Outrider (album)

Outrider is an album by Jimmy Page, released by Geffen Records on 20 June 1988. It is his only solo studio album and the first time since 1969 he recorded with a record label other than Atlantic Records/Swan Song Records. Page recorded the music at his personal studio The Sol. Robert Plant guests on one track, "The Only One", while John Bonham's son Jason plays drums.

Outrider
Cover photography by Peter Ashworth
Studio album by Jimmy Page
Released	20 June 1988 (1988-06-20)[1]
Recorded	Early 1987
Studio	The Sol, Cookham, Berkshire, England
Genre	Blues rock, instrumental rock, hard rock
Length	39:50
Label	Geffen
Producer	Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page chronology
Mean Business (1986) Outrider (1988) Coverdale–Page (1993)

This was originally intended to be a two album release. However, during the early recording stages of this album, Page's house was broken into and amongst the items stolen were the demo tapes which had been recorded up to that point.^[2] Page did not record any demos prior to recording the album itself.^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Chicago Tribune	Unfavorable[5]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	4/10[6]
Kerrang!	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Spin	Favorable[9]

The album reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200 chart,^[10] also peaking at No. 27 on the UK Album Chart.^[11] The Globe and Mail determined that "Outrider is a mixed bag, ripe with snakelike blues riffs and Page's impeccable use of textures, but hampered by mediocre songwriting."^[12]

Years later, Jimmy Page reflected on the album in rather positive terms:

Outrider's all right. It's demo-like compared with those overproduced albums that came out at the time. It didn't do very well—doesn't matter—but I did tour. I was playing music on that tour going right back to The Yardbirds. Jason [Bonham] was the drummer on that tour.^[13]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Wasting My Time"	Page, John Miles	John Miles	4:28
2.	"Wanna Make Love"	Page, Miles	John Miles	5:20
3.	"Writes of Winter"	Page	Instrumental	3:27
4.	"The Only One"	Page, Robert Plant	Robert Plant	4:27
5.	"Liquid Mercury"	Page	Instrumental	3:04

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
6.	"Hummingbird"	Leon Russell	Chris Farlowe	5:22
7.	"Emerald Eyes"	Page	Instrumental	3:20
8.	"Prison Blues"	Page, Chris Farlowe	Chris Farlowe	7:10
9.	"Blues Anthem (If I Cannot Have Your Love...)"	Page, Farlowe	Chris Farlowe	3:24

Personnel

Musicians

• Jimmy Page – guitars, synthesizer, backing vocals, production
• Tony Franklin – bass guitar on track 1
• Felix Krish – bass guitar on tracks 4, 5 and 7–9
• Durban Laverde – bass guitar on tracks 2, 3 and 6
• Chris Farlowe – lead vocals on tracks 6, 8 and 9
• John Miles – lead vocals on tracks 1 and 2
• Robert Plant – lead vocals on track 4
• Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion on tracks 5 and 7
• Jason Bonham – drums, percussion on tracks 1–4, 6 and 8–9

Technical

• Peter Ashworth – photography
• Dick Beetham – assistant engineering
• Steve Hoyland – assistant engineering
• JL – artwork and cover co-ordination
• George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York
• Leif Mases – engineering, mixing

Charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	25
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15]	25
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[16]	12
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17]	50
Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[18]	22
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19]	22
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20]	28
UK Albums (OCC)[21]	27
US Billboard 200[22]	26

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Kerrang!	UK	Albums of 1988[24]	1988	16

Tour

Date	City	Country	Venue
2 September 1988	Miami	United States	Miami Arena
6 September 1988	Atlanta		The Omni
8 September 1988	Miami		James L. Knight Center
9 September 1988	Tampa		USF Sun Dome
11 September 1988	Houston		The Summit
14 September 1988	Austin		Frank Erwin Center
16 September 1988	El Paso		UTEP Special Events Center
17 September 1988	Mesa		Mesa Amphitheatre
23 September 1988	Dallas		Coca-Cola Starplex
24 September 1988	New Orleans		Municipal Auditorium
7 October 1988	Los Angeles		LA Forum
8 October 1988	San Diego		SDSU State Theatre
11 October 1988	Oakland		Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
14 October 1988	Kansas City		Memorial Hall
16 October 1988	Bloomington		Met Center
17 October 1988	Chicago		UIC Pavilion
19 October 1988	Cleveland		Public Auditorium
21 October 1988	Dayton		Hara Arena
22 October 1988	Detroit		Joe-Louis Arena
25 October 1988	Rochester		Rochester Arena War Memorial
26 October 1988	East Rutherford		Brendan Byrne Arena
28 October 1988	Uniondale		Nassau Colisuem
29 October 1988	Worcester		Worcester Centrum
30 October 1988	Philadelphia		The Spectrum
3 November 1988	New Haven		Veterans Memorial Coliseum
4 November 1988	Syracuse		Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
5 November 1988	Troy		RPI Fieldhouse
8 November 1988	Landover		Capital Center
9 November 1988	Pittsburgh		Syria Mosque
11 November 1988	Portland		Cumberland County Civic Center
12 November 1988	New York		The Ritz
13 November 1988
UK
21 November 1988	Birmingham	United Kingdom	The Hummingbird
23 November 1988	Newcastle		Newcastle City Hall
24 November 1988	London		Hammersmith Odeon
25 November 1988
26 November 1988	Manchester		Manchester Apollo

See also

• Celebration Day
• The Honeydrippers
• Page and Plant