to the list, though Hine did manage to get him a berth in the US top 40 quite effectively.

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This is coming out soon. (I'm sure it will be available elsewhere, but the Burning Shed newsletter is where I saw it.)

Yeah. Posted about that yesterday. A nice tidy package at a great price! "Immunity" on CD was bumping into three figures! The 2001 pressings on Voiceprint were the last until now. And Stephen W. Tayler [original engineer + co-producer] has remastered, so hopefully now brickwalling.

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