For my first ever review, I thought I’d go with something old and familiar….a bit like a comfy pair of slippers or your favourite mug.
So, as a wee young girly, at the tender age of 11, I fell in love with David Bowie. Big time. Massive poster on my bedroom wall (that got a kiss every night), photo clipped from the newspaper, glued to a piece of card by my trusty Pritt stick and ‘laminated’ with cling-film that I carried in my school pencil case, just so he could be with me all day. Ashes to Ashes single purchased and played so many times I’m surprised I didn’t wear it through to the other side really! Ah, sigh……….
However, this isn’t actually about him.
At the very grown up age of 12, someone else caught my eye. Who was this amazingly theatrical flamboyant creature and goodness me, wasn’t he delicious to look at??? David maintained his place on my wall but was joined by the one and only Mr Adam Ant. Despite being a rather die-hard young Beatles fan (devastated by the assassination of Mr Lennon), I was so taken by Mr Ant that I proclaimed “Long after the Beatles are forgotten, Adam and The Ants will still reign supreme”. Fortunately, in later life, I didn’t choose to pursue a career as a visionary. Anyway, let the review commence!
I remember my grandma bought me the Kings of The Wild Frontier LP from Littlewoods in North Shields. It wasn't even my birthday! I was completely delighted, particularly with the insert that came with it. I may add that, although I still have the album, I did have to buy a new copy of the insert on ebay as someone borrowed my original one and never returned it. If you’re reading this – you know who you are and I won’t ever forgive you!!
I’m pretty sure that my family weren’t as delighted by the gift as I was. I played it countless times and was constantly told off about the racket coming from my room. Doubtless that had more to do with my terrible singalongs rather than Mr Ant’s lyrical perfection.
So, what does the album actually sound like?
On the whole, the thing I noticed most is the drumming which is produced, somewhat unusually, by not one but two drummers – Terry Lee Miall (swoon also) and Merrick. I love the heavy, pounding, tribal drumming that runs throughout all the tracks.
Mr Ant himself belts out a cracking tune, although I’m not a massive fan of too many whoops and so a few points are lost there. Not sure what the alternative would be though.
The guitar and bass enhance, rather than dominate most the tracks and add to the overall vibe and richness of sound.
The average track length is 3.26, which suits me. Being cursed with a short attention span, I tend to drift off when a song is longer than 3.30. A couple of tracks creep up over the 4 minute mark. Ironically, one of my favourite tracks closes side A at 4.22. Goddammit!! Killer in the Home is the culprit. “They cut you in a half with a gun; And they give you a band aid”. Top lyrics and brilliant song, even with the whoops.
Another other favourite track is Jolly Roger – I just love a good old pirate ditty and there’s some pretty good whistling going on there!!
Don’t be Square Be There is a bit of an odd one and almost has a 70’s disco feel to it but even so, it sits well on the album. ‘Ant music for sex people; sex music for ant people’. Yup. Indeed.
I don’t think the band could decide whether they were going to be Pirates or Wild West heroes so they put both in the pot and cooked up a delightful sonic casserole combining both flavours. It works for me!
These days I can’t quite decide how seriously this band wanted to be taken. The theatre and flamboyance were – to some - over the top and a fair step away from their early punk rock roots. This album was pretty commercial but for me, it sounds as good now as it ever did. It hasn’t dated and so whatever magical herbs were added to the casserole certainly did the trick and afforded them a UK number 1 album and 3 top ten singles, which can’t be bad!
Hmmm…this turned into a bit of a review of the band as well as the album. I’m not going to go through all the tracks because if I did, we’d be here all night.
If you haven’t heard it, I recommend buying a copy, plugging in your headphones and relaxing with a glass of pirate rum or cowboy whisky, turn it up and enjoy!
Mr Ant is still making music and, indeed touring. I have never seen the great man live (yet) and I’m unlikely to catch him on his latest tour as the gig most local to me is sold out already, which can only be a good thing!
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