Search - Gary Numan :: Outland

In defense for a great album

Said Head | MN, USA | 11/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I honestly really enjoy this album: it's funk, industrial, pop, and new wave all mixed into a clever sound almost nothing of which Numan has created before or since. And a message for "Guitar Lord": if the only thing about an album you like is the cover, you probably should just stay clear from music you have to think about.



Some may argue that this is just repetitive funk track after the next that seems at first tedious, but Numan seemed to really want to stick to a singular sound, which he does quite well. The album is sort of divided into three different kinds of sounds: funky upbeat tracks with strong industrial noise and percussion; ambient instrumentals (intervals); and airy ballads.



This is Numan's very first all-created by Numan album; he did the producing, writing, engineering, etc. all on his own, which marks a very important stage in his career. While his earlier album, Metal Rhythm, feels very mislead as far as style and genre, this one takes the essence of what he'd been doing for the last half decade and creates an aggressive, yet still very isolated and paranoid, funk journey (yeah, it is a weird album). Many of the tracks use clips from sci-fi films (I think mainly Blade Runner, which he's used in the past) to help accompany the futuristic sound.



The upbeat tracks are pretty similar, sure, but that's the point. The intervals are eerie, and I wish they were longer, but oh well. The ballads are actually quite good, and while I dislike ballads for all their cheesiness and lack of artistry, the ones on here are good listens.



Altogether, this album is one of the most unique in Numan's catalogue, and not one to miss for big fans. I think even getting to hear this once for more casual fans would be a good treat.



And if you do decide you like this album, try finding the instrumental album 'Human', which Numan created right before this for the film 'The Unborn'. Outland and Machine + Soul both borrow a good deal of music from Human, and it's fun to hear how some of these ideas developed."