Rob Eustace - I enjoyed the recent reviews, My People and Prophets we pretty much agree on, with the exception that I find the later a slightly easier listen than the debut, but I guess there's not much in it either way. You're right, it was rush released, funnily enough in exactly the same way that The Stranglers No More Heroes was after the magnificent Rattus Norvegicus ten years later in 1977, the year of Marc's untimely death.
    I get the feeling that Bolan could have rolled out album after album of this kind material had it been successful. You can imagine many of the tracks on nearly every album that followed this pair being presented in that stripped down acoustic/bongo style quite easily. Still they have a charm of their own I guess and are quite a historic collection of songs given what the man went on to produce.

Ian's Music Reviews - Thanks again for writing.  I'm glad someone out there is as interested in the Tyrannosaurus Rex-era albums as I am!  You're right, there's not much difference between My People and Prophets, although I tend to prefer the former record.  I think the songs are slightly stronger on My People, although I think the first five or so tracks on Prophets is the best set of tunes on either album (the filler drags the second half of Prophets down a bit).  As for the Stranglers reference you made, I'm embarrassed to admit I'd don't know much about the group, but it seems like a valid comparison.  I could easily see Prophets being even better if Bolan had more time to come up with some new tunes.

 

Rob Eustace - As for Beard of Stars it does mark the beginning of a new chapter right from the opening electric guitar introduction "Prelude", and the closing "Elemental Child" although I would add I'm not as keen on the later track as I think you are.   As good an album as it is there are still too many throwbacks to earlier albums contained for me. Having said that Bolan's timing was incredible, too have gone full blown electric at this stage might have seen him disappear from the scene entirely, too early for the Glam Rock and at the same time probably alienating his existing acoustic fanbase (his greatest supporter from the period John Peel was already turning his back on the new semi electric Bolan).
    It's fairly clear at this stage though that he knew which direction he needed to go, but at the same time knew that this was not the right time, and journey from acoustic underground pixie to glam rock boogie machine needed to be a slow and deliberate process. Not too many artists nowadays would be given the time and support that was evidently afforded to Bolan.
    A Beard of Stars also introducing Micky Finn (who I've never regarded that highly) is also Bolan's clear statement that "he was the man". I believe Steve Took was removed mainly for wanting more input into the bands output, something Bolan had always dominated and you only need to look at the cover of Beard of Stars to realise that Mr Finn's status in the duo was made plain right from the off!!!!!!!

Ian's Music Reviews - Thanks for the feedback on the reviews. After listening to My People were Fair and Prophets, I can better understand you perspective on Beard of Stars having one foot still firmly implanted in the early era. That being said, I think the songs are generally stronger on Beard than those on the first two albums. I definitely agree with your point that Bolan was given far more time to develop than contemporary artists currently get. Basically, it took him four years and six albums before he eventually "found himself" as an artist, and musicians just don't get that kind of opportunity anymore. Nowadays the record companies usually only give you one (or at most two) chance to succeed, and if the sales don't happen, they'll cut you from their roster faster than you can say "Sporty Spice."

 

 

 

Rob Eustace - Read your Slider review and you pretty much nailed it. You're right that practically any track could have been released as a single, in fact it's probably one of the most even and consistent albums I've come across.
    I actually prefer it to Electric Warrior, it's a little frustrating for me that it took three full albums for Bolan to finally to make the full transition from his Tyrannosaurus roots. Electric Warrior, Beard of Stars and the T Rex album all kind of "tread water" really, looking forward and back, but never really planting themselves firmly in either direction. It's the two albums either side of this trio that are the peaks for me, Unicorn and The Slider are totally different animals for sure, but absolute gems nonetheless.

Ian's Music Reviews - Thanks for writing. I still prefer Electric Warrior, but then again I've owned the CD for about 15 years now, and know every note inside out, whereas I only became acquainted with The Slider a couple of weeks ago (but it's still playing on my stereo!). Maybe in a few years time it will surpass Warrior for me, but it hasn't quite yet. However, I've noticed that a lot of reviewers on the web seem to underrate The Slider (such as George Starosin), which I can't quite comprehend. Maybe it's because it was Bolan's most commercially successful album, and people feel the need to knock it down a peg or two? Who knows?

Rob Eustace - Tanx is wonderful set for me, I totally agree with you, not as consistently strong as The Slider but a classic nonetheless, and I'm afraid Marc's albums were never this strong again. Once again I totally agree, there sure ain't anything here that you need to skip, and the tracks you've highlighted I would tend to go with. "Broken Hearted Blues" only suffers from it's short length, "Tenement Lady" is as finer start to an album as you could wish for, and "Left Hand Luke" is simply one of my favourite Bolan tracks from any album. I think personally I would have to throw in "Electric Slim" as a high point, but then as I said, there really ain't any low points. The cover as you state is bloody awful and around this time Bolan was becoming known as "The Porkie Pixie" in the music press, something he managed to reverse before his untimely death.
    By the way are you acquiring the latest T.Rex packages that contain the bonus disc material that was originally released separately as The Alternate Series (i.e The Slider & the alternate Rabbit Fighter and Tanx & the alternate Left Hand Luke). These were interesting albums in their own right, albeit another record company cash in, but that's another story.

