Where the hell do you start? 66 tracks from the pop star who single-handedly saved the early eighties music scene - Adam Ant. Even for the most devoted Ant fan, and this dotmusic correspondent is exactly that, this is a staggering amount of tunes to get through in one sitting.
Although Adam And The Ants got off to a shaky start - they were originally managed by and had an unhappy relationship with Malcolm McLaren - the success of their debut album 'Dirk Wears White Sox', made them one of the most desirable post-punk acts of the time and even caused a bidding war between major record labels.
The first CD of this box set is chock-a-block full of the band's early antics. 'Plastic Surgery' is a fine burst of fresh and young Adam And The Ants, with all it's punk bluster and Adam's shameless, distinctive North London drawl. Right from the beginning this was a band, unlike later recruits of the new romantic revolution, that never ever took themselves even remotely seriously.
Early tracks with names like 'Boil In The Bag Man' and 'Rubber People' kick-started the tongue-in-cheek status that Adam and co-writer Marco Pirroni maintained even throughout the peak of Antmania in 1981 and 1982. It was singles like 'Stand And Deliver', 'Prince Charming' and the absurd 'Ant Rap', with their accompanying glossy videos, that reaffirmed that, in the band's own words, 'ridicule is nothing to be scared of'. They simply didn't care.
The second CD is the most precious gem in the Ant crown. The fabulous tribal-esque 'Antmusic', with it's pummelling intro, gets things heated up. After this it's just hit after hit and fortunately a generous handful of other classic album tracks have been chucked in as well. It's a great relief that Adam (real name a far more ordinary Stuart Goddard) has seen fit to include stuff like 'Killer In The Home', with the suitably preposterous lyrics 'they'll cut you in half with a gun / and then give you a Band Aid', and the ridiculous but incredibly catchy Western inspired 'Los Rancheros'.
Mid-eighties slick and seamless pop creeps into the final CD. It documents Adam's rather weak solo career way better than it needs to. The first track 'Puss 'n' Boots', with all its foppishness, still manages to hold on to a little of the trademark Ant slide-guitar sound, but not much else. And it's pretty much downhill from here. It was at this point in his career that the pretty but gritty Adam Ant was heavily manicured and a large part of his sex appeal, which lets face it helped him to sell millions of records, was washed away.
Nevertheless don't let this last disc put you off. Instead do what the man says - 'unplug the jukebox and do yourself a favour'…. buy the 'Antbox'.
