First Thoughts Reviews: Canadiana by Philip Rambow

Arriving in London in the 70's, Philip Rambow spent a number of years hitting the thriving rock circuit with various bands before delivering two solo albums for EMI and gaining Radio 1 airplay for the single 'Dem Eyes' and Fallen' in the process. Philip has also authored hits for Canadian singer Nick Gilder and Ellen Foley, among others, while fronting semi-regular pub-rockers The Texas Pistols alongside Belmont, Watkins, Thomas and Loveday.

Canadiana is Rambow's debut with Fretsore Records, the label behind releases by My Darling Clementine and Lily Garland and follows on from 2015's 'What Happened to Phil Rambow?' On this album, Rambow aimed to put his own Canadian spin on a set of original songs that sit neatly in the catch-all ballpark of Americana, as seen through the eyes and written with the pen of a Montreal native, albeit one who's been holed up in the UK for years.

The Album begins with 'American Buffalo', a song heavy on classic style pedal steel guitar and a Honky Tonk beat; and 'Things are not looking good' , which despite it's title being uncertain and suggestive of a relatively sad song, it a quirky, playful track heavy on fiddle & about everything and anything that can go wrong.

'Out on your own' is a female led classic country heart-break duet. The lyrical content expresses feelings of past events & the ending of love between two people. I really like that this song is followed by the next track 'Get Even', which is almost a response to the song before - a quirky, upbeat, bluesy number that speaks of not being afraid to put yourself first; 'it's great to be loved, have something to believe... it's better to get even'.

'Oceans apart' is the second country music duet on the album however, this one is a real heart-felt cry for love and is accompanied by some beautiful instrumentation. The female vocal is wonderfully fitting for the song and really expresses the emotions that go with the lyrical content. Definitely my favourite on the album.

'Hard Times' talks of a 'day in the life'. A woman who has suffered with repeated heart-ache and getting to a point where it has all got too much; 'when she was done with that man, she was done for good'. An extremely sad reality unfortunately for some people but I want to encourage the reader to remember that we can get through those hard times and life gets better.

'Angel Everyday' is a classic country ballad that speaks of finding an Angel in life every day despite all the challenges we face. My understanding of this song is that this song may have a very personal meaning to the songwriter - 'my angel's perfect...she shines the light on my thoughts and words'.

The album ends with 'Devoted to you', a well rounded track to close the album that expresses a feeling of love and compassion for that special someone, regardless of the uneasy, difficult times. This song brings together the themes of the first 10 songs and is a great ending to the album.

Find out more: https://www.facebook.com/ThePhilipRambow/

The new album out Friday 24th April