This one ain't no joke....for better or worse, this is all the Adam and the Ants ANYONE will EVER need for an entire lifetime......some will gag, I'm sure, but I (as an 18-20 year old) really enjoyed Adam & co's schtick for a while until it got way too silly even for me.......They WERE fairly original, sort of.....Adam reminded one perhaps of an earth-bound Ziggy Stardust for the 80's, with his Pirate and Indian and etc costumes, self-referential lyrics, etc.....but here is the thing. The most important thing is, they cranked out some pretty good music, it really didn't sound like anything else at the time, the guitar player drew on huge number of influences (see: "Los Rancheros"), and the TWO drummers ensured, at least from time to time, some damn near savage rythems. Never caught them live (REALLY wanted to a friend caught them in NYC and RAVED about their live show)..
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First up we have the expanded/remastered "Dirk Wears White Sox", from before they had thier "moment".....what it is is "interesting", "Cartrouble" was a a good idea, "Catholic Day"......the album wasn't big in the States, I had never heard of it until after the band broke......but it is worthwhile as a curiosity.
The band caught fire with "Kings of the Wild Frontier"......some might consider it a piece of garbage, I consider it a beautifully dated period piece of 1980 which (unlike SOME of the music of that era), is still EXTREMLY fun to listen to today......"Antmusic", "Los Rancheros", "The Magnificent Five", the scathing "Press Darlings" ("If passion ends in fashion, Nick Kent is the best dressed man in town")......this is also an expanded edition, alternate mixes and demos......it's a fine album, I have half a mind to post it in it's original format as well, but that might be overkill, and we're kind of looking at overkill here anyway.
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"Kings of the Wild Frontier" was the one REALLY good, signature album they had in them, "Prince Charming" is showing Adam much closer to his "sell by" date, there is some stuff here (the extraordinary "Stand and Deliver" ("I'd never take your stereo or your record collection, the way it looks you'd qualify for next year's old age pension...." you GOTTA love that!)..."Ant Rap" however, is beyond unlistenable......the dream was over, I guess.
So, incredibly, for such an insignificant band, I have a TON of stuff from them......let's start with THREE discs of demos, they are interesting as can be, and no one is FORCING you to listen to them back to back......also clocking in at three discs is "Ant Box", with more alternate versions, singles, unreleased tracks.....there is some overlap with the demos set, what can i do?
I have a pre-"Kings" live show from them, which is worth hearing (a VERY early version of the yodeled "Beat My Guest"....also even have a Peel Session set, undated, gonna guess 1978-79 before their moment in the sun.
Adam & the Ants got a lot of mileage out of one solid album ("Kings" of course), a lot of people hated thm anyway.....why I have such a mountain of their work I am unsure, but when it comes to the music of that lamest of decades, the 1980's, what AM I supposed to bring back those post-high school memories with? There is some good stuff here, some rare stuff, and I'm sure a lot of you couldn't give three shits.......they were gimmicky, they were original, they had their on sound,and they died of their own intensity QUICKLY, in the manner of, oh, The Knack, or and some others....for me they were fun, non-pretentious and pretentious at the same time, and BEAUTIFULLY summarized an specific era.......if it's too much for ya, sorry, but for maybe someone else from the class of 1979, this may come as a surprise package of fun memories of a MUCH more innocent time.
