Customer Reviews

Light of Love

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Am American release on Casablanca records this was a "best of" for "Zinc Alloy..." and "Bolan's Zip Gun" considered two of T. Rex's weaker LP's. Highly recommended "Think Zinc" alone is worth it

While definitely not one of T. Rex's best-known albums, it was actually my first, and I do love it. You can't sit still while listening to it, and the brilliantly thought-out glam-rock melodies will stick in your head forever. I can't even begin to decide upon a favorite.

Very cool cd- it's got a lot of great effects and catchy riffs. This is definitely a must have if you like 70's hard rock and early glam. My favorites here are Think Zinc and Venus Loon.

The fact Marc Bolan was forced to sign with a label like Neil Bogart's newly-formed dance-oriented Casablanca was a pretty good indicator that his career was in trouble. Released in 1974, the US-only "Light of Love" was actually a compilation set, pulling together three songs from 1973's "Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow" (Teenage Dream', 'Explosive Mouth' and 'Venus Loon') and sight tracks recorded for Bolan's planned UK follow-on "Bolan's Zip Gun". Having ended his long-standing partnership with producer Tony Visconti, the album found Bolan stepping into the role of producer. You might have expected a monumental change like that to have a major change on Bolan's overall sound, but it didn't. Bolan's unique glam-pop seemed largely unchanged with most of these eleven songs underscoring Bolan's simplistic song structures - I frequently find myself thinking, wow I could have written something like that. At the same time, the album did have kind of a stitched together feel. Without a lot of effort most folks could probably figure out which songs were from the earlier "Zinc" LP - just listen for the muddy production values.

- Yeah, I know it was a comeback hit for Bolan and company, but I've got to tell you that 'Light of Love' may have been one of the worst things the man ever recorded. A hideous melody that sounds like it was cobbled together in about thirty seconds with even dumber lyrics (here should be a lawa against having that many la-la-las in a song), and a simply abysmal performance. Hard to tell Bolan was even awake for this one. The only thing worse was the accompanying video which you can see on YouTube:[...] rating: ** stars
- Admittedly 'Solid Baby' had a certain slinky throw-away charm, but beyond the title repeated time after time, there wasn't a great deal to the song. rating: ** stars
- No matter what you thought about Bolan's talents (or lack thereof), you had to admit the man could occasionally crank out a catchy pop ditty - witness 'Precious Star'. A breezy slice of top-40 pop with one of those instantly recognizable Bolan hooks, the only complaint on this one came in the form of the needless screechy female backing vocals. This one would have made a nice single - far better than the title track. rating: **** stars
- Deciding to give '50s-styled R&B a shot was probably a concept that looked better on paper than in actual execution. Bolan simply didn't have the kind of voice needed to pull the genre off and trying to camouflage those shortcomings with an army of shrill female backing singers only served to underscore his vocal limitations. Thoroughly boring and it seems to go on and on and on .... rating: ** stars
- A classic slice of Bolan glam-rock, 'Space Boss' had the same lyrical depth as a toothpaste commercial, but then who cared since this was intended as throwaway pop fodder. Mindless fun and actually kind of funky, though the female backing singers remained an major source of irritation. rating: *** stars
- One of three tracks pulled from his last UK LP, 'Think Zinc' suffered from horrible sound, but was still one of the better performances. Nowhere near as commercial as some of the other tracks, the song's tougher sound was actually a benefit, showing Bolan was capable of handling more conventional rock material. Yeah, the female backing singers were here as well. rating: *** stars
- 'Till Dawn' was another track that came close to capturing some of the earlier magic. Yeah, the song underscored what a limited voice Bolan had (he was very shaky on this one), but the song had one of the album's better melodies and there was actually a memorable guitar solo. rating: *** stars
- A top-20 UK hit, 'Teenage Dream' is another track that's always been a mystery to my ears. I've simply never understood this heavily orchestrated ballad's appeal. Bad Mott the Hoople ? Courtesy of YouTube you can check it out yourself: Here's a solo Bolan lip synching the song on the German Disco television show: [...] rating: ** stars
- Just when you'd given up on Bolan he trots out another cute, funny, and catchy number and one of the album's best performance - 'Girl In the Thunderbolt Suit'. rating: **** stars
- Metal funky ? I guess that would describe 'Explosive Mouth' as well as anything I've heard. Kicked along by plenty of fuzz guitar and Bolan's slurred vocals you had to admit there was something jarring in the lyrics "I wanna lay my lips on your explosive mouth ..." Always wondered why the song faded out so early. rating: *** stars
- I guess I always figured I was just losing something in the translation 'cause the 'Venus Loon' lyrics were just a complete puzzle to my American ears. And then one day I happened to stumbled across the actual lyrics ... "Slipshod gymslip in my neighborhood, Empty head, steel bed, Dipseys no good. All alone, no telephone, to hype up my baby, Goin' to see my baby in the afternoon, Goin' to take my baby on a Venus loon ...". You tell me. Musically and stylistically this was prototypical T.Rex - loud, brash, and catchy in a dumb, radio-friendly fashion. rating: *** stars

The collection included a pair of UK singles:

- 1973's 'Teenage Dream' b/w 'Satisfaction Pony' (EMI catalog number MARC 7)
- 1974's 'Light of Love' b/w 'Explosive Mouth' (EMI catalog number MARC 8)

Bolan and company returned to the States touring in support of the LP, but American sales were poor. Being paired with the likes of Black Oak Arkansas and Blue Oyster Cult probably didn't help. Adding to his problems, Bolan's next UK studio album "Bolan's Zip Gun" wasn't helped by the fact eight of the tracks had appeared on the "Light of Love" album which had been heavily imported into the UK.

"Light of Love" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Light of Love (Marc Bolan) - 3:16
2.) Solid Baby (Marc Bolan) - 2:37
3.) Precious Star (Marc Bolan) - 2:51
4.) Token of My Love (Marc Bolan) - 3;39
5.) Space Boss (Marc Bolan) - 2:47
6.) Think Zinc (Marc Bolan - 3:21

(side 2)
1.) Till Dawn (Marc Bolan) - 3:01
2.) Teenage Dream (Marc Bolan) - 4:58
3.) Girl In the Thunderbolt Suit (Marc Bolan) - 2:19
4.) Explosive Mouth (Marc Bolan) - 2:25
5.) Venus Loon (Marc Bolan) - 3:02