Kings Of The Wild Frontier.
It must have been late '80 or early '81 when I first saw the video for
"Antmusic" by Adam and the Ants. I was up on a Friday night watching
video show with my aunt Ava when we saw it. I remember being really
taken by the percussion and the great guitar sound. Adam's persona at
this point was that of a English-pirate-come-native-American-Indian,
with a voice that contained a dramatic yowl like a classic Hollywood
movie injun.
Of course, Ava fell in love with Adam Ant. She spent the next year and
a half collecting English imports of "antmusic." After purchasing a
single of "Antmusic," she decided to invest the 7 bucks to own a copy
of the US pressing of
Kings Of The Wild Frontier. What a great
album! Once Ava had the music from the album engraved in her song
vocabulary, I spent a few weeks listening to it. It was some of the
first "then" current modern music that I really liked. It wasn't the
boring Top 40 stuff, and it was more recent than the soon-to-be-labeled
"classic rock."
Kings of the Wild Frontier made me realize just how important
drums are to a really rockin' song. Dig the title track, as well as
the album's kick-ass opening track, "Dog Eat Dog." It was musical,
different, and propelled by this a really rockin' Burundi drum rhythm
that sounded like "Native American big band." His co-writer and lead
guitarist Marco Pirroni had a sound that was at once both snarlin' and
twangy like 50s guitar guru Duane Eddy. The sound of songs like
"Press Darlings" and "Feed Me To The Lions" were just right for my
young ears.
Sidebar: My favorite from the album was a pirate-themed tune called
"Jolly Roger." This song is like a New Wave sea chantey, and I love
the lyrical interplay, as well as the vocals.
Okay, so I didn't dig the second album,
Prince Charming, as much
as anyone did. But I did love the track "Stand and Deliver." There
was something that sounded playfully sinister. In the role of an
English highwayman, Adam does a "roadside jack" and sings about how the
experience will stay on the minds of his victims. The accompanying
video was also fun to watch. The costumes and pistols were just too
cool.
Another sidebar - Yes, there were some hot girls with inconsequential
roles in the video, but whatever. They were good to look at, too.
I remember waiting with my mom outside the Greek Theater in L.A.,
waiting for Aunts Ava and Angie (who, by now was another Ant person).
They had purchased tickets to see Adam and the Ants tour the
Prince Charming
album. I stood there and heard the last strains of an encore, then the
shrieks and screams of hundreds of teenage girls. I have to admit,
that experience changed me. It made me want to be a rock star.
So, Adam releases his first solo album.
Friend Or Foe, in my opinion, ties with
Kings as one of the defining musical moments of the 1980s. With
Friend Or Foe,
the creative tiger is released and it's smart. Adam sounded like he
was pissed off, but playful. He comments about the paparazzi in "Goody
Two Shoes" and "Desperate, But Not Serious." In the title track, Adam
tells his fans and the world that they could love him, or leave him; he
was gonna keep being himself. If you didn't like it, tough.
Yet another sidebar - At the end of the day, my fave solo Ant track is
"Friend Or Foe." It's got all of the ingredients that make Adam an
interesting musical study. It's got a hypnotic beat, a great guitar
line that links the trumpet lines to the rhythm track, and a great
message of strength through adversity.
November 3 marks the birthday of Adam Ant. Thanks for some really
great rock moments Adam. I'll never forget the cool videos,
anticipating your albums, and collecting the English singles for the
B-sides. Hope it won't be long until you release an new album . . .
it's been too long, man. Cheers.
(Lex Neon is also known as Alex Oliver, the quirky and often eccentric musical genius of "sunshine pop / rock" band Poppermost. Check out their music and Lex's rock rantings at
http://www.poppermost.com/).
Note: Original release date of the 'currently listening' album below is listed as 1980.