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DIRK WEARS WHITE SOX (EXPANDED)-01 Cartrouble (Parts 1 &2)/02 Digital Tenderness/03 Nine Plan Failed/04 Day I Met God/05 Tabletalk/06 Cleopatra/07 Catholic Day/08 Never Trust a Man (With Egg on His Face)/09 Animals and Men/10 Family of Noise/11 The Idea/12 Zerex/13 Whip In My Valise/14 Kick!/15 Physical/16 Cartrouble (parts 1 & 2) (Hughes Mix)/17 Friends/18 Cartrouble (Single Version)/19 Kick! (Single Version)
KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER (EXPANDED)-01 Dog Eat Dog/02 Antmusic/03 Feed Me To the Lions/04 Los Rancheros/05 Ants Invasion/06 Killer in the Home/07 Kings of the Wild Frontier/08 The magnificnet Five/09 Don't Be Square (Be There)/10 Jolly Roger/11 Making History/12 THe Human Beings/13 Antmusic (Alternative Mix)/14 Antmusic (demo)/15 Feed Me To the Lions (Demo)/16 The Human Beings (Demo)/17 S.E.X. (Demo)/18 Omelette from Outter Space (Demo)/19 Press Darlings/20 Physical (You're So)/21 Stand and Deliver/22 Beat My Guest
PRINCE CHARMING (EXPANDED)-01 Scorpios/02 Picasaso Visita El Planeta De Los Simios/03 Prince Charming/04 Five Guns West/05 That Voodoo!/06 Stand and Deliver/07Mile High Club/08 Ant Rap/09 Mowhok/10 S.E.X./11 THe Lost Hawiians/12 Prince Charming (demo)/13 Stand And Deliver (Demo)/14 Showbiz (demo)/15 Picasso Visits the Planet of the Apes (Demo)/16 Who's a Goofy Bunny Then? (Demo/17 Scorpio Writing (demo)
LIVE AT THE MARQUEE CLUB LONDON 12/1/78-01 Plastic Surgery/02 Puerto-Rican/03 Deutscher Girls/04 B-Side Baby/05 Dirk Wears White Sox/06 Fat Fun/07 It Doesn't Matter/08 Lou (New York Coke Joke)/09 Fall Out/10 Hampstead/11 Whip in My Valise/12 Beat My Guest/13 Send a Letter To Jordan/14 Red Scab/15 Juanito the Bandito/16 Fall Out
PEEL SESSIONS-01 Lou/02 It Doesn't Matter/03 Zerox/04 Friends/05 You're So Physical/06 Cleopatra/07 Lipotage/08 Tabletalk/09 Animals and Men/10 Never Trust a Man With Egg On His Face
ANT BOX DISC 1-01 Young Parisians (Unreleased Demo)/02 Lady/Catch a Falling Star/03 Plastic Surgery/04 Baby (B Side)/05 Hampstead (Unreleased Demo)/06 Bathroom Function (Unreleased Decca Demo)/07 Rubber People (Unreleased Decca Demo)/08 It Doesn't Matter/09 Liggotage (BBC Session)/10 Fat Fun (Unreleased)/11 Boil in the Bag Man (Unreleased Decca Demo)/12 Zerox/13 Deutscher Girls/14 Cleopatra/15 Never Trust a Man (With Egg on His Face)/16 Lou (BBC Sessions)/17 Song For Ruth Ellis (unreleased Decca Demo)/18 Catholic Day/19 Whip In My Valise/20 Car Trouble (single)/21 Physical You're So/22 Kick! (Single)/23 Kings of the Wild Frontier (First Version)
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ANT BOX DISC 2-01 Antmusic (single)/02 Dog Eat Dog (single)/03 Kings of the Wild Frontier (Single)/04 Killer in the Home/05 Los Rancheros (Unreleased Demo)/06 Magnificent Five (Un-releasead Alternative Mix)/07 Ants Invasion/08 A.N.T.S (unreleased)/09 Stand and Deliver (Unreleased Demo)/10 Prince Charming (Single)/11 Picasso Visita El Planeta De Los Simios/12 Ant Rap (single/13 Stand and Deliver (single0/14 Friend or Foe (Alternative Version)/15 Place in the Country (unreleased)/16 I Win Zulus (Unrleased Demo)/17 Coup D'Etat (Unreleased Demo)/18 Zydeco (unreleased)/19 Desperate but Not Serious/20 Man Called Marco/21 Friend or Foe (single)/22 Goody Two Shoes (Single)/23 Strip
