Review: David Bowie - Outside

1995's Outside is an odd disc that reminds me of The Resident's last cd, Animal Lover, a bit in sound but also in that they're both decent records in need of trimming and reorganization. Too long and not very coherent, Bowie and 70's collaborator Brian Eno combine their Berlin work, Peter Gabriel's world music, and ambient/techno beats to create a nice sound that, if cut and pasted correctly, would be a highlight of his catalog. The piano work comes right out of the Aladdin Sane period.

Outside tells a story but then again it doesn't. Five spoken segments break up the cd and after the first listen they just fill space. They would work better in shorter form and lesser quantity. Towards the end there's a pile-up of techno tunes that could stand to lose a track or two.

On the plus side, "Outside", "The Heart's Filthy Lesson", "Hallo Spaceboy", "I Have Not Been To Oxford Town", "No Control", "The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction", "We Prick You" and "Strangers When We Meet" are good to great, and if Bowie wants to revisit this recording he could use these as stock to help make Outside an all-around winner.