Nuggets II: Touch by The Outsiders

Before he formed Tax Free and ran into tax problems, Wally Tax was the lead vocalist for The Outsiders.

Touch—The Outsiders

• Track 91, disc 4
• Year: 1966
• From: Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

8/10

More about Nuggets II

Credits

4/10. TOUCH – The Outsiders (NL)
(Wally Tax/Ronald Splinter)

PERSONNEL/WALLY TAX: vocals, harmonica * RONALD SPLINTER: lead guitar * TOM KRABBENDAM: rhythm guitar * APPIE RAMMERS: bass * LENNART “BUZZ” BUSCH: drums
Produced by JOHN B. VAN SETTEN
Recorded in Amsterdam, Holland
Relax single #45016 (1966) [Netherlands]

The Outsiders

The Outsiders formed in Amsterdam in 1964. Wally Tax and Ronald Splinter were school friends, and the band started a four-night-a-week residency at a local club, even though the members were only 15.

The Outsiders were part of the Nederbeat movement, alongside Golden Earring and Shocking Blue. But they were tougher than their contemporaries, influenced by The Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things.

The group’s unique sound had a real emotional depth, embodied by the expressive vocals of Wally Tax and the uniquely creative songwriting team of Tax and Ronald Splinter. Their music absorbed and reflected a broad range of influences–including The Pretty Things, The Byrds, Tim Hardin, Jacques Brel, and Eastern and Northern European folk traditions–while the band’s musically unschooled members approached their instruments in an entirely instinctive way that often gave their records a strange, off-kilter feel.

Mike Stax, Nuggets II liner notes

They released a series of singles and albums in the mid-1960s, before falling out of favour in the Summer of Love.

Touch

‘Touch’ was written by Tax and Splinter. It’s a taut, bluesy garage rocker. It’s effective – Tax is charismatic, and the band gets a lot of dynamic range out of a four-piece arrangement. ‘Touch’ is pitched somewhere between Them and the early Rolling Stones.

The Aftermath

Wally Tax formed the band Tax Free in 1969 – he invited Ronnie Splinter to join, but Splinter didn’t enjoy the softer music.

Wally asked me to try playing with Tax Free, but I did not like the music. I tried one time to rehearse with Tax Free. It was too soft, and it gave me a miserable feeling. I saw Jody Purpora sitting on the floor playing his guitar, singing about misery and broken love. It was too much. My ego was too small, and I left and did not touch my guitar for about 20 years.

Ronnie Splinter, Psychedelic Baby Mag

Tax died young – he struggled with tax problems in later life, as well as the grief of losing his long-term partner to a prolonged battle with cancer.

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• Nuggets II Song by Song
• 1960s Album Reviews