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THE OUTSIDERS
Strange Things Are Happening/Singles As & Bs (RPM/Bam Caruso)
Reviewed by Alan Wright
The Strange Things CD is one of two compilations by this sadly underrated and still cult-ish Dutch band. It's a fab collection of all the Dutch Outsiders' singles from 1965's blazing "You Mistreat Me" to the cool 13th Floor Elevators-ish sound of their last single from 1969, "Do You Feel Allright." In between are fantastic songs like the folk-rock "Suns Going Down" and "Lying All The Time" to the more R&B-ish "That's Your Problem." The Outsiders were a truly unique band, covering a wide range of '60s sounds, all cool. They were just as adept at beat-punk sounds as they were at folky ballads and psychedelia. Sometimes they managed all those sounds in one song. In the last few years, there have been CD reissues of their rockin' first album and groundbreaking psych masterpiece C.Q., as well as an entire double set of C.Q. outtakes and alternatives. This collection tidies up the loose ends of their singles-only cuts, and includes such gems as "I'm Only Trying To Prove That I'm Not Like Everybody Else," and the different singles mixes of songs like "You Remind Me" and "I Don't Care." Really excellent liner notes, too.
The double CD set has more music on it (duh!), including lead singer Wally Tax's solo singles from 1967-76 and five more Outsiders rarities. So, you get all the songs that are on the Strange Things CD, plus four songs from a rare 1994 EP of outtakes which includes an alternate version of "Lying All The Time," plus "Talk To Me," "If You Don't Treat Me Right" and "I Want To Know." Lastly is the rare "Me Song," previously released on a rare flexidisc that came with some fanzine in '94. So, which one to get kinda depends on how much Outsiders you want. Tax's solo work was different from the Outsiders, more heavily orchestrated, sometimes delving into territory that makes him sound not unlike Neil Diamond (!) and sometimes sounding a little too "cabaret" for my personnel taste. That's not to say all his solo stuff isn't worth checking out, but the quality is not as strong as the Outsiders. I do like his 1967 single "I Sat and Thought and Wondered Why" a lot, as well as the bluesy "Take Me For What I Am" from 1973. The disco-ish "This Girl Is Mine" from 1975 is definitely a low point, though the flipside, the clarinet driven, reggae-ish "No Love At All" is pretty cool.
© 2003 - Alan Wright