After spending several years with Ruf Records, in October 2007 it was announced that Walter Trout had re-signed with Provogue Records (with which he had previously worked throughout much of the 1990s), in the label's first worldwide distribution deal.[2] After completing the Full Circle touring cycle at the end of 2007, Trout and his band announced the addition of drummer Michael Leasure to the lineup in January 2008, replacing Joey Pafumi.[3] Due to the timing of the change in personnel, Trout worked with session drummer Kenny Aronoff for The Outsider, with Leasure appearing as a backing vocalist on two tracks.[4] Bassist Rick Knapp and keyboardist Sammy Avila, the other two members of Walter Trout and the Radicals, are also featured on select tracks, although the majority feature James "Hutch" Hutchinson in place of Knapp.[4]
Recording for The Outsider took place between February 4 and February 17, 2008.[1] Aronoff's drums tracks were recorded within the first four days of sessions.[4] A press release for the album outlined the themes of the album: "As the title implies, The Outsider is a thought-provoking collection of songs that shows [Trout's] true diversity. Often being pegged "too blues for rock" and "too rock for blues", Trout stays true to his belief that genres exists only for the critics."[5] Speaking about whether the record is a concept album, Trout conceded that "I guess so, though it didn't start off that way", agreeing that the songs are about "characters, people, and different eras".[4]
Media response to The Outsider was positive. In a four-star review published by AllMusic, Ronnie D. Lankford Jr. praised the album for its "eclecticism within the blues-rock tradition", which he suggested "shows Trout's range ... [and] prevents one musical style from becoming too dominant".[1] Pete Feenstra of Get Ready to Rock! praised the quality of Trout's songwriting on the album, as well as the sequencing and production, concluding his five-star review by stating that "He may seem himself as an 'outsider' but this album offers further evidence that Walter Trout is very much at the centre of the best blues rock out there."[8] In a retrospective feature titled "The Walter Trout albums you should definitely own" for Classic Rock magazine, Henry Yates selected The Outsider as one of Trout's nine best albums.[9]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Walter Trout; track 13 co-written by Rick Knapp
The Outsider track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Welcome to the Human Race"
5:56
2.
"The Next Big Thing"
4:29
3.
"All My Life"
4:00
4.
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Bluesrock"
6:15
5.
"Don't Wanna Fall"
5:36
6.
"Child of Another Day"
6:25
7.
"Turn Your Eyes to Heaven"
4:08
8.
"The Restless Age"
4:11
9.
"Gone Too Long"
5:53
10.
"A Matter of the Heart"
5:41
11.
"Can't Have It All"
6:09
12.
"Sanjay"
4:34
13.
"The Outsider"
5:08
Total length:
68:25
Personnel
Musicians
Walter Trout – lead and backing vocals,[a] electric and acoustic guitars
