Manners & Physique

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Manners & Physique
Manners & Physique.jpg
Studio album by
Adam Ant
ReleasedMarch 1990/Re-released 2009
RecordedSpring 1989
StudioO'Henry Sound Studios, Burbank, California
GenrePop rock
Length44:34
LabelMCA
MCA-6315 / Cherry Pop
ProducerAndré Cymone
Adam Ant chronology
Vive Le Rock
(1985) 		Manners & Physique
(1990) 		Persuasion
(1992)
Singles from Manners & Physique
  1. "Room at the Top"
  2. "Can't Set Rules About Love"
  3. "Rough Stuff"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2/5 stars[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music2/5 stars[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide2.5/5 stars[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide3/5 stars[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide2/10[5]

Manners & Physique is the fourth solo album by Adam Ant.[6] It was released in 1990 by MCA Records.[2] The single "Room at the Top" peaked at number 13 in the UK and number 17 in the United States.[7][8] "Rough Stuff" (US) and "Can't Set Rules About Love" (UK) were released afterwards.

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.[9]

In 2009, the album was re-released with remastered and bonus tracks.[10]

The album peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard 200.[11]

Production[]

The album was recorded in California, and was produced by André Cymone.[12] 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".[13]

Although the album was recorded in 1989, six of the tracks were written in 1986. One of these, the Manners & Physique title track, featured 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."[12] 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."[4]

Track listing[]

Original Release

  1. "Room at the Top" – 4:43 (Ant, Pirroni, André Cymone)
  2. "Rough Stuff" – 4:40 (Ant, Cymone)
  3. "If You Keep On" – 4:16 (Ant, Kevin Rowland)
  4. "Manners & Physique" – 3:30 (Ant, Cymone)
  5. "Can't Set Rules About Love" – 4:43 (Ant, Pirroni)
  6. "U.S.S.A." – 4:27 (Ant)
  7. "Bright Lights Black Leather" – 5:22 (Ant)
  8. "Piccadilly" – 4:52 (Ant, Cymone)
  9. "Young Dumb and Full of It" – 3:32 (Ant, Pirroni)
  10. "Anger Inc." – 4:35 (Ant, Pirroni)

Re-release on Cherry Records

  1. "Room at the Top" – 4:43
  2. "Rough Stuff" – 4:40
  3. "If You Keep On" – 4:16
  4. "Manners & Physique" – 3:30
  5. "Can't Set Rules About Love" – 4:43
  6. "U.S.S.A." – 4:27
  7. "Bright Lights Black Leather" – 5:22
  8. "Piccadilly" – 4:52
  9. "Young Dumb and Full of It" – 3:32
  10. "Anger Inc." – 4:35
  11. "Bruce Lee" – 4:48
  12. "Room at the Top [US Remix]" – 6:50
  13. "Rough Stuff [7 Inch Edit Of 12 Inch]" – 4:13
  14. "Room at the Top [House Vocal]" – 7:25
  15. "Rough Stuff [12 Inch Vocal Remix]" – 6:47

Tracks 11 - 15 are bonus tracks from various 7" and 12" releases. Tracks 12 - 15 remixed by Justin Strauss.

Personnel[]

  • Adam Ant - vocals
  • Marco Pirroni - guitars
  • André Cymone - "everything else" (keyboards, synthesizers, electric & synth bass, drums, percussion, drum programming)
  • Melanie Andrews - backing vocals on "Rough Stuff" and "Young, Dumb and Full of It"

Production[]

  • Produced By André Cymone
  • Recorded, Engineered & Mixed By Dan Marnien
  • Assistant Recording Engineer: Sally Browther
  • Assistant Mix Engineer: Ryan Dorn
  • Mastered By Steve Hall
  • Norman Moore - art direction, design
  • Chris Cuffaro - photography

References[]

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 1: MUZE. p. 42.CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 32.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 6.
  5. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 6–7.
  6. ^ "Adam Ant | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  7. ^ "ADAM ANT | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  8. ^ "Adam Ant". Billboard.
  9. ^ Stand And Deliver, Adam Ant, Sedgewick & Jackson 2006
  10. ^ "Adam Ant - Record Collector Magazine".
  11. ^ "Adam Ant". Billboard.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Adam Ant". Trouser Press. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  13. ^ Antbook, packaged with Antbox, Sony Records 2000

External links[]

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