Philip Rambow

The Rebel Kind: Anthology (1972-2020)

CHERRY RED

Canadian survivor comprehensively surveyed.

Born in Canada, but part of both the early New York new wave and British pub rock scenes, Philip Rambow went solo after his foolishly named theatrical pub-rock band The Winkies split following a stint as Brian Eno’s backing group and a flop Guy Stevens-produced album. The Rebel Kind details what happened next.

The major-label pair of 1979’s Shooting Gallery and 1981’s Jungle Law are here in full, as is his unlikely post-prostate cancer rebirth, 2015’s Whatever Happened To Phil Rambow?, where Nothing Is Sacred is surely the first time Charles Bukowski, Albert Camus, One Direction and Kim Kardashian are mentioned in the same song. They’re all treats demanding re-discovery.

There’s a platoon of extras: three fiery demos alongside Mick Ronson; an early take on There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis, the hit Rambow co-wrote with Kirsty MacColl, and two tracks from his fourth album, this year’s Canadiana. The hook-drenched, punchy Mansion On The Hill, Jessica, Fallen and The Pursuit Of Happiness show a man with a voice as capable of spitting out bile as crooning rueful romance, and the whole package makes the fact that Rambow so completely missed the boat more baffling still. ■■■■■■■■■■