With this effort, we have a collection of songs recorded between 1993 and 1998, the result is a typical consistent album from The Outfield, it’s like they’ve never been away.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: The Outfield
ALBUM: It Ain’t Over
LABEL: Warning Tracks (Self Released)
YEAR: 1998
CD INFO: Discogs Info List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: England
LINEUP: Tony Lewis – vocals, bass * John Spinks – guitars * Simon Dawson – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Kiss The Rain * 02 Girl Of Mine * 03 It Ain’t Over * 04 Midnight Moves * 05 Dance (The Night Away) * 06 Lay Down * 07 Slow Motion * 08 My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend * 09 Talking ’bout Us * 10 It’s A Crime * 11 Chic Lorraine * 12 Out To Lunch
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Here we are, some twelve years after the golden period of US radio where The Outfield ruled supreme. These guys had the perfect foil for radio as a three-piece, but oddly enough they were English and sounded more Americanised than their Yankee counterparts.
They had a series of great albums, which were predominant during the mid-late 80’s of which ‘Play Deep’ and ‘Voice Of Babylon’ in particular were seriously good. I suppose if comparisons were to be handed out, then an AOR commercial version of The Police mixed in with a bit of John Parr is probably an apt description.
Lewis’ vocals has a definite ‘Sting’ influence but the music is probably a bit over-produced rather than the stripped back sound of The Police. Fine by me. With this effort, we have a collection of songs recorded between 1993 and 1998, and it was a return to the fore for Messrs Lewis and co, who were persuaded to get something happening again, after receiving interest from fans across the Internet as well as radio.
The result is a typical consistent Outfield album, it’s like they’ve never been away. To me Tony Lewis’ vocals are better than ever, and the sound is outrageously 1985 being played and released in 1998! Wow talk about retro!
The Songs
‘Kiss The Rain’ welcomes us to some glorious rich melodic rock, which begs the question ‘who needs a vocal chorus when Lewis can do it all himself?’ This rich vein continues with ‘Girl Of Mine’, ‘Midnight Moves’, and ‘Talking ‘Bout Us’. There’s a slight modern 90’s feel scattered on tracks such as ‘It’s A Crime’ as well as ‘Out To Lunch’ but for the most part it’s trademark Outfield material that feels comfortable as much as it does feel familiar.
In Summary
Check out the website and give these guys some encouragement to get out there and carry on where they left off. It’s great to have them back!
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
