FlashBack! - The Tubes - Outside Inside (1983) (album stream)

Outside Inside is a 1983 release on Capitol Records by The Tubes. The album was produced by David Foster.

The Tubes had their biggest radio hit with the single "She's a Beauty".


Review by Dave Connolly for allmusic.com

Another bit of clever packaging outside (the record label featured an iris that appeared through a cutout on the sleeve) and inside, where producer David Foster and even more members of Toto help the Tubes punch up their new radio-ready sound with added energy.

If their last record showed a newfound dancefloor sensibility, Outside Inside is absolutely funky. There are plenty of over-the-top arena pop numbers on here, including the hit "She's a Beauty," "No Not Again," and "Tip of My Tongue." Yet with so many cooks in the kitchen, the record is peppered with some strange entries, like "Wild Women of Wongo," "Drums," and "Outside Looking Inside."

Maybe the Tubes were trying to exorcise their own artistic demons, the better to play a song like "Fantastic Delusion" or "The Monkey Time" with a clear conscience. Outside Inside is definitely a party record, which is fine, except that the Tubes were never a party band (after all, their most radio-friendly album to date, The Completion Backward Principle, was still pretty dark).

The change in direction will probably alienate old fans, just as it clearly attracted new ones (the record reached the U.S. Top 20). If you enjoyed their hits from the '80s (e.g., "Talk to You Later," "She's a Beauty"), this is the album to own.



Track listing

Side 1
"She's a Beauty" (Foster, Waybill, Lukather) – 4:01
"No Not Again" (Tubes) – 3:28
"Out of the Business" (Tubes) – 3:30
"The Monkey Time" (Curtis Mayfield, Tubes) – 3:54
"Glass House" (Tubes) – 3:31

Side 2
"Wild Women of Wongo" (Tubes) – 3:57
"Tip of My Tongue" (M. White, M. Snyder) – 3:58
"Fantastic Delusion" (Tubes) – 3:54
"Drums" (Tubes) – 2:21
"Theme Park" (Tubes) – 3:13
"Outside Lookin' Inside" (Tubes) - 0:57

Facts
Martha Davis from The Motels appears as a guest vocalist on "The Monkey Time."

Martha Davis' vocal performance on "The Monkey Time" was replaced by Michele Gray on the Capitol CD reissue of Outside Inside. Gray was one of The Tubes principal dancers from 1983-1985, and later married the long-term Tubes collaborator Todd Rundgren.

Personnel
Maurice White
Rick Anderson
Patti Austin - Background vocals
Stacy Baird - Producer, Engineer
Bob Bullock - Assistant Engineer
Bill Burks - Contribution
Bill Champlin - Background vocals
David Cole - Engineer
Michael Cotten - Synthesizer
Martha Davis - Vocals
Nathan East - Bass
Larry Ferguson - Assistant Engineer
Chuck Finley - Horn
David Foster - Keyboards, Producer
Tom Fouce - Assistant Engineer
Humberto Gatica - Engineer, Mixing
Gary Grant - Horn
Jay Graydon
Gary Herbig - Horn
Jerry Hey - Arranger, Horn
James Newton Howard - Keyboards
Gregg Jampol - Assistant Engineer
Howard Johnston - Assistant Engineer
Ken Kessie - Engineer
Bobby Kimball - Background vocals
Dennis Kirk - Engineer
Jeff Kliment - Assistant Engineer
Paul Knotter - Collaboration
Roy Kohara - Art Direction
Greg Ladanyi - Mixing
Jack Leahy - Engineer
Mingo Lewis - Percussion
Steve Lukather - Guitar
George Massenburg - Mixing
Jim McCrary - Photography
Marnie Moore - Assistant Engineer
David Paich - Keyboards
Steve Porcaro - Keyboards
Prairie Prince - Drums, Producer, Art Direction
Bill Reichenbach Jr. - Horn
Barbara Rooney - Assistant Engineer
Bill Spooner - Guitar, Vocals
Roger Steen - Guitar, Vocals
Freddy Washington - Guitar
Fee Waybill - Vocals, Mixing
Jim Welch - Contribution
Vince Welnick - Keyboards
David Williams - Bass
Larry Williams - Horn
Gene Wooley - Assistant Engineer

Links
http://www.thetubes.com
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-tubes-p5708
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tubes
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Tubes
http://www.billspooner.com
http://www.thetubesproject.com
http://www.prairieprince.com