Friend or Foe [EXTRA TRACKS] [IMPORT] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Adam & The Ants

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 2005)
• Original Release Date: May 3, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony/Bmg Int'l
• ASIN: B0007P71IW
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #145,552 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
2005 Digitally Remastered Edition of Ant's 1982 Solo Debut in the Wake of Leaving his Ants Backing Band. Right off the Bat, He Scored a Big Hit with "Goody Two Shoes", Spurred on the Popluarity of the Fledgling MTV Music Network. The Title Track also Hit the Top 10 as a Single and his Solo Career was Born. This Edition Includes 12 Bonus Tracks of Demos and Previously Unreleased Tracks. Comes in a Digipak, Made to Stand Alone Or to Fit Comfortably Into a Special Box Set of Ant's Solo CD'S.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitve issue of Adam's finest album..., April 23, 2006

By	Bill Wikstrom (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

There are very few albums that I can hear over and over. This record is one of them. Adam got everything right on this one.
The songwriting and arrangements are perfect (and rocking, fun and lively). And they perfectly suit Adam's lyrics, hang-ups and swagger. He's the ultimate showman/bandleader on Friend Or Foe
which contains loads of perfectly arranged horns, BIG drums as per usual and great vocal arrangements to boot.
Friend Or Foe is his first album minus the Ants and the first where he receives credit for playing all the bass (something he did on the "Kings" and "Prince" LPs but credited them to Mooney and Tibbs, respectively). He's also is a pretty good rhythm guitarist and certainly knows how to use his voice (something never before fully displayed in the Ants).

The Songs? Ahh, the songs. Friend or Foe contains his best batch of consistantly enjoyable songs (cohesively sequenced as well).
The songs are alternately moody - the perfect "Desperate But Not Serious", "Here Come The Grump" - a song with an unwitting reference to AIDS (lines include "doctors say sex kills" and "come inside and die") and "Friend Or Foe" and UP.
The perfectly swinging songs "Goody Two Shoes", "Place In The Country" , "Try This For Sighs", "Something Girls" and "Made Of Money" all make for a perfect soundtrack to an old-school swinging dance party. Way before the mid 90's swing revival mind you. There's also it's share of interesting songs "Man Called Marco" (which sounds like a theme to a spooky horror film that never was), "Crackpot History And The Right To Lie" the fine album outtake "Coup D'Etat" and the weirdly sexy and danceable "Cajun Twisters".

The remastered cd has twelve(!) bonus tracks. Nine of which are rough home demos and are all in all pretty interesting. There's also the single version of "Goody Two Shoes" which is great and features Chris Hughes (aka Merrick) drumming and producing. There's also the excellent album outtake "Coup D'Etat" and "Good Sex Rumples The Clothing" which came out of the same sessions as "Juanito The Bandito" and "Why Do Girls Love Horses" and sounds it and has a great guitar part too.

Weird thing is is that many lyrics on the album deal with Adam's critics and they all responded with rave reviews for this record. Rightfully so as this is one of Adam's finest albums (if not his best).

The album also produced two American hits in "Goody Two Shoes" and "Desperate But Not Serious".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want those who get to know me to become admirers or my enemies., February 2, 2006

By	Jason Stein (Chula Vista, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

By 1982 Adam Ant had ditched his band The Ants and gone solo. "Friend Or Foe" was his first solo album and probably his best. Following off the mega-success of his previous album "Prince Charming", he and Marco, the only band member he kept, came up with another brilliantly catchy and fun album. Again, in America, unfortunately only "Goody Two Shoes" hit the top 40. There are other greats here, and again, like "Prince Charming", not a wasted note. "Friend Or Foe", "Place In The Country", "Desperate But Not Serious", "Here Comes The Grump", a cover of The Doors' "Hello I Love You", "Crackpot History And The Right To Lie" are all great!

Besides the original 12 tracks you also get an overwhelming 12 bonus tracks, most of which are demo versions of album tracks and forgettable. There's not much difference between the Chris Hughes mix of "Goody Two Shoes" and the original. "Coup d'Etat" was only okay. "And So You Shall" as a demo is funny and shows promise. It's too bad it didn't make a final version. "Yellowbeard" is average fare, same with "I Know They Know" and "Gargoyles Are A Go". "Good Sex Rumples The Clothing" is actually amusing and catchy though it sounds like a blueprint for "Crackpot History And The Right To Lie".

Again, the lyrics come with the booklet and the graphic design and artwork ties in nicely with the other remasters in this series. All in all, another great album!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Remaster, Revelatory Demos, September 10, 2007

By	Richard L. Jacobs (Roseville, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

OK - so I like Adam Ant. I have since I first heard Dirk Wears White Sox back in college. So I decided to try this out as my first Ant CD (I'd previously just dumped the vinyl to digital). It's a good remaster - nothing to jump up and down about, but clearer than my friend's official US copy. And the demos - as curiousity pieces, they're a lot of fun. And boy, the guy has a rotten voice without all of the processing. I thought that when I saw him live in the '80's - now it's confirmed. All in all, if you like his stuff (and I still do), go for it (and the Kings of the Wild Frontier remaster is even better...).