Following a successful appearance on Motown 25, Adam Ant released his second solo album, Strip, in November 1983. Accounting for his prior releases with Adam And The Ants, it would be his fifth outing. While it produced the number five hit, Puss 'N Boots, overall, the album was poorly received by critics.
It's possible that this was a result of Ant shifting music styles, producing a more pop rock oriented album, very different from his prior punk work. Sounds like nothing but a pro to me, but hey, I'm not necessarily a punk fan.
There are some noteworthy collaborations on Strip very much so worth talking about. The first would be the inclusion of Phil Collins on drums for Strip, and Puss 'N Boots. Collins also aided in producing, and enlisted Hugh Padgham to assist with the production and engineering of those sessions. It was possibly also because of Collins prior year work with her that (the uncredited) Anni-Frid Lyngstad, of ABBA fame, also performs the female spoken part on Strip.
Man, the bar just keeps getting raised higher and higher for Strip. Let's jump in and see if it can meet my unreasonable expectations.
Playing through it, it's definitely a stripped down (no pun intended) version of Adam Ant. Gone are the techniques and signature sound that he was known for. In its place is a very pop friendly set of songs, some better than others, but none necessarily terrible.
Standout tracks for me were Strip, Baby Let Me Scream At You, Puss 'N Boots, Play Boy, and Amazon. They're far from his strongest work that I've heard in prior albums, and I can certainly see the downward spiral playing out in front of me.
The abandonment of the style that made Adam Ant who Adam Ant was somewhat servers as a detriment here. It's like when you play a Def Leppard album, or any other band who's sound you've become familiar with. When you play that album, it's because you want to hear that familiarity. Take that away, and you end up with Queen's Hot Space, I.E. the opposite spectrum. Again, Strip isn't a bad album, but that lack of familiarity hinders it.
As I mentioned above, Strip was not well received, and this continued a trend of declining sales for Ant. It would be his last to receive any type of certification, reaching only silver status. Down, but not out, he would return to the studio to release the single, Apollo 9, which reached number thirteen in September 1984. The track would go on to be utilized on his forthcoming album, 1985's Vive Le Rock, and the album titled single being chosen by him to perform at Live Aid. The latter is a story unto itself, but one you'll need to come back for tomorrow to read about.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS August 22, 1981 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS August 22, 1987 |
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