Customer Reviews

T. Rex

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This magical album for Marc Bolan and his newly christened band T. Rex is a wonderful timepiece from the 1970's. It is the perfect mix of Bolan's fanciful imagination, his lyrical poetry, and producer Tony Visconti's string arrangements. It would be the album that launched the T. Rex craze in Britain for the next three years.

The "T. Rex" album marked the transition from Bolan's gentle Tolkien inspired Tyrannosaurus Rex acoustic days to the Electric Warrior, the king of fashion conscious, mascara heavy Glam Rock. Many early fans were quite disappointed with the change, as their homegrown favorite had now become the darling of the teenage set. The single "Ride a White Swan" from this time (that should be included on this CD) paved the way for the T. Rex hit machine, and was a staple in Bolan's live set until his all-too-early death in 1977. It was a huge hit in the UK and has been covered numerous times since Bolan's death.

The album opens with the short intro "The Children Of Rarn," Bolan's own piece of mythology that bridges the divide between Tyrannosaurus Rex to T. Rex beautifully. Interestingly enough, Marc had created a whole 20 minute piece around this track ("The Children of Rarn Suite") that didn't see the light of day until Tony Visconti released a version back in 1978. It could have been a wonderful concept piece. The songs that follow on the album are simply beautiful works of poetry set to music. Highlights are "Jewel," "The Visit," "Summer Deep," and "Diamond Meadows" (most recently heard in the movie "Velvet Goldmine").

While each T. Rex album is near and dear to my heart, this probably isn't the best place to start if you're interested in Marc Bolan and his band. The album of choice for a starting point would be "Electric Warrior," followed by "The Slider," then this album. Once you're under Bolan's spell, you're hooked!

If there's any one album which encapsulates the legend of Marc Bolan for me, it's the debut "T.Rex" album from 1970. Sure, "Unicorn", "Electric Warrior" and "The Slider" are all masterpieces, but "T.Rex"'s transitional blend of his acoustic and electric sides gives one the best of both worlds, and it just so happens that his voice, lyrics and guitar playing were reaching a peak at this time. Put it all together, and you have one amazing ride. Some people call this the last Tyrannosaurus Rex album, seeing as how it was the last with the two-man lineup, and even features re-recorded songs from the 60s as well as the last time Bolan fully immersed himself in his Tolkien-esque fantasy world. Songs like "The Visit", "Suneye", "The Time Of Love Is Now" and "Root Of Star" all adhere to the melodic, elegant acoustic sound of the past, although there is some evidence of change when a wah-wah guitar gracefully punctuates the gorgeously fragile "Root Of Star" (and who can deny lyrics like "a root of star I gave to thee, from the canyons of the sea; a jewel of frost that was lost in days of dreams when we were free..."--enough to melt your heart!).

However, "T.Rex" can also rightfully claim to be the first T.Rex album, as the transition to the electric pop sound of "Electric Warrior" is clearly in evidence on the bopping "Beltane Walk", "Is It Love", "One Inch Rock", "Childe" and "Jewel". The album featured understandable vocals for the first time, the lyrical bent was shifting to first-person, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (so essential to the sound of "Warrior" and "Slider") appear on backup vocals for the first time on "Seagull Woman", and strings and drums make their first appearance. When it all comes together on a catchy, rocking tune like "Beltane Walk", one feels the inevitability of "Electric Warrior". Most of the other rockers are somewhat rawer, with only Finn's congas to provide a backbeat,
although the results are no less firey--Bolan manages to cut
a hypnotic, trance-like jungle rhythm for "Jewel", one of the best songs he ever wrote and a concert highlight in 70/71. The other songs fall somewhere in-between acoustic and electric, and the songwriting is no less extraordinary; you will be humming songs like "Seagull Woman" and the nine-minute epic "The Wizard" for weeks afterward. The overall sound, although still somewhat rough (but far more polished than the four Tyrannosaurus Rex albums), is undeniably majestic and even supernatural in places; Bolan's energy is transferred to the listener in otherworldly elvish rock screams and scathing fuzz/wah-wah guitar work that explodes from the speakers. The man just sounds pure, earnest and seriously committed to making emotionally and spiritually-charged music on this album; the cheeky, ironic glam days were only a few months in the distance--and no less extraordinary--but for the purest essence of Marc Bolan, captured at a time when he effortlessly moved from the acoustic fantasy world of "Unicorn" to the rock'n'glam mania of "Electric Warrior", "T.Rex" is a true gem I would bring to that proverbial desert island. What is desperately needed is a domestic release of this album, remastered with bonus tracks like outtakes and non-LP single cuts ("Ride A White Swan"! "King Of The Mountain Cometh!") which round out this phase in his legendary career. That this album is not domestically available in the US, and overlooked even by those who have a copy of "Electric Warrior", is one of the great travesties. Cosmic punk, indeed.

After ejecting Steve Peregrin Took (named after the Lord of the Rings character of course) from Tyrannasaurus Rex, Marc Bolan traded in his acoustic for an Electric, shortened the name to T Rex...and put out one of the most original-sounding albums ever. I think that perhaps Bolan could owe something to Donovan, but this is very trippy stuff, fantasy worlds and weird characters, stories all told to the sound of Mickey Finn's cool conga riffs, Marks earthy electric guitar choogling, and a little help from the turtles (Flo and Eddie). Children of Rarn is a bizarre anthem worthy of Alice Cooper's "Pretties For You"...Jewel has a blistering guitar solo, something Bolan never attempted again, keeping everything very short and to-the-point on later albums. This is a unique album for Bolan, not commercial but not mainly acoustic like the early stuff with Took. There are no drums on this album, which contributes to the album's unique sound. I first heard this album before Bang A Gong was a hit. It was a revelation and so unique that I needed time to understand it. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. And what''s this - Ride a White Swan missing???? Sacrelidge! Ride a white swan like the people in the old days
Wear a tall hat, babe you can't go wrong....
By the way Bolan was mainly earning his living as a model in these days, before he had a hit and became a mega star, at least in the UK anyway.

