My People Were Fair & Had Sky In Their Hair But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On [Import]

Marc Bolan & T Rex | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 23, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• ASIN: B000023ZET
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,835 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hot Rod Mama

2. Scenesof

3. Child Star

4. Strange Orchestras

5. Chateau In Vriginia Waters

6. Dwarfish Trumpet Blues

7. Mustang Ford

8. Afghan Woman

9. Knight

10. Graceful Fat Sheba

11. Weilder Of Words

12. Frowning Atahuallpa(My Inca Love)

Editorial Reviews

Reissue of their debut album, 1968's 'My People Were FairAnd Had Sky In Their Hair... But Now They're Content To WearStars On Their Brows'. A top 20 album in the U.K., itcontains 12 tracks, including 'Hot Rod Mama' and 'ChildStar'. 1998 A&M Records releas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accoustic Psychedelic Bomb!, June 22, 2000

By 

fu wai (Hong Kong, not applicable Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My People Were Fair & Had Sky In Their Hair But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On (Audio CD)

Marc Bolan once said that their (Tyrannosaurus Rex) was to "do what Pink Floyd(SYd Barrett's floyd) do in an accoustic way". THe debut album show how he achieve this. The middle-eastern soundscape, Marc's strange singing technique (sharp voice, shouting...etc) and Steve's fascinating technique on conga, gongs...etc make this set of songs a very unique hippie affair. It's one of the representative British Psychedelic scene in 1960's... best cuts: Child star, scenescof, weilder of words... amazing.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Embryonic and more than a bit fey, but absolutely stellar, May 20, 2003

By 

David Goodwin (Westchester, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My People Were Fair & Had Sky In Their Hair But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On (Audio CD)

Come to think of it, it's really fairly odd how many well-known "seventies" bands had 60s incarnations that resemble 'em not at all. Pink Floyd, Murray Head, et cetera...and, of course, T. Rex.

This, Tyrannasaurous Rex's debut proper, sounds (if one must have this sort of reference) like a strange combination of solo-era Syd Barrett and psychedelic-era Donovan with the Tolken-esque tendencies of any given "ethereal" progressive rock band thrown in. These songs are shimmering, playful tunes, many very modal, consisting of acoustic guitar, bongos, and the occasional fleet of overdubbed harmonies.

Yet the songs are *really good*. Mr. Bolan knew how to be a popster, as his tenure in Johns Children showed, and while this is strange pop music, it's still pop music. The melodies are infectious, and let's face it, that voice grows on you.

Verdict? If you're a fan of "pop-sike" in any capacity, you owe it to yourself to check early T. Rex out, "Electric Warrior" fan or no. You might be pleasantly surprised.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Debut, January 9, 2005

By 

Justin L. Baumgartner (Cedar Falls, IA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My People Were Fair... (Audio CD)

The early T Rex albums are an interesting lot. While the full-blown electric sound that was to develop on later albums such as Electric Warrior had yet to appear on these records, T Rex's first five albums are all remarkably consistent and well worth picking up. The sound on this record (and its follow-ups) is stripped down and simple, but still very effective. Not much more than Marc Bolan's acoustic guitar, some percussion and a few added "psychedelic" effects here and there. But that's really all you need. Marc Bolan always had a way with writing catchy songs with ridiculous, wonderful lyrics, and My People Were Fair... doesn't stray away from that model. It blows my mind to think that this album was recorded over 35 years ago because it's aged remarkably well.

Contrary to what a previous reviewer has stated, Bolan's vocals are not terrible on this record. His voice is less developed here than it would be on the later T Rex recordings (I noticed more of a quaver in his voice), but he sounds far from being a "retarded kid making a pathetic attempt to sing". In fact, I think he sings quite fine here if you ask me. His voice is admittedly a bit of an acquired taste, but then again so is T Rex in the first place.

At times My People Were Fair... sounds remarkably similar to some of the "freak-folk" artists (Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom) who are currently all the indie rage. While this may not be the best entry point into T Rex's early work (A Beard of Stars is hands down the best from this period), it's still an excellent record.