Customer Reviews

Tanx (Dlx)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Firstly, I feel obligated to clear up the "Marc Bolan is not Glam" argument (yes, this will tie in with the review). Such is true... but Glam is Marc Bolan. Glam rock, the often over-simplified genre, yet decidedly the pop music equivalent to the Symboliste movement (Bolan is pop music's answer to Mallarme, similar in motive and uniqueness) was created to describe T-Rex, as T-Rex was the first band the term was applied to. Therefore, other "Glam" acts (Bowie, Reed, Cockney Rebel, Jobriath, Mott the Hoople, The Sparks, etc...) are derivative, willingly or not, while T-Rex is the essence and definition of Glam (though I should point that though Reed was a Glam rock derivative, he was also one of its prime forefathers, and likewise Glam didn't just pop out of nowhere).

However, Tanx is, for better or worse, a parody of Glam rock... Dizzam, its evident at the first sight of the cover... a bloated Bolan wrapped in an unusually large feather boa with enough black eye-liner to pass as Theda Bara if you squint your eyes. Huge hair too. It was also his last Glam album (Zinc Alloy may have been dubbed Glam, but he had officially removed himself from the scene by its release, if only to better infiltrate the anti-fluff blue-jean clad American market). Excess may have gotten too him... whatever... fresh off the chain of commercial masterpieces (T-Rex, Electric Warrior, Slider) the album oozes with seemingly tongue-in-cheek indulgence and over-the-top production... but done so beautifully that... *swoon*

Tanx is probably the most debated album among Bolan fans, simply because it was a "departure" from his earlier work, prely due to the excessive production, soul influences, and, at times, less than literate lyrics (critics have always accused Bolan's lyrics of being nonsensical, shallow, or, at best, "pure sex", but Tanx was his first output that may have, in a couple cases, proved them right... concerning everything before, critics were just stupid and closed-minded...ie: if you're expecting confessional singer-songwriter crap or some political mantra, Bolan isn't the place to look). Bolan's lyrics always been an exquisit collage of influences and ideas, muddled inside of his imagination and then "taught", as Rimbaud would say, to his consciousness, thus being created and existing as an emotion/thought rather than evoking an emotion/thought... the artist as the art, the art as the artist. However, Tanx quite cheekily simplifies a couple (and only a couple) songs to such trivialities as "pure sex". But it's done so masterfully!

Likewise, Tanx is a strangely unsettling album... but in the good way. However intentionally shallow-some parts are, and how cheeky the rest of it is, its strangely forlorn. In fact, almost every song seems like a cryptic message... Tenement Lady, a groover that falls into half-time midway thru in an almost faux-earnest testament to stardom ("Oh my darling there are many ways to view you/ To me you're almost like a hammer and a screw...") starts with astonishing intensity, only to drop to a flanged lull, ending the song mid-thought in a chorus of "Oh yeah... ohhhhhh yeah". Likewise, Broken Hearted Blues is a disturbingly unemotional song, despite the subject matter being the decay of the carnival of youth, but treated almost indifferently (as opposed to Bolan's previous youth-topics being passionately youth-worshipping) until the very end, "get good now and face your face to the wind", which seems almost a resignation, followed by the last line being a repeat of the first, but with his voice cracking into almost a sob as it trails off. The theme continues in songs like Electric Slim and Highway Knees, but acheives crowning glory in the gut-wrenching Left Hand Luke... nasal tones in his voice are cranked up to ungodly levels and he almost bellows the lyrics, twisted with bizarre characters, all of whom seem desperate and about to crash... a far cry from the charming fondness of previous characters such as Debora, the Child Star, or Buick MacKane. The just starts... no intro, no warning, and ends with what sounds somewhere between a bomb dropping and a senile old man on his death bed. Quite brilliant, really.

