In 1991 he'd recorded Persuasion, his would-be second album for MCA Records with longtime collaborator Marco Pirroni on guitar and the former Chic rhythm section of Bernard Edwards on bass (and doing double-duty as producer) and Tony Thompson on drums. Persuasion was to be the follow-up to the fairly-successful Manners & Physique album (which contained the Top-20 hit "Room At The Top"). Apparently MCA - who'd been a floundering label in the early 1990's - was entirely restaffed from top to bottom. The people who were in Adam's corner were long gone and the label implemented an absurd policy of "release only albums that are guaranteed to go platinum". Persuasion - which is a much better album than Manners & Physique in every way and would've sat nicely alongside other alternative dance of the day like Jesus Jones' Doubt and The Soup Dragons' Hotwired albums - was put indefinitely in the vaults of MCA. To this day MCA refuses to release it, licence any material from it, or even discuss it (!).
After being released from his contract with MCA Ant signed with EMI in the UK and Capitol in the US. In the interim however, Adam suffered multiple stalkers (one of which held Adam at gunpoint after breaking into his home), being placed in a mental institution in late 1994 which led to the breakup with his girlfriend actress Heather Graham and ultimately exacerbating his bipolar disorder.
Recorded at Abbey Road in the Spring of 1994 with a band of Ex-Polecat/Morrissey sideman Boz Boorer and Pirroni on guitars, Bruce Witkin on bass and drum duties shared by Dave Ruffy of The Ruts and John Reynolds (whom Pirroni had worked with previously on the Sinéad O'Connor albums he'd played on). Produced by David Tickle (Split Enz, Divinyls), the album has a mellower feel than what Ant is generally known for and is similar in feel to fellow New Wave comeback albums like Duran Duran's Wedding Album and then-new artists like The Cramberries' Everybody's Doing It So Why Can't We?.
The album is littered with low-key glam stompers like "Vampires", "1969 Again" and the rollicking single "Gotta Be A Sin" (the chorus of which contains the chords to T. Rex's "Jeepster", backwards). Swaggering tracks like "Very Long Ride" and "Beautiful Dream" (both co-written by Kings-era Ant bassist Kevin Mooney). Ballads like "Yin & Yang", "Won't Take That Talk" and the album's soaring title-track - the album's lone Top-40 hit. "Wonderful" was Adam with his heart on his sleeve, something he'd never done in the past. And it actually was poignant and effective enough to be a real hit.
Although, this may be damning it with faint praise, the album is loaded with subtle, adult, minor pop songs that have been largely overlooked and/or simply forgotten about. Sonically, the album is reminiscent of Morrissey's Vauxhall And I and is like nothing else in the Antman's catalog.
Recommended.
