1980 • New Wave • CBS\
12" 33 RPM Vinyl LP
When I first saw this band on MuchMusic, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Here was this exotic-looking Englishman—who I later learned is Romanichal—putting on one hell of a show. And somehow, this was new wave.
But is it even right to call Adam and the Ants a new wave band?
To this day, I don’t think they fit neatly into anything. Even now, their sound is mystifyingly hard to pin down.
A whole lot of acts sure stole from them, though.
Michael Jackson yoinked Adam Ant’s jacket and made it part of his trademark look.
Hell, Malcolm McLaren stole Adam Ant’s entire BAND and formed Bow Wow Wow.
Not that Adam Ant didn’t do some stealing of his own.
Those trademark drums? That sound came from Burundi tribal musicians. Still, it was Adam and the Ants who brought Burundi drums into the mainstream.
And the guitar doesn’t get talked about enough. It hits just as hard as anything coming out of punk at the time, which makes sense considering the band’s punk origins.
What really fascinates me is how Adam Ant packs the lyrics with larger-than-life figures and ideas: Davey Crockett, Margaret Thatcher, Lawrence of Arabia, Clint Eastwood, even Nietzsche. There's history, politics, movies, and philosophy all here.
At times, I do think the album gets fetishistic toward Indigenous peoples.
“The Human Beings” is basically Adam Ant chanting the names of Indigenous North American tribes.
But considering Adam Ant’s so-called “gypsy” heritage—a derogatory term—I can understand why he might be drawn toward that, since his own people are often exoticized too.
This album sounds great on vinyl. It hits plainly in the mids. I personally like more bass and treble, but vinyl does mids really damn well, and that gives the whole thing a warm sound.
Definitely a classic album.