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ANT BOX DISC 3-01 Puss N Boots (Single)/02 Saigon (unreleased)/03 Vive Le Rock (Unreleased Demo)/04 No Zap Wessex Version (unreleased)/05 Apollo 9 (Single)/06 Miss THing/07 Steve McQueen (Unreleased)/08 Hired Gun (unreleased)/09 Human Bondage Den/10 Vive Le Rock/11 Brand New Torso (Unreleased)/12 High Heels In High Places/13 USSA (unreleased Demo)/14 Room at the Top (single)/15 Rough Stuff (Single)/16 Manners and Physique (unreleased Demo)/17 Can't Set Rules About Love (single)/18 Gotta Be a Sin (Single)/19 Beautiful Dream (single)/20 Wonderful (Single)
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DEMOS VOLUME 1-01 And So You Shall (demo)/02 Antmusic (Alt. Mix)/03 Big Big Man (Razor Keen Demo)/04 Doggy Style (demo)/05 Gargoyles Are Go (Demo)/06 Goody Two Shoes (demo)/07 Hree Comes the Grump (Instrumental Demo)/08 Human Beings (demo)/09 I Know They Know (demo)/10 Made of Money (demo)/11 Picasso Visits the Planet of the Apes (Demo)/12 Place in the Country (demo)/13 Prince Charming (Demo)/14 Puss N Boots (Demo)/15 Rip Down (Demo)/16 Scorpio WRiting (Demo)/17 Seems To Me (Demo)/18 She Wins Zulus (Demo)/19 Showbix (Demo)/20 Stand and Deliver (demo)/21 Strip (Unreleased Demo)/22 The Omelette From Outer Space (Demo)/23 Whos a GOofy Bunny Then (demo)/24 Yellowbeard (Demo)
DEMOS VOLUME 2-01 Apollo 9-Francois Kevorkian 7" Mix/02 Apollo 9- Francois Kevorkian 12" Mix/03 Cartroubl Parts 1/2 Hughes Mix/04 Charge of the HEavy Brigade (remix)/05 Coup D'Etat (Original Album Outtake)/06 Friend or Foe (7" Single Version)/07 Good Sex Rumples Clothing (Unreleasead)/08 Human Beings (Unreleased Demo Version)/09 Kings of the Wild Frontier (First Version)/10 Little Italy (Demo)/11 Manners and Physique (demo)/12 Naval to Neck (rehearsal)/13- Night the Vietcong (unreleased Demo)/14 Obsession (remix)/15Playboy (rehearsal)/16 Sex (Unreleased Demo)/17 Seems to Me (demo)/18 Sexatise You (Remix)/19 Song For Ruth Ellis (Decca Demo)/20 Strip (Live in the Studio with Phil Collins/21 Vive Le Rock (Unrleased Steve Thompson 12" Mix
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DEMOS VOLUME 3-01 Antmusic (Alt. Mix)/02 Apollo 9 (Acapella Reprse)/03 Bathroom Function (Decca Demo)/04 Boil in the Bag Man (Decca Demo)/05 Brain Candy (Remix)/06 Brand New Torso (unreleased)/07 Don't Knock It (remix)/08 Goody Two Shoes (Chris Hughes Single Mix)/09 Hampstead (Demo)/10 High Heels in High Places (unreleased)/11 Hired Gun (Unreleased)/12 Human Bondage Den (Original Album Outtake)/13 Lady Catch a Falling Star (Unreleased)/14 Ligotage (BBC Session)/15 Little Devil (remix)/16 No Zap (Wessex Version)/17 Rubber People (Demo)/18 Saigon (unreleased)/19 Steve McQueen (Unreleased)/20 Strip (unreleased Demo)/21 The Lost Hawaiias (Unlisted Track)/22 USSA (demo)/23 Vive Le Rock (unreleased Rico Conning 12" Mix)/24 Young Parisians (Demo)
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Obviously that is a lot of material, hope you all enjoy it, gonna take me some time to upload it, find pictures for it, etc.....I wrote this on Sunday night, hoping to get it up for Monday evening if at all possible......but with Zippy, ya never know, so this may be a Tuesday thing by the time you see it.....meantime, check out the recent cool stuff from El Diablo and Core.......obvioulsy another direction, but as I always say EXPAND THOSE HORIZONS!
