On This Day 1995: David Bowie Releases Ambitiously Complex 20th Studio Album ‘Outside’

On this day, September 25, 1995, David Bowie released his 20th studio album, 1. Outside (The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle), known commercially as Outside. Commercialization was the initial problem for Outside, which took experimental and often discordant turns. However, the album brought Bowie back together with Brian Eno, and the two composed the album throughout 1994.

Outside was inspired by Bowie and Eno’s interest in “outsider” concepts—underground musicians and artists, performance art, things beyond the mainstream. The album is crafted around the character of Detective Nathan Adler, who is investigating the murder of a 14-year-old girl in the fictional Oxford Town, New Jersey. Outside was heavily influenced by David Lynch’s 1990 series Twin Peaks, in which FBI Agent Dale Cooper investigates Laura Palmer’s mysterious death.

Outside is character-driven, with songs emanating from different perspectives and spoken-word segues providing more details. Initially, the album ran into some problems with the label, as it was considered more or less unmarketable. While David Bowie had never shied away from a complicated concept album, Outside is ambitious, discordant, often hard to listen to—and that’s after Bowie and Eno recorded more commercialized tracks.

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David Bowie’s 20th Album, Outside, is a Heavily-Influenced Concept About a Small-Town Detective

When it was released, Outside received mixed reviews from critics and fans. Many found it pretentious and hard to follow, which is a fair assessment if you’ve just given it a casual listen. The magic of Outside comes from its disjointed, often unsettling vocals, interludes, and multiple perspectives. While it peaked at No. 8 in the U.K., the first single, “The Hearts Filthy Lesson,” didn’t perform well. Still, Outside remains an interesting look into David Bowie’s fantastic brain.

According to Bowie, as quoted in an analysis from Dig!, the concept for Outside came from an improvised recording session. He said “almost the entire genesis for [Outside] is contained in those three and a half hours” where he and the band simply riffed. During that time, Bowie took on certain characters for five minutes at a time.

Bowie described the album as a “non-linear Gothic drama hyper-cycle,” which perfectly encapsulates an almost indescribable album. It’s complex and difficult to approach, but with works like that it’s best just to hold your nose and jump in feet first. Outside is a treat for David Bowie fans, David Lynch fans, Brian Eno fans, and all sorts of freaks in general.

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