So there you have it... a five star album. Not Bolan's most beautiful work, but maybe his most timeless, and certainly his most haunting. He never sounded like this before and he never sounded like this again. The album is unsettling... it will never escape you and you'll have an insatiable urge to listen to it again and again, but somehow you'll never quite "get it." And I think he intended it that way. It introduced the soul elements that would come to define his music, but with plenty of the boogie riffs that saturated the three albums before it. However, if you're a first time Bolan listener, I suggest checking out "T-Rex" (his best album/the first T-Rex album) or "Bolan Boogie" (a compilation ranging from a few Tyrannosaurus Rex songs up to Electric Warrior) instead... or even "Electric Warrior", the first album written with a deliberate Glam consciousness and defined Bolan's swank and ethereal boogie. I might also recommend "The Beginning of Doves" (pre-Tyrannosaurus songs, some solo, some John's Children, I think one or two as Toby Tyler....amazing songs, best lyrics ever) and "Billy Super Duper" (if you can find it), which supposedly would have been his last album (or the skeleton of it, anyway). Love you, Marc!

This album to me represents the last great T. Rex album. This was Marc Bolan's attempt at breaking big in America after having conquered the UK charts. It ranks as my favorite T. Rex album, (actually, my favorite album of all time) with some of Marc's most melodic songs.
After the phenomenal success of "Electric Warrior" and "The Slider," Marc's record company expected big things. What Marc gave them was "Tanx;" an album very different from its predecessors. Unfortunately, the critics and many of the fans didn't like the direction Marc took and the album was deemed a disappointment.

Why is this my favorite album of all time? When I first came upon this album several years ago, after all the bad critical press it got, I was expecting the worst. My thought was, Heck, I loved Electric Warrior and The Slider, how bad could this be? I put the needle down on the turntable and was captivated for the next 40 minutes or so.

"Oh, my darling there are many ways..." The album opens with the guitar boogie and spacey lyrics of "Tenement Lady," a combination of two songs. You'll note on disc 2, it's listed as "Tenement Lady/Darling". Two songs fused together into one great one. Lots of great production work on this one.

"Your mama said, clean out your head, boy..." Next is "Rapids," with lots of guitar slide overdubs. Again, lots of spacey lyrics in a Bolan boogie mind poem.

"I'm just lookin' for a change in my luck.." "Mister Mister" is great light acoustic song with a great sing-a-long at the end. Excellent orchestration by Tony Visconti.

"This is a song that I wrote when I was young..." "Broken Hearted Blues" is, to me, one of the most beautiful songs Marc Bolan ever wrote. Beautiful lyrics, beautiful orchestration, Marc in perfect voice... poetry set to music. Possibly the best song Marc ever put on an album. The only complaint I have it that it was too short.

The rest of the album just flows beautifully. From start to finish, I never skip a song. Plus you get the added bonus of the Marc's singles from '73: "Children of the Revolution," "Jitterbug Love," "Sunken Rags," "Solid Gold Easy Action," "20th Century Boy," and the beautiful "Free Angel".

Disc 2 is made up of alternate takes. It gives you some insight into the workings of the songs a they developed from the rough mix stage to T. Rex classics. These outtakes were once sold separately as "Left Hand Luke: The Alternate Tanx". Here you get the whole package in one.

If you've fallen under the spell of Bolan's words and music, but don't have this album yet, get it now. This album to me is one of the best by the band, and as stated before, one of my favorites of all time.

Before Marc Bolan decended into self-satire, he had one more good album in him. This was it.

The band itself was sounding as good as ever, embellished with some cool-sounding saxophone and keyboards. Marc was the weak link here - he wasn't writing songs nearly as often or as well, due as much to the pressures of constant touring as to the drugs that he was taking.

Chemically altered, and under intense pressure to repeat his earlier success, it's no wonder many of Marc's songs on this album sound unfinished. "Tenement Lady", which begins the program, is two completely different songs stuck together with a short keyboard bridge. "Broken Hearted Blues", "Street and Babe Shadow", "Mad Donna", and the huge production-number "Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys", are one-riff tunes. They work, yes - extremely well - but this would be the last time. The albums that Marc recorded after this, with the vital exception of "Dandy in the Underworld" (1977), are not recommended.

Those who are just getting into T-Rex are well advised to check out "Electric Warrior" and "The Slider" first, and if you like those you'll love this one.

