Have you ever had trouble with your automobile? Have you ever had to push push push push?” - Cartrouble
Adam and the Ants – Dirk Wears White Sox – 1979
I have a soft spot in my heart for this album. I've heard it so many times over the years that I'm not even sure if its bad, minimalist, post punk or great anymore.
I was already an Adam fan in 1981. Before I ever heard Kings of the Wild Frontier I had already about him in the back of fanzines and mags like Trouser Press. I loved the name. I loved how if you put it together it was Adamant. Something no one ever brings up.
And I clearly recall my father's chagrin when I told him I wanted to buy a $13!!!! import of Dirk at a Greenwich Village record store. By this time Adam mania was just beginning in earnest and I was one of those fans who looked down on the latecomers. I was there first, dummies.
I couldn't wait to put Dirk on the record player in the room I shared with my 11 year old brother. (Who would get that Adam 45 of Goody Two Shoes with Juanito the Bandito on it, curses!)
It was NOTHING like I expected.
Where was the dual attack “burundi beat” drums? What is this angular, disjointed herky six minute opener “Cartrouble Parts 1 & 2”? Why don't you need antyhing after an ice cream? What is the Catholic Day? Was the failed “Nine Plan” an homage to Plan 9 from Outer Space”?
I wasn't disappointed, though. It was Adam, and I loved his elastic voice and the way he was bending sounds to his will. Like on the brilliant “Digital Tenderness”.
The over exposed pantaloon wearing goth on the cover was just as confusing. Adam would never not appear, full face, on his records again, recognizing the importance of branding early. Dirk, I would learn later, was a reference to Dirk Bogarde. Okay. I don't know much about Bogarde. He has a cool name. There's no song on the album named that. But, fine. Another mistake Adam would never make again.
This is the only album with the original bassist, drummer and guitarist (Ashman, Gorman & Barbe) before they were stolen by Malcolm McLaren and Adam was jettisoned from his own band.
We all know what happened. The band became Bow Wow Wow and are relegated to the novelty bin while Adam became in international phenomenon.
There's more paranoia on this record and probably more deep introspection on some of Dirk than would turn up later. (Nine Plan Failed, Never Trust a Man with Egg on His Face) And elliptical poetry (Cartrouble, an obvious ode to masturbation). And some in your face takes on religion (Day I Met God). All of them destined to be classics and yet almost unheard by most people. Not a lot of bands are going to cover Adam Ant's “Family of Noise”. But that's okay. This is for fans only. It's not really good. And I would almost never be caught singing along to it. (I'm not sure I could if I tried) It owes more to the post-punk aesthetic of Lene Lovich and Siouxie Sioux than it does to it's radio friendly descendents.
“Animals and Men” is a song that could only have been written by an art student. With it's reference to artists and shout outs to the “Futurist Manifesto”. It's quite the dada-ist work. Duchamp would have liked Adam at this point in his career. But Tristan Tzara would have tried to take credit for it.
Dirk isn't that great. It fails in many many places. Much of adds up to really nothing more than a soundtrack for some kind of performance art and had McLaren not stepped in to force Adam to re-examine his path, doubtless no one would remember it.
But fuck it. I like it.
Grade C+
A-Side: Cartrouble 1 & 2, Digital Tenderness,
BlindSide: Nine Plan Failed, Animals and Men
DownSide: Tabletalk, Cleopatra, The Idea
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