Outside - Deniz Tek

Label:	Red Eye Records
Released:	1994
Highlights:	Blood From A Stone Day To Ride Dozen On Ice Condition Black Outside
Rating:	8.5/10

For his second solo album, Outside, Deniz Tek joined up with the Celibate Rifles' Kent Steedman and Nick Reith on guitar and drums respectively as well as with Jim Dickson on bass and old cohort Pip Hoyle on clavier. For many people Outside was a welcome return to form after the surprisingly mellow nature of his first album, Take It To The Vertical. To me Outside comes across as a continuation of the Visitors album Deniz recorded back in 1979, both musically and lyrically. The mood of Outside is quite bleak yet positive, dealing with how the human spirit over comes adversity. Both Tek's and Steedman's guitar playing is impressive and powerful, biting like the ice cold wind on your face. The songs themselves range from out and out rockers, such as Blood From A Stone, Dozen On Ice and the great Condition Black to more brooding and bluesy tracks such as Waiting, Give It Up and Walking. However, the highlight of Outside is undoubtably the title track. If you don?t drown under the tidal wave of feedback then Nick Reith's drums will pummel you into submission. This leaves the final track, Sailor's Hymn, sounding like a quiet moment of reflection after surviving a monster storm. The only thing I find disappointing about this album is Deniz's singing, which tends to be bit too flat, especially on the slower songs. Nevertheless, Outside dispels the myth that Deniz's solo work is inferior and disappointing.

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