Adam & The Ants Album: “Kings Of The Wild Frontier”

In the aftermath of punk and just before new romanticism finally broke cover, a man called Adam appeared on the UK music scene wearing a old military cavalry jacket and white stripe across his nose. Adam and his band of merry men seemed to be amongst the first to realise the importance of image (Gary Numan was the other real pioneer in this area, although it eventually worked against him...).

The song-writing team of Adam and Marco Pirroni was superb on this album (less so on it's follow-up Prince Charming) and most of the tracks here still stand up to the best of them today. The use of two drummers also gave the band a distinct sound missing from most of their contemporaries.

The famed English sense of humour (yeah, I know I'm biased...) is also evident on here, listen to the western-themed Los Rancheros and the piratical Jolly Roger. There was a serious side too as evidenced at least on Making History. Mostly, though, it was about fun and this comes through loud and clear (shown in particular on The Magnificent Five, Don't Be Square (Be There) and Antmusic).

For a while this group could no wrong. They were unique then, and there has been no-one like it since - miss out at your peril...

This album, which held the #1 spot on the UK chart for most of 1981 (though only reaching #44 on the US chart), is simply Adam & the Ants' greatest achievement. It starts of with the fantastic, upbeat & ecstatic 'Dogeatdog', a UK #4/US #15 smash. The song takes a while to get used to, but when you finally get it, it will blow you away.

'Antmusic', a UK #2/US #14 single, was Adam & the Ants big breakthrough, & the only single that was able to reach a respectable chart position during the post-murder Lennon craze of christmas 1980. Being kept of the top spot by the songs of the tragically murdered prophet of his generation, 'Antmusic' nonetheless, broke Adam & the Ants internationally, & desrvedly so, for it is among his best & catchiest songs. New listeners, start with that song, for it will get you in the first listen.

After these two songs, the record suddenly gets very dark. Actually the album is a pretty dark affair, with 'Los Rancheros' & especially 'Feed Me To The Lions' bringing visions of a Bowiesque post-apocalyptic landscape to mind. 'Press Darlings' is another catchy classic followed by 'Ants Invasion' & 'Killer In The Home', that follow up the apocalyptic tension. 'Kings Of The Wild Frontier' itself, a UK #2 hit following the #9 placing of the non-album 'Young Parisians', is the strangest song on the strangest record. Indeed. There is nothing else to say about that song (later `Ant Rap' would follow up on this tradition of taking Adam & the Ants' weirdest songs into the UK top 3).

`The Magnificent Five', `Don't Be Square (Be There)' & `Jolly Roger' (the name signifies the direction Adam & the Ants would take on their next record) are somewhat average Adam & the Ants songs (though such a thing doesn't exist). `Jolly Roger' jumps from brooding to a parody of singalong every 15 seconds or so. They are all great songs, & carry the hilarious/apocalyptic mood up to `Physical (You're So)', a #19 hit in the US, but never released as a single in the Ant homeland of the UK. Truly one of his best songs, it is also one of his darkest, carried by a paranoid guitar feedback. It leads into `The Human Beings', another misty dark song, which scares you into laugter... or?... well, it sounded good. A strange chorus carries the tune & ends this most fascinating & brilliant album.

Adam and the Ants' second release, 1980's "Kings of the Wild Frontier," was a mammoth hit in the UK where it went Number One for an incredible 12 weeks on the album chart. The band's sound boldly clashed British punk with African tribal rhythms, and the formula resulted in the hits "Antmusic," "Dog Eat Dog," and the dynamic title track. Other album cuts that shared the same brash energy of those singles are the catchy "Jolly Roger" and "The Magnificent Five." Nearly a quarter century since its release, "Kings of the Wild Frontier" gets digitally remastered and repackaged with bonus tracks. The remastering is pretty decent, and the CD is presented in a digipak with a nice booklet containing lyrics and rare photos. In addition, we get a handful of demo and rare tracks that will likely appeal to diehard Ant fans. But don't throw out your previous copy of "Kings of the Wild Frontier" yet. Much to my disappointment, this new edition omits two key tracks that appeared on the old version: "Press Darlings" and "Physical (You're So)." Why they're not on this album (or at least added as bonus tracks) is a mystery and is a big mistake on Sony's part, and as you can see from the reviews below mine, I'm not alone in my opinion. Still, this remastered version is a good way to introduce new listeners to one of the most successful British albums of the 1980s.

Having had his band stolen by Malcolm McClaren, Adam Ant regroups with a new tribe of Ants and releases this dinger of an album on the world. BowWowWow, as McClaren styled his stolen musicians didn't come within miles of the standard of this outstanding work. That was over 20 years ago now and this CD is still as frsh as ever to my ears. Nothing quite like it has been done before or after (what followed from the group became successively worse). For me the highlight and one of my top ten tracks ever is "Killer in the Home". So simple, so direct, so passionate - like the rest of the album. You simply cannot be into rock or popular music without having heard this CD. GET IT NOW!

This album still gets the blood pumping! I would recommend it to listeners who want to know what it is all about. I love how Marco Pirroni reviewed this album in 2001. The music of Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni changed my life too. Timeless.