Adam Ant and
Marco Pirroni ditched the rest of
the Ants not long after the release of the widely derided Prince Charming, which provided them with the perfect opportunity for a new statement of purpose in the first
Ants-less album, 1982's Friend or Foe. They had already begun moving away from Burundi beats and Indians on Prince Charming, but here they ditch any pretense at the underground, favoring big, glitzy glam rock/pop. There's still residual artiness, of course, since
Ant and
Pirroni are postmodernists who love to paste together seemingly incongruous strands of pop culture in an attempt to craft something new. The difference is, they've wrapped this instinct in big, big production and with cheerful, unabashed pop hooks, best heard on "Place in the Country" and the hits "Friend or Foe," "Desperate But Not Serious," and "Goody Two Shoes," the latter becoming
Ant's biggest hit in the U.S. Since these are deliberate pop trifles, several critics laughed off
Ant as a silly lightweight, but that's missing the point -- these are intentionally tongue-in-cheek tunes, delivered with an excess of flair and good humor. Though Friend or Foe does lose momentum on the second side, and the cover of
the Doors' "Hello, I Love You" falls a little flat, this is good, giddy fun, one of
Ant's best records and one of the best new wave albums. [This version of the album includes bonus material.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine