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.
