454. Adam And The Ants - Kings Of The Wild Frontier (1980)

















Track Listing

1. Dog Eat Dog
2. Ant Music
3. Feed Me To The Lions
4. Los Rancheros
5. Ants Invasion
6. Killer In The Home
7. Kings Of The Wild Frontier
8. Magnificent Five
9. Don't Be Square (Be There)
10. Jolly Roger
11. Making History
12. Human Beings

Review

This is the first album of the 80's and very appropriately we have what would be an icon for the age, Adam and the Ants, with the excess and fun that they brough and typified a certain kind of 80's.

Now, Adam Ant has himself called this the last nail in the coffin of punk and I couldn't agree more. It was the success of albums like this, glamorous, fun and neatly produced that brought down the last true punk trying to hang on. From now all is post punk and pop. This sits somewhere in the middle, you can tell that punk exerts its influence but also that there is a conscious effort to depart from it. And it is a successful effort, the music is great, sounds fresh and supremely catchy. If only all other pop/new wave albums in the 80'd would be the same.

And a great big welcome to the 80's, we'll laugh, we'll cry... with the most underrated decade of them all.

Track Highlights

1. Kings Of The Wild Frontier
2. Antmusic
3. The Human Beings
4. Jolly Roger

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

This album introduced the new Burundi Drum sound. After having his previous backing band wooed away by producer Malcolm McLaren, who used them to form Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant recorded Kings of the Wild Frontier with guitarist Marco Pirroni his new writing partner. In spite of the difficulties with the recording, Kings of the Wild Frontier has become acknowledged as an inspiritational and unique sounding album, introducing two drummers, with Duane Eddy sounding guitar riffs. Unique in style and sound, it is hard to classify it as anything but Antmusic though some consider it fringe pop-oriented post punk rock.

Kings Of The Wild Frontier: