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Colt1861Navy

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Re: Colt1861Navy post# 861

Monday, 07/15/2002 12:57:29 AM

Monday, July 15, 2002 12:57:29 AM

Post# of 1767
Rock 'n' Roll Artists A-Z...T. Rex

http://www.easthollow.com/trex/index.asp (The Ballrooms of Mars)

http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~rthomas/rexdal/mystic.html

{Additional Links

http://www.easthollow.com/trex/links.asp

T. Rex was a British band fronted by Marc Bolan. Though big in the U.K., their American hits were limited to Bang a Gong, Jeepster, and a few others (most recently, the song 20th Century Boy can be heard in those Mitsubishi Montero commercials; also, the riff from Children of the Revolution is played several times in Moulin Rouge).

Marc Bolan is best known for his early Seventies' glam albums. Historically speaking, his 1970-73 period, during which he was causing 'TRextasy' among Britain's starry-eyed teenagers, may indeed be his most important one; after all, albums like Electric Warrior signalized his major breakthrough, his rise to stardom and the beginning of 'classic' glam rock as we know it: without Electric Warrior, there'd be no Ziggy Stardust, that's for sure, as Bowie's image in the early Seventies' was closely patterned along the lines of Bolan. And it's also true that his classic glam stuff is the most acceptable in his career. Why shouldn't it be? Simplistic, derivative ballads and traditional boogie-woogie, all based on solid hooks and all of them with an interesting edge - Marc's mystical, 'bleating' vocals, the sharp, catchy sound of his band, and the incredible drive usually makes his material stand far ahead of many of his less imaginative peers.

Even so, for the most part it's product. Glam's main flaw is the very essence of glam - an emphasis on theater, mystification, pomp and braggardness. No, even in his prime glam days Marc Bolan was always more than your average glam posturer like Gary Glitter or crass goofdolls like Alice Cooper (not to offend Alice fans - the guy did have some interesting songs, but essentially he's just a hoax); but why was he more?

Because he had a superb legacy, that's why. Few people know it, but Marc Bolan's career didn't begin with 'Bang A Gong'; it started with 'Deborah', way back in 1967. And for two or three years, when his band (or, frankly speaking, his duet with Steve Peregrin Took) was still sporting the full, unabbreviated name without the silly dot, Marc was something of a hippie guru, playing trippy, unprecedented acoustic 'mantras' that were equally influenced by Indian music, Bob Dylan, and J. R. R. Tolkien. The early Tyrannosaurus Rex style may be a hard thing to swallow for many people, and even today, it's tough luck to meet a critic that wouldn't condemn this music as 'badly dated'; hell, it would even be tough luck to meet a critic that would have actually heard some of it. History (or should we say - American music industry) has passed its verdict, and there's no doubt in my mind that it's one of the most unjust verdicts ever made. If you haven't heard any of Bolan's better early albums, you basically don't understand what the man is about, and that's that. I'm serious.

Only selected traces of his early style, however, are evident in Bolan's glam compositions. These are mostly prominent in his lyrics, which should often be paid attention to: while he did occasionally let himself down by penning teenage girl-attracting odes like 'Life's A Gas' or 'Jeepster', much of that stuff is pretty funny and intelligent, and sometimes his wordplay is downright fascinating, though it never reaches the heights of the Guru - Bob Dylan. As for the music, that's another thing: the music had changed drastically into a more generic, easily accessible direction. But at least it perfectly suited the teenage ideal - and yeah, young men did have something to boogie along to on a Saturday night. If that's your problem, scoop up The Slider today.

It's equally sad that, as the glam craze passed away and Bolan lost his golden commercial touch (which was somewhere on the border of 1973 and 1974), nobody paid any further attention to his music anyway. Meanwhile, he released album after album, up to his very death in 1977, and kept varying his style, experimenting with different genres, from soul to disco, and always verging on the brink between great simplicity and worthless banality, but never really crossing it except for a couple of really unfortunate times. He'd had his artistic ups and downs, but he was never completely burned out: his very last album, Dandy In The Underworld, still shows an artist with enough talent to burn, and, while it doesn't vary from the 'formula' that much so as to show us what further directions the man would have taken, it's still an incredibly strong record for 1977. Maybe Marc would have gone on to become a punk star? Nobody knows, as he perished in a car crash that year, leading him to a 'dead legend' status and causing record companies to shoot off an endless current of posthumous releases that are still flooding the market up to this very day.

In brief, Bolan is an artist well worth to get to know; however, passing a judgement on him based exclusively on records like Electric Warrior or Slider is like passing a judgement over Bowie for Ziggy Stardust without having heard anything else. Please take my intro (and the ensuing reviews) as a warning, and as a recommendation: whenever you see a Sixties' Bolan album (especially My People Were Fair and Unicorn), be sure to grab it fast.

Line-up (this is not very important, of course, as T. Rex is Bolan, but still, some of the other guys did make important contributions to the sound): Tyrannosaurus Rex - Marc Bolan (guitar, vocals), Steve Peregrin Took (percussion, vocals). Steve was fired in 1970, replaced by Mickey Finn (percussion, keyboards, vocals). The duet abbreviated its name to T. Rex at the end of the year.

The 'classic' T. Rex (grown to a full-fledged band in 1971): Bolan - guitar, vocals; Finn - percussion, vocals; Steve Currie - bass; Bill Legend - drums. Legend quit, 1974, replaced by Davey Lutton; in 1975 the band expanded, adding Dino Dines on keyboards. Finn quit, 1976; for the last two albums, a whole pack of session players was used, and I don't really know whether any of them were official members of the band. I don't care either.

Believe it or not, I have finally managed to assemble a full collection of all the regular Tyrannosaurus Rex and T. Rex studio output, but I have to warn you from the very beginning that Bolan's posthumous catalog is only second to that of Jimi Hendrix, and it's very easy to get lost in the zillions of archive releases - for instance, you can easily scoop up the so-called 'alternative' versions of most of T. Rex's original albums which are actually just collections of demo versions and only present any interest for the hardcore fan. On the other hand, certain archive releases like Bolan's BBC sessions are definitely not to be missed by anyone. Therefore, be sure to follow the exact discography presented here on the site. George Starostin


Tyrannosaurus Rex I (1967 - 1969)

Marc Bolan - guitar/vocals - b. Marc Feld; d. 1977 - formerly with John's Children.
Steve Peregrine Took - percussion

Albums:
"My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair, But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brow" (1968) - Single: "Debora"
"Prophets, Seers And Sages, The Angels Of The Ages" (1968)
"Unicorn" (1969) - Single: "King Of The Rumbling Spires"

Tyrannosaurus Rex II (1969 - October 1970)

Marc Bolan - guitar/vocals
Mickey Finn - percussion

Album:
"A Beard Of Stars" (1970)
Changed name to T. Rex.

T. Rex I (October 1970 - 1971)

Marc Bolan - guitar/vocals
Mickey Finn - percussion

Albums:
"T. Rex" (1970) - Single: "Ride A White Swan"

T. Rex II (1971 - 1973)

Marc Bolan - guitar/vocals
Mickey Finn - percussion
Steve Currie - bass
Bill Legend - drums - b. Bill Fifield

Albums:
"Electric Warrior" (1971) - Single: "Bang A Gong (Get It On)"
"The Slider" (1972) - Single: "Metal Guru"
"Tanx" (1973) - Singles: "20th Century Boy", "The Groover"
"Rabbit Fighter (The Alternate Slider)" (1994)
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 1: 1972" (1995)
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 2: 1972" (1995)
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 3: 1973" (1995)
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 4: 1973 Part 2" (1995)
"Tanx / Left Hand Luke (The Alternate Tanx)" (1996)
"Electric Warrior Sessions" (2-CDs) (1996)
"Spaceball" (2-CDs) (1999) - from solo acoustic radio sessions during 1971 and 1972.

T. Rex III (1973 - 1974)

Marc Bolan - guitar/vocals
Mickey Finn - percussion
Steve Currie - bass
Bill Legend - drums
Jack Green - guitar
Gloria Jones - vocals

Album:
"Light Of Love" (1974)

Marc Bolan and T. Rex IV(1974)

Marc Bolan - guitar/vocals
Mickey Finn - percussion
Steve Currie - bass
Jack Green - guitar
Gloria Jones - keyboards/vocals
Davy Lutton - drums

Albums:
"Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow" (1974) - Single: "Teenage Dream"
"Change (The Alternate Zinc Alloy)" (1995)

Marc Bolan and T. Rex V(1974 - 1977)

Marc Bolan - guitar/vocals
Steve Currie - bass
Gloria Jones - keyboards/vocals
Davy Lutton - drums
Dino Dins - keyboards

Albums:
"Bolan's Zip Gun" (1975)
"Futuristic Dragon" (1976) - Single: "I Love To Boogie"
"Dandy In The Underworld" (1977) - Single: "The Soul Of My Suit"
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 7: 1976-1977 Part 1" (1995)
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 7: 1975" (1997)
"Live 1977" (2-CDs) (1997)
"Dazzling Raiment: The Alternate Futuristic Dragon" (1997)

Marc Bolan and T. Rex VI(1977)

Marc Bolan - guitar/vocals
Herbie Flowers - bass
Tony Newman - drums

Compilations:

"Best Of T. Rex" (1971)
"Bolan Boogie" (1972)
"Great Hits" (1973)
"Across The Airwaves" (1982)
"T. Rextasy: The Best Of T. Rex, 1970-1973" (1985)
"20th Century Boy: The Best Of T. Rex" (1985)
"Messing With The Mystic (Unissued Songs: 1972-1977)" (1994)
"The Definitive Tyrannosaurus Rex" (1994)
"Greatest Hits 1972-1977, Vol. 1: The A-Sides" (1994)
"Greatest Hits 1972-1977, Vol. 2: B-Sides" (1994)
"Essential" (1995)
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 5" (1995)
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 6" (1996)
"A Wizard, A True Star" (3-CD box set) (1996)
"Great Hits: A & B Sides" (1996)
"The Best Of Marc Bolan & T. Rex: 1972-77" (2-CDs) (1997)
"Best Of Unchained Series" (1997)
"T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings Volume 8" (1998)
"Live At The BBC" (1998) - recorded during 1967-1970.

Discography - Album Reviews

http://starling.rinet.ru/music/trex.htm

http://starling.rinet.ru/music/trexc.htm#intro

Marc Bolan Info Page - Bio/Poems/Photos/Links

http://members.cox.net/dregenold/marc/marc.html



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