Outsider (Roger Taylor album)

Outsider is the sixth studio album by English musician Roger Taylor, best known as the drummer of British rock band Queen, which was released on 1 October 2021. A homonymous solo tour ran from 2 October to 22 October 2021.[4] The album was inspired by COVID-19 lockdowns.[3]

Outsider
Studio album by
Released1 October 2021 (2021-10-01)
GenreRock
Length47:02
Label
Producer
Roger Taylor chronology
Fun on Earth
(2013)
Outsider
(2021)
Singles from Outsider
  1. "Gangsters Are Running This World"
    Released: 8 April 2019
  2. "Isolation"
    Released: 22 June 2020
  3. "We're All Just Trying to Get By"
    Released: 27 August 2021
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash6/10[2]
Classic Rock[3]

Content

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Some of the tracks on the album are re-recordings of Taylor's previous tracks. "Absolutely Anything" is another version of Taylor's theme for the 2015 film of the same name, while "Foreign Sand" is presented as a new acoustic "English mix" of Taylor's 1994 single composed by Yoshiki. "Journey's End" was originally released as a single in 2017, and is presented in a "2021 mix" on the album.[3] Taylor's 2019 single "Gangsters Are Running This World", written about Russian president Vladimir Putin and Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro,[2] is presented in two versions, with the "purple version" a more "aggressive" take on the track.[3]

Tour

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In October 2021 Taylor embarked on a fourteen date tour across the UK. It started on the 2nd October 2021 at the O2 Academy Newcastle before wrapping up on the 22nd October 2021 at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire London. Prior to the tour Taylor said “For some time now, we’ve all just been trying to get by. Now, it’s back to the basics, myself and some great musical pals getting back out there to play some rock. Obviously we’ll include some of the Queen classic catalogue, and some of my earlier solo work, but we’ll also be introducing them to some of the new stuff. So we hope folks are going to come on down.”[5] Taylor also announced a live album to be released on the 30th September 2022 featuring live recordings of the Outsider tour.

Track listing

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Outsider track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Tides"3:39
2."I Know, I Know, I Know"3:51
3."More Kicks (Long Day's Journey into Night... Life)"4:56
4."Absolutely Anything"5:04
5."Gangsters Are Running This World"4:04
6."We're All Just Trying to Get By" (featuring KT Tunstall)2:52
7."Gangsters Are Running This World" (purple version)2:37
8."Isolation"3:24
9."The Clapping Song"2:55
10."Outsider"3:41
11."Foreign Sand" (English mix)3:01
12."Journey's End" (2021 mix)6:58
Total length:47:02

Charts

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Chart performance for Outsider
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[6] 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[7] 165
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[8] 98
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] 64
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 24
Irish Albums (IRMA)[11] 81
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[12] 70
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[13] 59
Scottish Albums (OCC)[14] 3
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[15] 90
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 3

References

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  1. ^ "Outsider by Roger Taylor Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b Godfrey, Hayden (30 September 2021). "Roger Taylor – Outsider | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Aizlewood, John (1 October 2021). "Roger Taylor achieves unexpected solo career high on the moving Outsider". Classic Rock. Retrieved 5 October 2021 – via Loudersound.
  4. ^ "Roger Taylor Announces UK Solo Tour and New Album 'Outsider'". Queenonline.com. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  5. ^ Krol, Charlotte (2021-06-01). "Queen's Roger Taylor announces 2021 UK solo tour". NME. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  6. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Roger Taylor – Outsider" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Ultratop.be – Roger Taylor – Outsider" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Ultratop.be – Roger Taylor – Outsider" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Roger Taylor – Outsider" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Roger Taylor – Outsider" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 8 October 2021". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2021/10/06 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  13. ^ "ロジャー・テイラー". Oricon. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Discos Más Vendidos en España". El Portal de Música. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Roger Taylor – Outsider". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2021.