Tanx is a great album. It's not as great as Electric Warrior, but it's up there with The Slider as Marc Bolan's next best. This album sounds like a mix of The Stones' Exile on Main Street with Elton John albums from '71 to '74, with the important ingredient of Bolan's own electric boogie.. It's amazing that Bolan created so much great music in so many different styles. Buy this one after Electric Warrior and The Slider. It's not really represented on any of the Bolan compilations out there. It's mind boggling and sad that '73 was considered the beginning of a downturn in Bolan's career at the time when he created Tanx and "20th Century Boy" (included here)! The bonus disc of alternate takes is fascinating and a good listen in its own right. This release from Rhino Records marks the first reissue of Tanx in the U.S. since the original 1973 vinyl.

This album to me represents the last great T. Rex album. This was Marc Bolan's attempt at breaking big in America after having conquered the UK charts. It ranks as my favorite T. Rex album, (actually, my favorite album of all time) with some of Marc's most melodic songs.

After the phenomenal success of "Electric Warrior" and "The Slider," Marc's record company expected big things. What Marc gave them was "Tanx;" an album very different from its predecessors. Unfortunately, the critics and many of the fans didn't like the direction Marc took and the album was deemed a disappointment.

Why is this my favorite album of all time? When I first came upon this album several years ago, after all the bad critical press it got, I was expecting the worst. My thought was, Heck, I loved Electric Warrior and The Slider, how bad could this be? I put the needle down on the turntable and was captivated for the next 40 minutes or so.

"Oh, my darling there are many ways..." The album opens with the guitar boogie and spacey lyrics of "Tenement Lady," a combination of two songs. You'll note on disc 2, it's listed as "Tenement Lady/Darling". Two songs fused together into one great one. Lots of great production work on this one.

"Your mama said, clean out your head, boy..." Next is "Rapids," with lots of guitar slide overdubs. Again, lots of spacey lyrics in a Bolan boogie mind poem.

"I'm just lookin' for a change in my luck.." "Mister Mister" is great light acoustic song with a great sing-a-long at the end. Excellent orchestration by Tony Visconti.

"This is a song that I wrote when I was young..." "Broken Hearted Blues" is, to me, one of the most beautiful songs Marc Bolan ever wrote. Beautiful lyrics, beautiful orchestration, Marc in perfect voice... poetry set to music. Possibly the best song Marc ever put on an album. The only complaint I have it that it was too short.

The rest of the album just flows beautifully. From start to finish, I never skip a song. Plus you get the added bonus of the Marc's singles from '73: "Children of the Revolution," "Jitterbug Love," "Sunken Rags," "Solid Gold Easy Action," "20th Century Boy," and the beautiful "Free Angel".

Disc 2 is made up of alternate takes. It gives you some insight into the workings of the songs a they developed from the rough mix stage to T. Rex classics. These outtakes were once sold separately as "Left Hand Luke: The Alternate Tanx". Here you get the whole package in one.

If you've fallen under the spell of Bolan's words and music, but don't have this album yet, get it now. This album to me is one of the best by the band, and as stated before, one of my favorites of all time.

Tanx is a great album. It's not as great as Electric Warrior, but it's up there with The Slider as Bolan's next best. This album sounds like a mix of The Stones' Exile on Main Street with Elton John albums from '71 to '74. It's amazing that Bolan created so much great music in so many different styles. Buy this one after EW and The Slider. It's not really represented on any of the Bolan compilations out there. It's mind boggling and sad that '73 was considered the beginning of a downturn in Bolan's career at the time when he created Tanx and "20th Century Boy"!

With each new T.Rex album I purchase there is always a certain expectation of how it will sound. Although a fan for years, the recent use of the extra track "20th Century Boy" for a Mitsubishi ad made me think this was another hard-glam-rocker like SLIDER. So I was disappointed at first listen. However, having played the CD when I'm doing other things (something that seems to allow CDs I don't think I care for really sink in), I've grown to appreciate the subtle differences of this album. It is, as Bolan stated long ago, T.Rex's "gospel" album, and quite a joy to listen to.

