ARTIST: Adam Ant
TITLE: Friend or Foe
YEAR RELEASED: 1982
CHART ACTION: #16 US, #5 UK
SINGLES: Goody Two Shoes (#12 US, #7 Mainstream, #1 UK), Friend or Foe (#9 UK), Desperate But Not Serious (#66 US, #33 UK)
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Place in the Country
LINEUP: Adam Ant, Marco Pirroni, Bogdan Wiczling, Martin Drover, Jeff Daly, Jude Kelly, Sam Brown, Sonia Jones, Vicki Brown
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: After shedding the Ants, Adam Ant strikes it rich on both sides of the Atlantic with his first solo excursion.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: All things being equal, Adam Ant solo was rather much Adam & the Ants. This time with a horn section, and less Burundi drums. But the tone and structure of the songs are mostly the same.
Ant slags on the press, romances girls, and generally tries to be the hedonist we all know he is. His best bud Marco is on guitar, Adam plays bass (didn’t know he was a bassist, did ya?) and he uses session musicians for the horns and drums. Hooks are evident in many songs, which is a definite return to form.
It’s a recovery from Prince Charming, to be sure. There only cut worth excising is a cover of “Hello, I Love You”. (No one should really cover the Doors). Nostalgia reigns on this record for some of us, but in reality it’s better than hearing old MTV cuts.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: Ant performed the album live on tour in the UK in 2019.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes, scads of demos and a couple of outtakes.
GRADE B: It’s not the rush of Kings of the Wild Frontier, but it’s not horrible. If you like Ant you’ll dig it.