Outland (Gary Numan album)

Outland
Studio album by Gary Numan
Released March 1991
Recorded Outland Studio, 1990
Genre Funk, pop rock, synthpop, industrial rock, new wave
Length 43:25
Label IRS, EMI
Producer Gary Numan
Gary Numan chronology

Automatic
(1989)		 Outland
(1991)		 Machine + Soul
(1992)
Singles from Outland
  1. "Heart"
    Released: 16 March 1991
  2. "My World Storm"
    Released: June 1991 (US-only)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Outland is the thirteenth studio album by electro-pop pioneer[2] Gary Numan, released in 1991. It was Numan's second and last studio album to be released by IRS Records. It reached Number 39 on the UK charts. The songs "Heart" and "My World Storm" were released as singles; "Heart" charted at Number 43, while "My World Storm" eventually became a US-only promo single after a planned UK release was shelved due to the inner turmoil at the label around the release of the album. The latter however reached Number 46 on the US dance chart.

Overview

Musically, Outland maintained previous albums' synth-pop/dance-funk style, which would continue until the artist's 1994 industrial album Sacrifice. The electro-jazz stylings of Outland are reminiscent of Numan's 1989 collaboration album with Bill Sharpe, Automatic, although its dystopian lyrics are more typical of Numan's solo work. Outland could almost be described as a concept album, as its songs share common themes and (in the case of the tracks "Confession" and "From Russia Infected") common musical and lyrical motifs. Indeed, Outland features more overt references to science-fiction than any other album Numan has released. The album features many vocal samples from notable sci-fi/action movies of the 1980s, including Blade Runner, The Terminator, Aliens and Predator (the title of Outland itself may be a reference to the 1981 science fiction film of the same name). The instrumental interludes on Outland add to the album's cinematic atmosphere. Of the album, Numan recalled:

“ The American producers Jam and Lewis were a big influence on Outland. I thought their grooves were extremely clever...Perhaps I should've taken the percussion thing and added something else to it, but my songwriting followed the black funk/dance/rock style as well. It wasn't entirely what my fans had been hoping for, although some thought it was one of my best albums. Being so involved, and responsible, for virtually every aspect of it, from writing to production to engineering, I felt it was a very personal record. By mastering the technology I was able to get closer to the sounds in my head.[3] ”

Numan's "Outland Tour" was originally scheduled for September 1990, but a lightning storm caused damage to Numan's recording studio, delaying the album and postponing the 14-date tour until March 1991. Due to the delay, the planned WORLD tour and budget for the stage set didn't materialise from the label, with inner Turmoil and artists been dropped from the label by the time the UK tour commenced. In September-October 1991, Numan embarked on the 19-date "Emotion Tour" (the first show was performed in Belgium; the rest were in the UK). To date, no official live albums or videos have been released from Numan's 1991 tours.

There are rumored to be three versions of the album completed, as Numan struggled to have a musical relationship with I.R.S. who were at this time constantly trying to influence his musical direction. The original album was to feature a PRINCE cover "1999", which was a compromise with the label, this was eventually dropped for a new track, "Soul Protection".

After the album's commercial failure, Numan was dropped by the label and shortly after returned to his own label Numa Records (through which Numan had released three studio albums between 1984 and 1986). Numan released two more studio albums through Numa, Machine + Soul in 1992 and Sacrifice in 1994, before shutting down the label permanently.

Track listing

All songs written by Gary Numan.

All timings are approximate and will vary slightly with different equipment.

1991 IRS CD release (EIRSACD 1039)

  1. "(Interval 1)" – 1:13
  2. "Soul Protection" – 3:36
  3. "Confession" – 4:17
  4. "My World Storm" – 3:43
  5. "Dream Killer" – 4:22
  6. "Dark Sunday" – 4:02
  7. "Outland" – 4:05
  8. "Heart" – 4:06
  9. "(Interval 2)" – 0:19
  10. "From Russia Infected" – 4:30
  11. "(Interval 3)" – 0:39
  12. "Devotion" – 4:13
  13. "Whisper" – 4:20

1999 EMI reissue (7243 5 21405 2 7)

  1. "(Interval 1)" – 1:13
  2. "Soul Protection" – 3:36
  3. "Confession" – 4:17
  4. "My World Storm" – 3:43
  5. "Dream Killer" – 4:22
  6. "Dark Sunday" – 4:02
  7. "Outland" – 4:05
  8. "Heart" – 4:06
  9. "(Interval 2)" – 0:19
  10. "From Russia Infected" – 4:30
  11. "(Interval 3)" – 0:39
  12. "Devotion" – 4:13
  13. "Whisper" – 4:20
  14. "Shame" - 4:48
  15. "Icehouse" - 3:19
  16. "Tread Careful" - 4:14
  17. "My World Storm (US Promo Mix)" - 5:45
  18. "My World Storm (Alternative Mix)" - 3:41

Notes

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Outland - Gary Numan at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Conmy, Mick "Gary Numan review" BBC Oxford. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Praying to the Aliens: An Autobiography by Gary Numan with Steve Malins. (1997, André Deutsch Limited), pp.227-228