Manners & Physique

Last updated

Manners & Physique
Manners & Physique.jpg
Studio album by
Adam Ant
ReleasedMarch 12, 1990
2009 (re-issue)
RecordedSpring 1989
Studio O'Henry Sound Studios, Burbank, California
Genre
Length44:34
Label MCA
MCA-6315 / Cherry Pop
Producer André Cymone
Adam Ant chronology
Vive Le Rock
(1985)		Manners & Physique
(1990)		 Antics in the Forbidden Zone
(1990)
Singles from Manners & Physique
  1. "Room at the Top"
    Released: February 1990
  2. "Can't Set Rules About Love"
    Released: March 1990
  3. "Rough Stuff"
    Released: 1990 [3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 2/10 [8]

Manners & Physique is the fourth solo album by Adam Ant. [9] It was released in 1990 by MCA Records. [5] The single "Room at the Top" peaked at number 13 in the UK and number 17 in the United States. [10] [11] "Rough Stuff" (US) and "Can't Set Rules About Love" (UK) were released afterwards.

Contents

The album is dedicated to Ann Marie Dollard, Ant's "Dear Friend", 1956-1988. Dollard was Ant's acting agent who was killed in a riding accident. [12]

In 2009, the album was re-released with remastered and bonus tracks. [13]

The album peaked at No.19 in the UK and No.57 on the Billboard 200. [14]

Production

The album was recorded in California, and was produced by André Cymone. [15] Ant is credited with writing or co-writing all the tracks on the album, mostly in partnership with guitarist Marco Pirroni or Cymone, who is credited with playing "Everything Else".

Ant later claimed that the album was styled after the bass heavy Minneapolis sound of which Cymone, in Ant's words, was "one of the architects". [16]

Although the album was recorded in 1989, six of the tracks were written in 1986. One of these, the Manners & Physique title track, features lyrics from a 1986 composition, set to new music written by Cymone. The original demo, "Doggy Style," can be heard as a bonus track on later reissues of Vive Le Rock .

Critical reception

Trouser Press called the album "confident and entertaining," writing that "walloping techno beats and monotonous funk-rock grooves occasionally dislocate the album’s pop spine, but Adam’s melodic vocals and ridiculous lyrics remain a reassuring constant." [15] The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that it "traded on the skills of ex-Prince cohort Andre Cymone, whose production helped it work as a mix of British glamour-pop and Minneapolis R&B." [7]

Track listing

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Room at the Top" Adam Ant, Marco Pirroni, André Cymone 4:43
2."Rough Stuff"Ant, Cymone4:40
3."If You Keep On"Ant, Kevin Rowland 4:16
4."Manners & Physique"Ant, Cymone3:30
5."Can't Set Rules About Love"Ant, Pirroni4:43
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."U.S.S.A."Ant4:27
7."Bright Lights Black Leather"Ant5:22
8."Piccadilly"Ant, Cymone4:52
9."Young Dumb and Full of It"Ant, Pirroni3:32
10."Anger Inc."Ant, Pirroni4:35
Total length:44:34
2009 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Bruce Lee"Ant, Cymone4:48
12."Room at the Top (US Remix)"Ant, Pirroni, Cymone6:50
13."Rough Stuff (7" Edit Of 12")"Ant, Cymone4:13
14."Room at the Top (House Vocal)"Ant, Pirroni, Cymone7:25
15."Rough Stuff (12" Vocal Remix)"Ant, Cymone6:47

Tracks 11–15 are bonus tracks from various 7" and 12" releases. Tracks 12 and 14 remixed by Justin Strauss; tracks 13 and 15 remixed by Justin Strauss and Hugo Dwyer. [17]

Personnel

Technical

Charts

Chart (1990)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] 138
Canadian Albums Chart 76
UK Albums (OCC) [19] 19
US Billboard 200 [20] 57

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Ant</span> English singer and musician (born 1954)

Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant, is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten hits from 1980 to 1983, including three UK No. 1 singles. He has also worked as an actor, appearing in many films and television episodes.

<i>Kings of the Wild Frontier</i> 1980 studio album by Adam and the Ants

Kings of the Wild Frontier is the second album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 7 November 1980 by CBS Records in the UK and Epic records internationally. The album was the UK number 1 selling album in 1981 and won Best British Album at the 1982 Brit Awards.

<i>Dirk Wears White Sox</i> 1979 studio album by Adam and the Ants

Dirk Wears White Sox is the debut studio album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 30 November 1979 by record label Do It. It was the first number one album on the UK Independent Albums Chart when the chart debuted in Record Week in 1980.

Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the late 1970s to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stand and Deliver (Adam and the Ants song)</span> 1981 single by Adam and the Ants

"Stand and Deliver" is a song by British new wave band Adam and the Ants, released as the lead single from their third studio album, Prince Charming (1981). It was the band's first No. 1 hit in the UK. The phrase "stand and deliver — your money or your life", used in the lyrics, is commonly associated with highwaymen in 18th century England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wolfgang Press</span> English post-punk band

The Wolfgang Press were an English post-punk band, active from 1983 to 1995, recording for the 4AD label. The core of the band was Michael Allen, Mark Cox (keyboards), and Andrew Gray (guitar).

