Adam & the Ants - Antmusic

All Music Guide

After Malcolm McLaren annexed the original Ants for Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant teamedup with guitarist/songwriter Marco Pirroni (formerly of the Motels and Siouxsie and the Banshees) and drummer/producer Chris Hughs (aka Merrick) to form a new group under the Ants moniker. Their first project involved reapproaching and rerecording some of the Ants earlier material and , ultimately, led to the release of a completely new version of the album Dirk Wears White Sox. Prior to that fulllength release, Adam and his new Ants cut an alternate, onepart version of "Cartrouble" and put it out as a single (backed with a reworked version of "Kick"). The new Ants managed a minor hit with that single and, to cash in on the action, Do It records rummaged through their collection of the original Ants studio tapes and compiled an EP titled Antmusic. It featured alternate mixes of some tunes (most notably, the angular twopart "Cartrouble"), as well as some previously unreleased material (like the goofy "Friend...s" and the brilliant grindrocker "Physical"). Although most of these songs can be found on more recent CD compilations (like Epic/Legacy's BSide Babies and Columbia's Antbox), with better fidelity and less hassle (the long outofprint 12Ó can be quite difficult to track down), the Antmusic EP stands on its own merit, with these songs providing a vital link between Adam Ant, the artpunk and Adam Ant, the artpopster. - J. Scott McClintock, All Music Guide Read more Less