Adam and the Ants - Stand and Deliver: the Very Best of [DVD]

I constantly get sick and tired of people who know nothing dimissing this man as a musical fad and a teeny boppy memory. When a genius called Bowie goes out of his way to ensure copies of all Adam Ant's videos are given to him personally, then what else needs to be said?

Before cynics laugh their way through Stand and Deliver and Prince Charming, I would suggest watching the second disc to get an idea of the intellect and complexity of their creator. Everything about Adam Ant, the references to history, the complexity, the colour, the looks, the vibrancy and, most of all, the almost unbelievable attention to detail show that this is much more than a pin-up pop star we're talking about. This man is an excellent musician, and when one considers he writes not only the songs, but conceives each and every detail of each and every costume, that he sketches out the storyboards with meticulous care, we may well be using the word 'genius' here, too, and with ample justification.

I would challenge anyone not be blown away by the quality of the videos here, and by the almost mesmerising talent on show. Those who knock the Ants are missing the point. He wasn't out to be another dull post punk addressing a cult following, he was out to bloody well entertain, and he did it magnificently. Course, we can laugh and giggle at a few promos here - but you know what? We were meant to. My 68 year old mum loves it - my 7 year old daughter loves it, and, after listening to hundreds of albums by hundreds of artists since I was an Ant fan at 13, I still love it at nearly forty. The same could not be said of other groups I liked at the time. They have dated badly in my opinion, but Antmusic is timeless, irresistable stuff.

True, there are some annoyances here such as the little bits added to Zerox, and there is no Cartrouble or Young Parisians - but all in all it is one long, continuous wonderful journey. By the way, if you doubted Adam's recent efforts, check out 'Wonderful'. It's amazing.

The documentary was totally addictive and one thing that came across was that this man is actually a very decent and humble guy. Another thing, that the fans who have always stuck with him will continue to stick with him, despite the tragedies of his private life. So Adam, if you read this, feel encouraged. Get hold of Marco and for the sake of the music business give us all some more of your classic stuff, so we can be playing it in another 25 years. My wife had missed the point in the eighties. Having watched both these discs, she is eating her words and even shed a tear when it showed Adam signing his book at Waterstones. She now has the utmost admiration for this brilliant talent - and why not?

Check out the DVD. At the price - it's a brargain. NO matter what your taste or what your age, you will soon be buying those albums. Yes, before I leave I finally have to admit that there is enough evidence here.

A genius.

Two DVD set includes an 83 minute interview / documentary on Adam and the Ant's history and Adams perspective on this period of his life in 16:9 stereo.
First disc is a 104 minute collection of 21 videos from Zerox through to Gotta be a Sin - plus 4 extended/alternate versions. All are presented in a 5.1 surround form, but whether they are true 5.1 is difficult to gauge...
Its nice to see Diana Dors in the Prince Charming vid as she was a wonderful lady ( I had met her once or twice... )
This is how a video hits collection should be - One disc for the videos and one disc for a retrospective with the artist.

For all Ant Fans this double DVD is a must have. The first DVD takes you through some of the brilliant videos Adam/and The Ants did. From early Zerox Machine to the brilliant wonderful. This shows just how great Ant Music is. The best thing is you have a 2nd DVD of Adam talking of his ideas behind each song/video. The man has so much talent and is very intelligent. Although Adam looks quite frail in this DVD you have to realise this is his recovery period and is much better nowadays.