<i>Prince Charming</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Adam and the Ants

Prince Charming is the third and final album by Adam and the Ants, released in November 1981. This album features bass player Gary Tibbs in place of Kevin Mooney, the bassist on Kings of the Wild Frontier. The album included the band's two number one UK hit singles "Stand and Deliver" and "Prince Charming" as well as "Ant Rap".

<i>Friend or Foe</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Adam Ant

Friend or Foe is the debut solo album by English singer and musician Adam Ant, released in October 1982 by Epic Records in the United States and CBS Records elsewhere. The album peaked at number 5 in the UK, Adam Ant's highest charting solo album.

<i>Strip</i> (Adam Ant album) 1983 studio album by Adam Ant

Strip is the second solo studio album by Adam Ant, and counting his work with Adam and the Ants, his fifth studio album. It was released in 1983 and a stylistic departure from Ant's previous musical efforts. This record is much less rock-oriented and more grounded in pop and dance. Ant continued his songwriting collaboration with Marco Pirroni for the album. Along with Richard James Burgess and Ant, Pirroni was one of the album’s main producers. The album did not perform as well in Ant's home country as his previous albums and performed modestly in the US. Critics generally reviewed it unfavorably.

<i>Vive Le Rock</i> 1985 studio album by Adam Ant

Vive Le Rock is the third solo album by Adam Ant, released in September 1985, which contained two versions of Ant's 1984 song "Apollo 9".

Persuasion was the planned fifth studio solo album by Adam Ant. Its release was planned for 1992–1993; this never happened, but it has surfaced as bootlegs, and nowadays circulates on file sharing networks. This album is one of the 20 written about in The Greatest Music Never Sold by Dan Leroy, a book that revealed information on the lost recordings of many famous musicians. Ant has also discussed the doomed production in his autobiography and it has been featured in the online edition of Classic Pop magazine.

<i>Wonderful</i> (Adam Ant album) 1995 studio album by Adam Ant

Wonderful is the fifth solo studio album and the eighth LP overall of English musician Adam Ant, released in March 1995 by EMI. It peaked at number 24 on the UK Album Chart and number 143 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The band for this album included Ant's long-time collaborator Marco Pirroni, along with ex-Ruts drummer Dave Ruffy and Morrissey's guitarist Boz Boorer.

The Wolfmen are an English rock music band formed in 2004, and centred on Marco Pirroni and Chris Constantinou.

Adam Ant is a British post-punk, new wave artist. He was the lead singer of Adam & the Ants until their split in early 1982, by which time they had recorded three studio albums. Ant, however, would go solo, and release an additional five studio albums throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. After a gap of nearly 18 years, his sixth released solo studio album came out in early 2013. A planned follow-up album recorded the following year currently officially remains at developmental stage.

<i>Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant</i> 1993 greatest hits album by Adam Ant

Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant is a greatest hits compilation album from Adam Ant that covers his early work with Adam and the Ants as well as his solo work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam and the Ants</span> English rock band

Adam and the Ants were an English rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both of which were fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were called the Ants until November of that year. They later changed their style from punk rock to post-punk and new wave, and released one album. The final line-up of this version consisted of Dave Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman, and Leigh Gorman—all of whom left the band in January 1980 at the suggestion of manager Malcolm McLaren to form Bow Wow Wow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartrouble</span> 1980 single by Adam and the Ants

"Cartrouble" is a song by Adam and the Ants, released as a single in March 1980 on Do It Records. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. Though usually stylised as one word, the title has also appeared as two separate words.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friend or Foe (Adam Ant song)</span> 1982 single by Adam Ant

"Friend or Foe" was the title track, and second single from Adam Ant's first solo album. It was released 11 September 1982, exactly one month before the album was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desperate But Not Serious (song)</span> 1982 single by Adam Ant

"Desperate But Not Serious" is a song by Adam Ant, released on 19 November 1982 as the third single from his first solo album, Friend or Foe. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Ant performed "Desperate but Not Serious" and "Goody Two Shoes" on the very first American Bandstand episode of 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Room at the Top (Adam Ant song)</span> 1990 single by Adam Ant

"Room at the Top" is a song by Adam Ant, and the lead track on his fourth solo album, Manners & Physique. It was released as a single on 5 February 1990, a month prior to the album's release. It would prove to be Ant's final top 20 single in the US.

References

  1. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Adam and the Ants". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  5–6. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  2. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. p. 4. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  3. ↑ "Discography". adam-ant.com. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  4. ↑ AllMusic review
  5. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 42.
  6. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 32.
  7. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 6.
  8. ↑ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 6–7.
  9. ↑ "Adam Ant | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  10. ↑ "ADAM ANT | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  11. ↑ "Adam Ant". Billboard.
  12. ↑ Stand And Deliver, Adam Ant, Sedgewick & Jackson 2006
  13. ↑ "Adam Ant - Record Collector Magazine".
  14. ↑ "Adam Ant". Billboard.
  15. 1 2 "Adam Ant". Trouser Press. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  16. ↑ Antbook, packaged with Antbox, Sony Records 2000
  17. ↑ "Discography - Rough Stuff (US CD Promo)". adam-ant.com. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Adam Ant – Manners & Physique". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "Adam Ant | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "Adam Ant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.