I've been a huge Marc Bolan/T.Rex fan for almost 30 years,and own almost every Bolan disc, but this is the album I would put as my #1 desert island disc. The combination of acoustic and electric is fantastic. Every song is truly a "Jewel". Marc Bolan's death affected me deeply. He deserved to be a huge star here, and I am always saddened that classic rock stations only play "Bang a Gong".

This I loved when I had the LP in it's original format. I don't know why they changed the tracks and eliminated one of the very best songs, "RIDE A WHITE SWAN," although I do have that track on another CD, I would have liked to see it on this one. Still, all in all, it is a great addition to my Marc Bolan and T Rex collection.

Nobody could capture a persona to tape like Bolan could, or pen melodies as breathtaking as his...
This is the stage in his career when he was merging his nutty pop-folk with touches of electric guitar, right before he abbreviated the band name and reinvented himself with Electric Warrior. Personally, I find Beard of Stars, Unicorn, and T-REX to be flat-out amazing work. Many choose to ignorantly pin these albums as just the material that lead to Electric Warrior, but those people are really missing the heart that is present in the songwriting.
Check out these lyrics to "Root of Star":
"a root of star/ I gave to thee/ from the canyons of the sea/ a jewel of frost/ that was lost/ in days of dreams when we were free
a shield of bronze/ a thousand gongs/ that calls the queen of dreams to me/ a mask of jade/ was surely laid/ to the formal finery"
There is a certain mystical power at work here not present in his later (more renowned) albums.

I don't care a thing for the Glam Rock genre that Bolan usually gets placed in. Bowie, Mott The Hoople Etc. I liked at one time but when I hear it these days it sounds rather outdated and silly. T.rex on the other hand sounds fresh and still ahead of its time. These tunes are so Magical and Charming (and catchy)that they are a delight to hear all these years later. Bolan seems to be influenced by fantasy writing, maybe Tolkein, but he is a kind of Genius at what he was doing. I prefer this pre-Electric Warrior, Slider stuff because it is not trashy or campy but rather mystical and spiritual in a lighthearted way. Marc Bolan's vocal delivery makes him one of the coolest singers ever. The man just had it going on in so many ways I'm sad he had to die so young in a car. HEAR! what he was like before the pressures, the alchohol and the fast living did him in. A WIZARD AND A TRUE STAR!!!

This record is a perfect blend of Bolans two characters he created. One is a hippie poet who sings songs about elves, goblins, wizards. The other is a glammed out, glitter soaked rocker. This a record that sounds like it is in transition. Some of the songs have the old feel to them, namely "The Visit, Summer Deep, Suneye" and others have the Bolan Boogie to them "Beltane Walk, One Inch Rock, Jewel". All in all, just a great record.

Strongest Cuts: Suneye, Beltane Walk, The Visit, Summer Deep

I CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE EXTREMELY FORTUNATE! I WAS ABLE TO SEE FOR MYSELF, T-REXS' NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT AT CARNIGIE HALL. IT WAS SUNDAY, FEB. 27, 1972!!! MY TICKET COST $5.50!!! WOW!!! I STILL HAVE THAT TICKET STUB!!! I SAW HIM AGAIN 4 YEARS LATER WHEN HE HAD FALLEN FROM ROCK-STAR STATUS. HE OPENED FOR THREE DOG NIGHT!!! WHAT A COME-DOWN THAT WAS! I LOVE THIS ALBUM, BUT HAVE ONLY ONE COMPAINT!!! MY FAVORITE SONG--RIDE A WHITE SWAN--IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND!!! YOU CAN FEEL HIS TRANSFORMATION FROM AN ACOUSTIC ICON TO A PLUGGED IN ELECTRIC MEGASTAR!!! HIS GUITER PLAYING WAS THE EQUAL OF ALL THE GREATS! UNFORTUNATELY, HIS CARNIGIE HALL CONCERT WAS FLAT! HE HAD NO BACK-UP SINGERS--JUST HE AND THE OTHER 3 MEMBERS OF T-REX! HIS BEST MOMENT WAS AN ACOUSTIC SET HE PUT ON WHILE SITTING ON THE FLOOR OF THE STAGE!!! IT WAS GREAT! I'LL NEVER FORGET HIM!!!!!!

Mickey Finn shaves his beard of stars, and Marc Bolan plugs into electric warrior land. One Inch Rock is a compressed dinosaur 1 inch tall, fuzzy and frizzy form a great Les Paul and Marshall stack combo.David Bowie borrowed that guitar to try to capture that sound but had to return it after Marc,s death.Beltane Walk again has a great guitar sound and swampy backbeat. The Wizard, Jewel,and the rest all mix and swirl like a great mystical brew, and what a spell they cast."And in the morning you'll know all you know!" Some of Bolan's best guitar riffs & lyrics.Close your eyes and watch the pictures. This is the sound of old T.Rex that The Who was talking about.