Rebel (John Miles album)

Rebel was the first solo album of John Miles. It was his most successful album, and contained the singles "Highfly" and "Music".

Rebel
Studio album by John Miles
Released	March 1976
Recorded	November–December 1975
Studio	Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre	Rock
Length	40:24
Label	Decca, London
Producer	Alan Parsons
John Miles chronology
Rebel (1976) Stranger in the City (1977)

History

When Miles signed to Decca, they introduced him to producer Alan Parsons in the summer of 1975 (Miles would later sing on several tracks on several albums of the Alan Parsons Project). The first song they recorded was the song "Highfly" and it was released as a single, eventually reaching #17 in the U.K., #68 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #74 in Canada.^[1]

Because of the success of the single, plans were made to record a full album and recording of the album took place in November–December 1975 at Abbey Road Studios.^[2] The song "Music" was released, became an instant hit (reaching number 3 in the UK, number 88 in the United States) and is one of his most memorable songs.^[3] The album reached the lower level of the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, peaking at #171.

The album title was based on the album cover on which he posed with a big gun on his shoulders, reminiscent of James Dean who is considered a rebel, and the pose with the gun is also identical to the one Martin Sheen does in the 1973 Terrence Malick movie Badlands.^[3]
According to Miles, "Music" was written in half an hour and was originally meant to be a basis for other songs, but because of its distinctive character, it was developed as a complete song.^[3]

Track listing

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Music"	John Miles	5:58
2.	"Everybody Wants Some More"		3:38
3.	"Highfly"		3:53
4.	"You Have it All"		7:01

All tracks are written by Bob Marshall and John Miles, except where noted

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Rebel"		3:19
6.	"When You Lose Someone So Young"		4:35
7.	"Lady of My Life"	Miles	4:08
8.	"Pull the Damn Thing Down"		7:18
9.	"Music (Reprise)"	Miles	2:11

Personnel

• John Miles - lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, synthesizer
• Bob Marshall - bass
• Barry Black - drums, percussion
• Andrew Powell - orchestral arrangements

Charts

Chart (1976)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4]	33
CAN RPM 100[5]	34
US Billboard 200	171

References

1. "RPM Top 100 Singles - June 17, 1976" (PDF).
2. "Studio Diary". International Musician. August 1975.
3. "John Miles dot net". John-miles.net. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 201. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
5. "RPM Top 100 Albums - August 14, 1976" (PDF).