Outside (1995)

Nothing if not ambitious, Outside hit at a point when we no longer expected this kind of thing from Bowie. A concept record detailing the anxiety of the approaching millennium — man, remember that? — Bowie built a massive mess of a story set in a near-future where murder is committed as an artistic act, and … who knows what else, really. Outside included a short story in the liner notes, and a half-dozen segue tracks are meant to clue us into the plot, but it makes no sense. Fortunately, the good songs are quite good, and the rambling bits don’t do too much to get in the way. This was to be the grand reunion between Bowie and former Berlin Trilogy collaborator Brian Eno. Like those earlier records, Outside is cobbled together from far-flung textures, but the influence of modern industrial a la Nine Inch Nails brings a hydraulic stomp to songs like “Hallo Spaceboy,” itself a pseudo-return to the tale of our long lost astronaut friend, Major Tom. Avant-garde pianist Mike Garson — most famous for his work on Aladdin Sane way back when — pops up after years out of the fold to push the songs even further from the confines of normality. Outside remains a solid record despite some bloat. Fun fact: fans of Paul Verhoeven’s science-fiction epic Starship Troopers might remember the in-movie live band playing “I Have Not Been to Paradise,” which is actually a re-titled cover of “I Have Not Been to Oxford Town” with altered lyrics. I guess this really was the music of the future.