How would you rate "Outside" (1995) by David Bowie?

Cheers, yeah Franklin does some cool stuff--does sound home-recorded but he goes about that well. Also good to see this song get some attention.

 

I thought it was pretty boring to be honest. I never cared for the whole industrial rock sound, so don't bother too much with my opinion. It's probably better than most of his other 90's work, but is still towards the bottom of the list IMO.

 

i agree, although i don't know why you stopped at Heathen, and while an argument can be made for "essential", i don't think it quite qualifies as "classic" which is why i chose to vote in the second category.

 

I won't post all my thoughts on this one, because it's rather redundant given I've written them before. In summary, there are some great songs here, but it's wrapped in an excruciating concept that is ill-conceived and tedious in the extreme. So I rarely revisit it. It was also, annoyingly, released in several different formats which was maddening at the time. Single CD digipac, then a jewelcase, then an exclusive Japanese release with a bonus disc, then another 2 disc version, with different tracks etc. And yes, it's Bowie, I bought them all. I must really love to stay here, with all the madmen.

 

The point at which Bowie "returned" after what seemed like an eternity in the wilderness.

 

It's a very good album.

 

The more I hear of Buddha Of Suburbia, the more I think that's when he started to sound like he "meant it" again.

 

the commercial shackles were off for Buddha so he could "do his thing" without worrying about a hit single (ironically the title track was a great single, a UK #35). the one commercial concession (overdubbing lenny kravitz, the clearest possible indication of how far bowie's reputation had fallen) is the only misstep on the album. so yes, it opened the door to doing it his way again. and while his label could still make demands (1.Outside was more commercial than originally intended), it was the beginning of a creative rebirth.

 

plus the condensed vinyl version with two unique edits.

 

That's been my feeling for a long time, and today I finally picked up the '07 reissue (with the colorized Bowie sitting photo) for a mere $3. While the liner notes were unfortunately truncated from earlier iterations, and apparently the disc sounds louder overall than the original (too limited!) release, IMHO the music itself does indeed hold up to its reputation as a "lost classic" of sorts, especially for those who prefer the more experimental side of Bowie.

Unlike Outside, which I am tempted to say "tries too hard" to be edgy in places, on Buddha I get the impression that Bowie was simply making an album based on his personal likes and influences as he himself noted. In other words, here you will find instrumentals worthy of Low and Heroes ("The Mysteries", "Ian Fish U.K. Heir"), jazz fusion-esque stylings anticipating Blackstar well before that album's eventual release ("South Horizon", Bleed Like A Craze, Dad"), plus the sort of pop hooks Bowie seemed to do so effortlessly during his 70's heyday (the title track, and of course "Strangers When We Meet" the latter of which was re-worked for Outside).

I still haven't as yet warmed up to Outside (or "1. Outside" for the more pedantic among us), possibly because of those annoying (at least to me) segues, so I shall refrain from voting, but will not dispute the "Pretty Great" ranking it appears to be receiving here. This, of course, is Bowie we're talking about, so even his lesser efforts (depending on your p.o.v.) pretty much always have something to recommend them.

 

I love "The Mysteries" and "Ian Fish, UK Heir".
(there was a period when I used to listen to the latter on a continuous loop--such a lush and relaxing soundscape).

Certainly two of his best-ever instrumentals IMO.

 

Incredible song. Crank this up in the car when driving at night and it's even more awesome.

 

On the odd day I might like Heathen more (I just didn't want to say to present) but then I might like Outside more than Scary Monsters on another so.....

A couple of years ago I wrote the below and it still holds roughly true but does change from time to time. Although no one would argue that Pin Ups was a classic I do think a case can be made for most of my A's and B's.

A very rough guide to how I feel about David Bowie's albums today (5 June 2015):

A. Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Station To Station, Low, Scary Monsters
B. The Man Who Sold The World, Pin Ups, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Heroes, Lodger, 1.Outside
C. David Bowie (1967), Space Oddity, Never Let Me Down, Tin Machine, Black Tie White Noise, Heathen, Reality, The Next Day
D. Let’s Dance, Labyrinth, Buddha of Suburbia, Earthling,
E. Tin Machine II, “Hours”
F. Tonight

 

gotcha, i misunderstood, thinking that you were rating it above Heathen but below Reality, The Next Day and Blackstar.

How mine would look vs yours. not so different.

A. Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Station To Station, Low, Scary Monsters
B. David Bowie (1969), Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Young Americans, "Heroes", Lodger
C. The Man Who Sold The World, Pin Ups, 1. Outside, Heathen
D. David Bowie (1967), Let's Dance, The Buddha of Suburbia, Reality, The Next Day, Blackstar
E. Never Let Me Down, Tin Machine II, Earthling, 'hours...'
F. Tonight, Tin Machine, Black Tie White Noise

 

Great album but for this:

 

His best post Scary album and one that I still listen to constantly. In my Bowie top 5....sometimes top 3... its a musical adventure. I love every second.

