Adam Ant – Friend or Foe

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.   

Adam & the Ants – Prince Charming

ARTIST: Adam & the Ants           

TITLE: Prince Charming

YEAR RELEASED: 1981

CHART ACTION: #94 US, #2 UK

SINGLES: Stand and Deliver (#38 Dance, #1 UK), Prince Charming (#1 UK), Ant Rap (#3 UK)

OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Nope

LINEUP: Adam Ant, Marco Pirroni, Merrick, Terry Lee Miall, Gary Tibbs

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Oof. What a disappointment.

 SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Starting with horn charts, “Scorpios” kicks off the record on a hopeful note, but soon, as the song devolves into a cluttered mess, you know something was up.

What was up? Instead of a record chock full of fun and exuberant songs, Prince Charming became a vehicle to deliver a great single (“Stand and Deliver”), a so-so single (the title track, way too repetitive), a good deep cut with a goofy name “Picasso Visita El Planeta De Los Simios”, and unfished, hacky gunk and what sounds like leftovers from his previous albums.

On what planet would “Ant Rap” work? Not this one.

The songs are slight, repetitive, and unfocused. The production is messy. The second side grinds to a boring halt. Adam & the Ants weren’t supposed to be boring, but there’s even a song about sex that puts you to sleep.

The Ants split soon after, with Adam taking Marco along for a solo career. Thank goodness he had “Stand and Deliver”.

NOTES & MINUTIAE: There’s a hidden cut called “The Lost Hawaiians” which isn’t really worth the mystery surrounding it.

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes. Demos. Joy. Unpolished demos of unfinished songs. Hooray!

 GRADE D+: Two good tracks, one fair track, dreck, and the mother-f’n “Ant Rap”.

 

Adam & the Ants – Kings of the Wild Frontier

ARTIST: Adam & the Ants           

TITLE: Kings of the Wild Frontier

YEAR RELEASED: 1980

CHART ACTION: #44 US, #1 UK

SINGLES: Kings of the Wild Frontier (#19 Dance, #2 UK), Dog Eat Dog (#19 Dance, #15 Mainstream, #4 UK), Antmusic (#19 Dance, #14 Mainstream, #2 UK)

OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Physical (You’re So) (US Version)

LINEUP: Adam Ant, Marco Pirroni, Kevin Mooney, Chris Hughes (Merrick), Terry Lee Miall

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: A swaggering, brazen, spirited record where things come together for Adam Ant and his Ants like lightning in a bottle.

SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Malcolm McLaren stole the Ants and the “Burundi Beat” for Bow Wow Wow, but Adam Ant joined up with Marco Pirroni, found other Ants (including two drummers), and released an outstanding group of tracks expounding on his “Antmusic” philosophy (whatever that was).

There are swipes at the press, braggadocio about the band, tributes to Native Americans, pirates, and spaghetti westerns, and a couple tracks that could be themes to horror movies (especially “Ants Invasion”).

Any one within earshot of this album in the early 80’s was drawn to it. When MTV came on board, Adam Ant was one of the early stars because of his visual sense and themes as much as his music. It’s a unique album by a unique band for a unique time.

NOTES & MINUTIAE: Released in 1980, this was the best selling album in the UK in 1981.

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes. In the US, the vinyl dropped a cut and added two B-sides (including the sublime “Physical (You’re So)”. The cassette and CD originally had the great B-side “Beat My Guest” and the next single “Stand and Deliver”. The deluxe CD drops those two, adds another B-side, an outtake, and a live show and restores the missing UK track. Whew.

 GRADE: A+: The early 80’s wouldn’t be the same without this record.

Adam & the Ants – Dirk Wears White Sox

ARTIST: Adam & the Ants              

TITLE:  Dirk Wears White Sox

YEAR RELEASED: 1979

CHART ACTION: #16 UK

SINGLES: None from the original album or recordings. Later additions Zerox (#45 UK), Cartrouble (edited) (#33 UK), and the B-side EP (#46 UK) hit the UK charts.

OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Not in the original form

LINEUP: Adam Ant, Dave Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman, Andrew Warren

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Early Ants lineup is raw and shambly and make for an inconsistent album.

SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Before Adam Ant found his sound (and before the original Ants went with Malcolm McLaren to form Bow Wow Wow), the Ants released their debut record to some airplay and sales, yet it seemed an odd document.

The Ants (and Adam) were influenced by the sex boutiques in London at the time for their look and some of their lyrics (see the B-side “Whip in My Valise”), and this gave them a lot of press (good and bad). Yet the record seems a bit scattered with some inspired bits, and some bits that just didn’t work. Many times, those bits were in the same song.

It’s kind of shocking to hear Adam Ant with a less than coherent music vision (even if you didn’t like the vision, at least he had one later on). The vision would come together soon, with some excellent singles following this album. This is decent for those who like the immediate post-punk era, and for those who want to hear the nascent Adam Ant mewl about stuff and things.

NOTES & MINUTIAE: The first Adam and the Ants recordings were for the movie Jubilee and are rare and collectable now. Not to say that they’re good…

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes. The 1983 re-issue (for the US market) swapped the singles for a couple of songs, and truncated “Cartrouble” to the second, better half. The current issue has everything and a couple of new mixes. 

GRADE: B-: You can her something, but Adam hadn’t quite settled into his successful sound yet.