Dig Deep: The Outsiders – Calling On Youth – Raw Edge (1977)

The Outsiders – Start Over
The Outsiders – Calling On Youth
The Outsiders – Break Free

First heard this last Summer during a quick jaunt to New Orleans, mainly just to buy records. The very first store I went to was Domino Records, and while I was there the clerk started playing this album. What really grabbed my attention was how very unpunk, especially for late 1970s UK punk, many of the songs were. On the first side especially, almost every other song was in a slower, moody and more introspective style. By the time I heard “Start Over” at the end of the first side, I knew this was record I needed to track down and asked about it.

The Outsiders were started up by Adrian Borland, who went on to more acclaim with The Sounds and on his own before tragically committing suicide by throwing himself in front of a train in 1999. This album, the debut for the band and Borland, was recorded at their family home by his father and released on their own label. It’s a raw sound and in some ways the slower and moodier tracks are even rawer than the “punk” ones. It’s clear even at this early stage that the depression that would ultimately would rob us of Borland was heavy on his mind. As someone who deals with depression personally, there’s a lot that I can relate to in a song like “Start Over.” Borland’s style and talents sharpened after this earliest moment, but I’m not sure if there’s anything that’s better than the purity that comes through in these songs.

Cheers,

Michael