 

Outside is.... difficult.

I still remember the first time I heard The Heart's Filthy Lesson fire up over the end credits of the movie Seven.... it was perfection. Still love the song and it's a highlight of the album to me - the first real menace offered up by Bowie in a long time, framed by that weird Gabrels lick over that almost- metallic bass and guitar. After the popstar period, the Tin Machine sidetrack and the near-relapse into the mainstream that was Black Tie White Noise, it was great to hear a Bowie track that left you wondering at the fade-out: "What the hell was that... ?" So much promise here - the reunion with Eno, the raw ambition of the concept and the potential for Bowie to go off in an exciting new musical direction... how did it all go sideways ?

First, the concept didn't hold up. While Diamond Dogs seemed like a case of Bowie's reach exceeding his grasp in a noble and fascinating near-miss, the whole gumshoe-investigating-"artcrime" conceit of Outside just ended up coming across as a bit pretentious and precious. With Diamond Dogs, the concept didn't hold together but unlike with that effort, Bowie opted this time to labour mightily at making the thing work. The result was an over-cooked and over-long album dragged down by soliliquies by various "characters" voiced by Bowie in an attempt to hold the whole thing together but instead bogging it down and dragging it out. And in the end, the concept remained obscure and indecipherable.

Outside also found Bowie in the midst of that awkward period of his career where he seemed to be flailing a bit. Or a lot. Once celebrated for setting trends, he seemed now to be chasing them. And that led to some really jarring stylistic shifts that left some questioning his sincerity and authenticity as he tried on and discarded genres like hats or hairstyles. Touring with Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails, he seemed a bit like yesterday's hero playing to audiences who were not necessarily there to hear him. So softly a Superman dies.... While I don't think Outside is the most blatant example of Bowie's clutching at straws in this troubled time ( that would be Earthling ), it's difficult to get your head around the drift from Black Tie White Noise to Outside to Earthling to Hours, isn't it ?

All this having been said, I have grown to like Outside. Not appreciate it but actually like it. It's taken a lot of listenings to get to this point. For all it's flaws, I prefer in to anything else in the run from Black Tie to Heathen and listen to it more often than anything from the Tin Machine records to The Next Day. There is much to enjoy here if you don't beat your head against Nathan Adler's wall - the eerie weirdness of The Heart's Filthy Lesson, the sheer manic rush of Hallo Spaceboy, the odd catchiness of I Have Not Been To Oxford Town, even the tacked-on, Heroes-light Strangers When We Meet...

Better this than Let's Dance.

D.D.

 

Hey, don't let that hold you back....

D.D.

 

IMHO probably the worst album he ever put his name to (followed closely by "Black Tie, White Noise" and "Blackstar"). Horrific album bereft of anything resembling a decent song and lacking any melody (but that was maybe the point?). Not my cup of tea at all I'm afraid. Thankfully "Earthling" was a return to form.

 

Hard to decide between Option 1 & 2. While Outside isn't up there with his best albums IMHO it still is very underrated. An album that really needs to be explored. And The Hearts Filthy Lesson was a killer single.

 

IMO a true classic. While the concept element is outright annoying, it's so easy to skip the segue tracks, other than two short ones that are tied to a real song. And the songs are so good. The writing is really top notch. The performances are on fire. "The Vouyer of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)", "The Heart's Filthy Lesson", "The Motel", "Thru These Architect's Eyes", I could list virtually every song on the album and to my ears they're classic Bowie tracks.

And while the industrial sound feels like Bowie cashing in on a popular admirer in Trent Reznor, I think it's more accurate to say that Reznor and the alternative scene was reigniting Bowie's creative drive and he was having a ball playing in their sandbox.

 

I kinda think that whole "Industrial" thing that Outside constantly gets hung on it is an overstatement originating from people looking for an easy slot to file the album under. And of these people, I would venture that many have only a passing acquaintance with Nine Inch Nails' catalogue.

D.D.

 

ditto Blackstar being a jazz album (or worse, a jazz fusion album). jazz musicians playing rock = rock.

 

I think it's pretty bad and should be avoided just as Earthling. It sounds like old man bowie trying to fit in into the post grunge generation and the result simply feels awkward to me.
Lets dance is far superior than this, and for me Howie would find his mature sound only with the release of Heathen ; this one is a return to form

 

Great album. Eno collaboration marked on this one. Theme is over the top and pretentious but what's new? I love the musical textures and exploration.

It's true he did lose touch with his audience to some extent (as evidenced already on this thread).

It's a shame that (perhaps because of this, perhaps because of his natural tendency to move on) we never got the intended 2. Contamination. Or maybe that was never really intended, hard to tell!

Tim