ADAM ANT - STRIP

It's a retro day with this flashback! Adam Ant was previously known as Adam And The Ants before this solo effort. I remember seeing the videos to this album on MTV as well as hearing the songs on the radio. I didn't really know much about Adam Ant before hearing 'Puss'n Boots' but I latched on easily enough. I was totally into New Wave bands, sounds and looks. Adam fit right in with what I thought was cool at the time. Even years later, this fluff pop effort continues to have amazing musical value.

'Strip' is the typical libertine dandy type song the cover photo and subsequent media portrayed Ant as being. The spoiled aristocrat tumbling in the hay with the milk maid. For all it's pretentious sophistication and Victorian era sexuality, 'Strip' typified the overindulgence of the 80s in a very sincere way. Loose morality and social values echoed the excess of previous time periods and Adam pursued them all over the course of the disc.

The Euro trash nature of the album was also appealing. He was a cavalier gambler throwing money at beautiful women in 'Montreal', a charging matador seducing an innocent girl in 'Spanish Games', a cartoon character in 'Puss'n Boots' but most importantly; this disc fires the imagination. Sure the themes are tawdry and often layered in outrageous proclamation, yet Ant lived up to the theatrics of the music and deftly portrayed his "Little Lord" character to the hilt in public appearance.

The strength of the music doesn't lie in the lyrical content, rather it's true longevity comes from the diverse and unusual sounds, styles and tones. It sounds fresh and vital even today. Unlike other New Wave bands, the sound doesn't date itself on the majority of the songs. Worth a listen. Even if you're not a fan of the Ant. My final word: CHEEKY.

ADAM ANT - STRIP
01. Strip
02. Baby, Let Me Scream At You
03. Libertine
04. Spanish Games
05. Vanity
06. Puss'n Boots
07. Playboy
08. Montreal
09. Navel To Neck
10. Amazon