Roger Taylor - 'Outsider' Album Review

Roger Meddows Taylor has been the drummer of rock band Queen since before it was so. In 1970, the band which had formerly been known as Smile and featured Taylor, guitarist Brian May and bassist/singer Tim Staffell, an interview with whom can be found here, morphed into Queen when Staffell left to join Humpy Bong, another band on the music scene, and Freddie Bulsara, soon to be Mercury, stepped up.

Taylor has released many solo albums and also albums with his band, The Cross, as well as playing on all Queen albums. His latest, 'Outsider', features Scottish musician KT Tunstall on one of the tracks, and artwork by his daughter, TigerLily Taylor, whose name was suggested by Freddie Mercury before his death in 1991.

The album opens with Tides, a song which I think is quite relaxing. I enjoyed it a great amount, and thought that the use of water as a musical technique was interesting and not often heard. The song however, sounds like it is always striving to reach its apex, which it never does, but the experimental nature of the song is amazing, and very clever.

I Know, I Know, I Know, is an interesting and catchy song with a strong beat that sweeps you up and moves your body along to the music. It is serene, though, and the combination of the energetic beat with the smooth nature is a winner.

The third song, More Kicks (Long Day's Journey Into Night... Life) is energetic and loud, and quite rowdy, however it features an epic guitar riff which is quite Brian May-esque, which lends the song a certain Queen-sound which I think will appeal to a lot of Taylor's fans as it is likely that they have come as a result of their love of the band and Taylor's unique drumming style.

Beautiful yet that is simple but not to its detriment, Absolutely Anything is a romantic song that has predictable lyrics and a sickeningly sweet track. I am confident that this can be referred to as the Marmite of the album 'Outsider' - you either love Absolutely Anything, or you hate it.

Released originally in 2019, the fifth song on the album is titled Gangsters Are Running This World, and I have been listening to it since it came out. I was surprised it was on this album as I did not expect it to be at all, and not for any good reason. it is an earworm, crawling inside and burrowing into your brain until you can't forget it, and you find yourself listening to it for days on end. It is one of the best songs on the album, I think.

Simple. Relatable. Beautiful. These are words that I would use to describe the sixth track of 'Outsider', entitled We're All Just Trying to Get By. This song features Scottish musician KT Tunstall on it, and she does a wonderful job of working alongside Taylor and his vocals, which are absolutely phenomenal despite the fact that he is getting on in years.

Gangsters Are Running This World (Purple Version) is different to the first song of this name on the album because it is more upbeat and lively. I preferred this version. It was hard and fast and uber awesome, though I am not sure what makes it a 'purple version'. When listening to this version of the song that I have enjoyed so long, all I can see is the opening sequence of a cop show, and this song being played over the top of it. It's amazing how a song can denote such imagery in my mind, and truly shows the power of music.

Isolation makes a show of a very country-sounding guitar melody, whilst featuring what I feel are very relatable lyrics for everybody. They tell how everybody is doing their best being stuck inside their houses, and so it is very obvious that Taylor penned this song during one of the lockdowns, for which I believe he was at his home in Cornwall.

A fresh retake on an old jump rope song, Taylor performs Clapping Song impeccably, and makes it into a song that will be played for many years to come. In truth, I think that this is an odd choice of song for a rock/pop album, but it is pulled off extremely well, and has a constant steady beat through it that is infectious.

The title track of the album, Outsider is possibly covid-inspired, as I believe a lot of songs on this album are, even if it is not totally obvious. I wanted to shout along to the words without even knowing them.

Foreign Sand (English Mix) is a calming, peaceful beautiful song that I am very fond of. I feel that it fits very nicely in on this album as whilst it is musically different to what has come before, somehow it is very similar. I adore it.

The final song, Journey's End (2021 Mix) is a song that I can only describe as weightless. Listening to it felt light and airy, as if I wasn't listening at all - not to say that it was insignificant or boring, but more that it was such a pleasant listen that it felt natural. I have never felt like this when listening to a song before, but I want to feel it more often. All artists should aspire to create this feeling through their music.

Roger Taylor's newest album, Outsider, is, to put it simply, an experience. Listening to it is like listening to myself - a lot of the emotions and thoughts conveyed in it regarding coronavirus and romance are what I feel, and whilst Taylor and myself have a large age gap between us, I feel that through this album we could be good friends. It is a relatable album that I absolutely love, and it is not often that I get to say I will listen to the whole thing without skipping a single track.