David Bowie - 1. Outside (The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle) (2LP, 2021 Remastered, Reissue)

Description

Outside (stylised as 1. Outside and subtitled The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper-cycle) is the 20th studio album by English musician David Bowie. It was released on 25 September 1995 through Virgin Records in the United States and Arista Records, BMG and RCA Records in other territories. It reunited Bowie and musician Brian Eno following the late 1970s Berlin Trilogy. The two were inspired by concepts "outside" the mainstream, such as various outsider and performance artists. Recording began in March 1994 in Switzerland and continued on and off until November. During the experimental sessions, Bowie conceived a world where "art crimes", such as murder, pervade society, resulting in the Leon project, which initially faced resistance from labels due to its uncommercial nature. After the project was bootlegged, additional sessions were conducted in early 1995 in New York City to record more commercial material and revise the Leon concept after Bowie wrote a diary for Q magazine.

Influenced by the television series Twin Peaks, the story of Outside concerns the residents of the fictional Oxford Town, New Jersey and is presented in a nonlinear narrative. It follows detective Nathan Adler as he investigates the murder of a 14-year-old girl. Individual tracks show perspectives of specific characters, while spoken word between-song segues convey more ideals from the characters. The story and Adler's diary entries were presented in the album's CD booklet. Musically, Outside displays a wide variety of styles, including art rock, industrial rock, jazz, electronica and ambient. It also contains elements found on Bowie's previous works. The album cover is a painting made by Bowie himself.

The album was preceded by the lead single "The Hearts Filthy Lesson", which performed poorly on the US and UK charts. Released at the height of Britpop in the UK, Outside initially received mixed reviews from critics. While most praised the music, others found the concept pretentious and hard to follow. Nevertheless, many considered it Bowie's finest record since 1980's Scary Monsters. Outside peaked at number 8 in the UK and number 21 in the US, partially due to the acknowledgement of Bowie's influence by several American artists. Two more singles accompanied the album, "Strangers When We Meet" and a remix of "Hallo Spaceboy" featuring Pet Shop Boys, both of which performed well in the UK.

Bowie supported the album through the Outside Tour, but was criticised for not playing older hits. The opening act in America were Nine Inch Nails, which led to multiple collaborations between frontman Trent Reznor and Bowie in subsequent years. Multiple planned sequels to Outside never came to fruition, leaving the album's story on a cliffhanger. Instead, Bowie used musical ideas from the album and tour for his next record, Earthling (1997). Retrospectively, Outside has received more positive assessments, with most continuing to praise the music but criticising the story and length. The album was reissued in 2003 and remastered in 2021 as part of the box set Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001).

Release info

Label: ISO Records 0190295253370
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: Worldwide
Released: 2022
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Leftfield, Industrial, Experimental, Alternative Rock

Tracklist

A1 Leon Takes Us Outside
A2 Outside
A3 The Heart's Filthy Lesson
A4 A Small Plot Of Land
B1 Segue - Baby Grace (A Horrid Cassette)
B2 Hallo Spaceboy
B3 The Motel
B4 I Have Not Been To Oxford Town
C1 No Control
C2 Segue - Algeria Touchshriek
C3 The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)
Segue - Ramona A. Stone / I Am With Name
C5 Wishful Beginnings
D1 We Prick You
D2 Segue - Nathan Adler Pt. 1
D3 I'm Deranged
D4 Thru' These Architects Eyes
D5 Segue - Nathan Adler Pt. 2
D6 Strangers When We Meet