Search - Jimmy Page :: Outrider

Bargain Bin Treasure - Jimmy Page's Outrider

Peter Walenta | Long Island, New York USA | 07/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When the world appears to be totally messed up, the tough turn on, drop out and tune in to music. Now it sure don't bother me none what gets ya through the night, and it don't make a lot a diff'rence as to what grooves ya, but the blues sure grooves me at times like this. So when I went rummaging through the bargain bin at my local used record store a few weeks ago and found "Outrider" by Jimmy Page for less that a pint of Jack Daniels, I scarfed it up right away. After stripping the shrink wrap off and plopping the shiny metal disc into my mobile cd changer, I cranked it to five (but what's numbers...it was way loud, dig)?



What I heard is simply the best 40 minutes of blues drenched heavy rock that's gotten my attention in a long time. This record never received much airplay when it was released back in September 1988, because there were a slew of Zeppelin imitators that had gotten onto the radio first. So when the real thing arrived in the form of a Jimmy Page solo album, with special guests Jason Bonham and Robert Plant, the radio folks said, nah, it's not commercial enough. The record charted and then fell like an iron dirgible, or something like that. The result was that the record has and continues to languish in bargain bins all over the Western Hemisphere. But give credit to the wonderful folks at Geffen who released it in the first place and who are now doing us a favor, by cutting the price to, "rock bottom" to get the, er "lead" out of their inventory, so to speak.



I had heard some of the record 18 years ago on cassette, but it didn't hit me how good it is until now. Most of the old Zep themes are revisited including wasting time, makin' love, and yes a song entitled "Prison Blues" (How ironic in light of recent world events involving blonde wannabe celebrities, eh). If you want guitar riffs that totally cut AC/DC, Jimmy Page was the man and on this album he really outdid himself reworking riffs and ideas he carved into rock riff legend on 'Led Zeppelin I' and 'In Through the Out Door'. Sadly, no music this good has been released by Jimmy since, in my humble opinion.



So trip out on this one and be sure to turn it up to really annoy your landlord or your passengers on your way to Chicago, or heaven or Kashmir."

21 years on, this is not to be overlooked

Paulo Alm | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 04/28/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When Jimmy Page disbanded The Firm late 1986 he started work on what would come to be Outrider. At first he had a double album in mind, each of the four sides covering rock, blues, acoustic, experimental. As it happened he unfortunately released it as a single album.

With Jason Bonham on drums on seven of the nine tracks - the other two featuring Barrymore Barlow - he was definitely focused on the project, after all it was his first proper solo album. The Firm had been a disappointment and he had to show himself he could still produce great music. And that's what he managed to accomplish - Outrider is not a classic by a small measure of creativity.

By using three singers - John Miles, Robert Plant & Chris Farlow - Jimmy brought versatility to the music, although ultimately this might've been its main flaw because it also created an inconsistency.

The three instrumental tracks, on the other hand, sound great on their own and they are worthy of Jimmy. Also worthy of credit is the production which makes the music sound live and strong - far from the terribly dated productions of the day.

So overall this is a great album that shouldn't be overlooked if you are a fan."

Page rules guitar!

Deimos | Alberta | 12/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great and sadly last solo effort from guitar hero Jimmy Page. Now that Zeppelin has reunited the world can be at ease. But if you want to hear an amazing piece of zeppelin style guitar magic this is for you."