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World Outside

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This article is about the Psychedelic Furs album. For other uses, see The World Outside.

World Outside
Studio album by
The Psychedelic Furs
Released1 July 1991[1]
Recorded1990−91
GenreAlternative rock, art rock, pop
LabelColumbia
ProducerStephen Street, the Psychedelic Furs
The Psychedelic Furs chronology
Book of Days
(1989) 		World Outside
(1991) 		Here Came the Psychedelic Furs: B Sides and Lost Grooves
(1994)

World Outside is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Psychedelic Furs, released 1 July 1991 by Columbia Records in the US.[2] It includes the single "Until She Comes", which hit No. 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart in September 1991.[3][4] "Don't Be a Girl" was the second single.[5]

Production

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Completed in seven weeks, the album was produced by Stephen Street and the band.[6][7] Knox Chandler contributed on guitar.[8] The three core band members tried to be more open to collaborating with the additional musicians, rather than always directing how songs should be played.[9] The band started recording a week after their tour for Book of Days ended, and used few overdubs.[10][11] Singer Richard Butler constructed lyrics that were more personal than on previous albums.[12] He decided to use cello on some tracks after growing tired of employing a saxophone.[13] "All About You" was edited down from two jams that totaled 30 minutes.[14]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Calgary HeraldD[15]
Chicago Tribune[16]
Los Angeles Times[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[19]
St. Petersburg Times[20]
Spin Alternative Record Guide3/10[21]

The Los Angeles Times wrote that "there is once more the bracing tension of understated melodic elegance scraping against understated musical discord."[17] The Ottawa Citizen determined that the band "maintains the most irresistible aspects of its art-rock sound including the melancholy underbelly, but it also focuses them into a commanding pop songs."[22] The Calgary Herald opined that "Richard sings wearily of romance in ruins... It's all so shoulder-shrugging boring."[15]

The Globe and Mail deemed the album "a crafty return to the edgy, intelligent rock of its earliest incarnation."[23] The Boston Globe called it "B-level pop songs."[24] The Vancouver Sun panned the "sameness in synth sounds, sameness in melodies, sameness in meter."[25] The Times concluded that "the album is leavened by a significantly keener sense of melody and somehow pulled into focus by the context of the times."[26]

The Wisconsin State Journal listed the album as one of the 10 best of 1991.[27]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by the Psychedelic Furs.

  1. "Valentine" – 4:47
  2. "In My Head" – 3:30
  3. "Until She Comes" – 3:50
  4. "Don't Be a Girl" – 3:46
  5. "Sometimes" – 4:14
  6. "Tearing Down" – 5:22
  7. "There's a World" – 4:45
  8. "Get a Room" – 3:45
  9. "Better Days" – 4:32
  10. "All About You" – 4:01

Personnel

[edit]
The Psychedelic Furs

Additional personnel

Charts

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Chart (1991) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[28] 108
UK Albums Chart[29] 68

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 29 June 1991. p. 12. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "World Outside overview". allmusic.com. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  3. ^ Burliuk, Greg (3 October 1991). "World Outside The Psychedelic Furs". Entertainment. The Kingston Whig-Standard. p. 1.
  4. ^ "'Until She Comes' - Chart History". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  5. ^ Eichenberger, Bill (12 December 1991). "Psychedelic Furs Back in Form". Features. The Columbus Dispatch. p. 88.
  6. ^ Fox, Barry (2 March 1992). "Psychedelic Furs fly high". The Patriot-News. p. C5.
  7. ^ "World Outside by The Psychedelic Furs". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 33. 17 August 1991. p. 68.
  8. ^ Shaw, Norman S. (6 September 1991). "P-Furs' new disc is strong effort". The Indianapolis Star. p. C7.
  9. ^ Blackstock, Peter (5 November 1991). "Furs' unearth identity". Austin American-Statesman. p. D6.
  10. ^ Sigworth, David (6 December 1991). "Furs brush off past instabilities". Weekend Guide. New Haven Register. p. 37.
  11. ^ Considine, J.D. (5 March 1992). "Psychedelic Furs restore a raw edge to their music". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1G.
  12. ^ Harrison, Tom (14 February 1992). "Psychedelic Furs on heartfelt tour". The Province. p. C25.
  13. ^ Harris, Paul A. (7 November 1991). "A Solid Core Makes Fur Fly Psychedelically". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 1E.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Justin (16 February 1992). "Psychedelic Furs Stripped to the Skin". Weekend. Rocky Mountain News. p. 138.
  15. ^ a b Muretich, James (1 September 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. D7.
  16. ^ Heim, Chris (31 October 1991). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  17. ^ a b Hochman, Steve (25 August 1991). "Record Rack". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. p. 67.
  18. ^ "The Psychedelic Furs: World Outside : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009.
  19. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 565.
  20. ^ Jacks, Jeff (4 October 1991). "The Psychedelic Furs World Outside". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 26.
  21. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 313–314.
  22. ^ Erskine, Evelyn (31 August 1991). "The Psychedelic Furs World Outside". Ottawa Citizen. p. F3.
  23. ^ "World Outside, The Psychedelic Furs". The Globe and Mail. 5 September 1991. p. C1.
  24. ^ Sullivan, Jim (6 September 1991). "Psychedelic Furs' surprise show turns into a yawner". Arts & Film. The Boston Globe. p. 26.
  25. ^ Potter, Greg (14 September 1991). "Pop/Rock". Vancouver Sun. p. D23.
  26. ^ Sinclair, David (28 June 1991). "Melancholia sounds modern". Features. The Times.
  27. ^ Kovalic, John (8 December 1991). "Holiday's Best Bets in Music". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 1I.
  28. ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing 12 August 1991". Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  29. ^ "Psychedelic Furs". Official Charts. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
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