Manners & Physique

Manners & Physique is the fourth solo album by Adam Ant.[8] It was released in 1990 by MCA Records.[4] The single "Room at the Top" peaked at number 13 in the UK and number 17 in the United States.[9][10] "Rough Stuff" (US) and "Can't Set Rules About Love" (UK) were released afterwards.

Manners & Physique
Studio album by
Adam Ant
ReleasedMarch 1990
2009 (re-issue)
RecordedSpring 1989
StudioO'Henry Sound Studios, Burbank, California
Genre
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
AllMusic[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Spin Alternative Record Guide2/10[7]

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.[11]

In 2009, the album was re-released with remastered and bonus tracks.[12]

The album peaked at No.19 in the UK and No.57 on the Billboard 200.[13]

Production

The album was recorded in California, and was produced by André Cymone.[14] 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".[15]

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."[14] 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."[6]

Track listing

Original release

  1. "Room at the Top" – 4:43 (Adam Ant, Marco 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, electric bass
  • 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

Charts
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 138
Canadian Albums Chart 76
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 19
US Billboard 200[18] 57

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. AllMusic review
  4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 42.
  5. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 32.
  6. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 6.
  7. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 6–7.
  8. "Adam Ant | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  9. "ADAM ANT | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  10. "Adam Ant". Billboard.
  11. Stand And Deliver, Adam Ant, Sedgewick & Jackson 2006
  12. "Adam Ant - Record Collector Magazine".
  13. "Adam Ant". Billboard.
  14. "Adam Ant". Trouser Press. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  15. Antbook, packaged with Antbox, Sony Records 2000
  16. "Australiancharts.com – Adam Ant – Manners & Physique". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  17. "Adam Ant | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  18. "Adam Ant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
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