Tanx was one of the few T. REX albums that I disliked when I first put it on my turntable some 25 years ago. Like many fans of FM radio back then, I was treated to endless replays of Get it on, but never knew that Bolan had gone on to make other Lps. I had heard rumors that Bowie played sax on one of the tracks, and that Alice Cooper had sung backup on Shock Rock, and that led me to think that Tanx would be a more hard rocking effort. And so I was initially dissapointed in such melodic tracks like Broken Hearted Blues, Highway Knees, and Life is Strange. But after a few more listenings these tracks grew on me and have resonated with me all these years since. Bolan is a master at writing simple songs, some of which seem to have less than 25 words in them, and make them sound like lyrical classics. And the extra tracks on this collection are all top notch, from the rolling Sunken Rags, to the VERY glam Free Angel. Tanx is definatly not Electric Warrior, it is different in a way that shows Bolan's penchant for obscure almost fanciful twist of lyrics to paint pictures that are a little off kilter, just enough so that the pictures he paints in your mind will never be brought fully into focus. Thus the album never gets tired, the songs never become dated. This is as good now as it was back then, better considering the fluff that FM radio has given us these past five years or so. Along with Unicorn, this is Bolan at the top of his game and while it wasn't his greatest commercial sucess, it may well be his artistic peak.

The original "Tanx" album is one of the most hotly debated among Bolan fans. While some (including producer Tony Visconti) contend that it is his very best effort, many others see it as an extremely mixed work with a combination of good songs, filler, overproduction and clashing musical styles. What happened was that midway through the making of "Tanx" Bolan had decided to change his musical direction from the sound of his previous classics, to reflect his newfound love of US soul music. Thus, half of the album (recorded early in the sessions) bears similarity to the glory days of "Electric Warrior" and "The Slider", with the still-successful T.Rex formula rock/pop sound reprised on "Tenement Lady", "Life's A Gas", "Mad Donna", "Country Honey" and "Born To Boogie". Mixed in with these are slower, R&B-influenced compositions with prominent saxaphone (rumoured to have been played by David Bowie) and black female backing choruses. The lyrics, too, seemed to switch between his old verbiose poetry and a much starker, simpler style with one word or phrase repeated over and over.

The album was also loaded with production effects such as mellotron, phasing, backwards tape loops, heavy reverb and the aforementioned saxaphone and backing vocalists. Again, this had a mixed effect--on some tracks like "Tenement Lady" the sound is successfully integrated into the T.Rex style, while on others it seems overbaked and clashes with the sound, making for a somewhat confusing effort.

"Tanx" could have been much, much stronger had the original,
stripped-down versions of many tracks like "Broken-Hearted Blues", "Left-Hand Luke" and "The Street And Babe Shadow" been included; these can now be heard on "Left Hand Luke: The Alternate Tanx" issue, and sound less cluttered, more natural
and more familiar to the old T.Rex sound. Also, Bolan refused to include his two latest hits on the album, as he had done for "Warrior" and "Slider"--curious, since both "Solid Gold Easy Action" and "20th Century Boy" are classics which would have
strengthened its artistic and commercial performance considerably. Thankfully, these are included as bonus tracks here, which raises the rating from three-and-a-half to four stars. One can actually construct an alternate "Tanx" which includes the stripped-down takes from the "Alternate" CD version, while omitting the weaker filler tracks like "Shock Rock" and "Highway Knees" by replacing them with the singles, which creates a superb album with a consistent sound, and proves that Bolan was still creatively strong at this time (as opposed to the truly below-par efforts coming in the next few years)--it was merely his song and production choices that were off the mark. Oh, the sound of this CD remaster is also far superior to any other version, including the original vinyl, which is another bonus.

It mystifies me why the critics greeted this album with derision when it came out in 1973. At the time, perhaps it didn't seem to measure up to the pair of masterpieces that preceded it -- Electric Warrior and The Slider. But in truth, this is a solid album. It seems to be a maturing of the musical concepts that were being explored in prior albums and a skillful blending of conventional rock and roll and the blues. The album is of very even quality -- all the songs are consistently good -- and the music seems to have a certain depth so that the more you listen to it the better it sounds and the more it grows on you. And some of the bonus tracks, which are from the same time period, were amongst T. Rex's biggest hits.