Ian's Music Reviews - As for Tanx, I hope I didn't come off sounding too harsh, because I really do think it's very good. I was debating between 'Electric Slim' and 'Left Hand Luke' for the highlights, and although I chose the latter, it wasn't an easy decision. I also love 'Rapids' and 'Mad Donna,' not to mention 'Mister Mister.'

 

Rob Eustace - Read your review, re-visited Bolan's Zip Gun this evening, and found I was pleasantly surprised as I enjoyed it more than I previously remember. "Light of Love" is a great opener in particular and just another in a long line of classic Bolan singles. Whilst the albums generally tailed off post 1972 I've always felt Bolan's 7" releases remained consistent and well selected. "Token of My Love" may well be a rip off but its recrafted with those little touches that made Bolan's work stand head and shoulders above many of his glam rock comrades. "I Really Love You Babe" and "Zip Gun Boogie" are both classic groove's here for me and vocally Bolan is as strong as ever throughout the album. Your right though, it ain't no classic for sure, but its still largely presenting the kind of feel that was kicked off with The Slider, and at least he's not trying to make stylistic changes he occasionally attempted on the dreadful Dandy album, in fact there's only really "Precious Star" here that I personally detest.
    Staying with Bolan for the time being, do you plan to review the Mark Bolan & T.Rex Live 1977 album, most importantly with the bonus disc which features a 1974 Agora Club performance??.  Great on two levels: a) to hear what a bloody awful job Bolan was doing at presenting his classic material in 1977 and (b) to hear the difference 3 years makes, as despite the quality of the recordings being piss poor, the 1974 tracks (including "Token of My Love" and "Zip Gun Boogie") are well worked lengthy extensions of their studio partners, good listening!!!.

Ian's Music Reviews - Thanks for writing again, Rob. I agree, there are definitely some good songs on Bolan's Zip Gun, even if the album as a whole isn't up to par with his early 70's output.  'Light of Love,' 'Solid Baby,' and 'Token of My Love' are all very catchy songs, and very underrated even by most T. Rex fans. Even during his mediocre final years, Bolan was still able to pen some mighty fine songs on occasion. And you're right - the A-sides remained strong right up until the very end too (although for the life of me I still can't get into 'Zip Gun Boogie'). Your point about Bolan's vocals being "strong as ever" in the mid 70's is definitely true - I'd never really considered it before, but then again I was probably just taking his great voice for granted. His singing is as good as ever on Bolan's Zip Gun - even if the material he's singing is a bit inconsistent at times.
    I've just finished reviewing Futuristic Dragon, which I feel is an improvement upon Bolan's Zip Gun, although it's still lacking somewhat in the songwriting department. Next, I'm going to review Dandy and Best of the B-Sides 72-77 (I too love the b-side 'Life's An Elevator,' which is easily in my Top 10 T Rex tracks list). As for the live album, I haven't heard it yet, but it sounds interesting. I'll try to track it down when I get the opportunity.

Rob Eustace - Hmmm, I'm not convinced Futuristic Dragon is any better than the last album??, I guess it's high points may be stronger than anything on Zip Gun but it just feels so dated listening to it now. My guess is with all that was happening around 1976 it was never going win Bolan any new fans and simply saw his reputation spiraling further downwards.
    Having said all that if you're a Bolan fan there remains plenty to enjoy, New York City, Chrome Sitar, Sensation Boulevard & Casual Agent are all solid tracks, and the Disco drenched Dreamy Lady is another in that long line of classic Bolan singles for me, another wondrous vocal performance with all those incredible phrasings.
    Whilst we might disagree on Dreamy Lady I'm pleased to say I'm with you on your assessment of the b-side bonus track "Life's an Elevator", one of my personal favorites and without doubt "the" last great Bolan track for me.
    PS : Nice to see the readers comments posted, hope you start receiving a few more.

Ian's Music Reviews - You're right, Futuristic Dragon isn't much better than Zip Gun, but as you said its best moments are still better than the best moments on Zip Gun, so I think it deserves a slightly higher rating. And when you also consider that Dragon is arguably the first T Rex album since 1972's The Slider (or at least 1973's Tanx) that hasn't been perceptively worse than its predecessor, there is a small glimmer of hope here. That being said, you hit the nail on the head when you noted how dated the sound is. Apart from the timeless boogie of 'New York City,' this is definitely a "mid-70's" kind of album, and that fact alone will turn off many people. But if you're a Bolan fan, or else a music lover who can discern a great tune hidden within the god-awful quasi-disco production, there is some decent material to be found on the album. It's not something I would listen to very often, but it hits the spot every so often.

Rob Eustace - I've looked forward to this review for some time now as I think we pretty much share the same views on Bolan's output right back to "My People", and "Dandy" is an album I feel pretty strongly about. "Dandy in the Underworld" is generally perceived as a return to form album, this view supplemented by reports of Bolan being some kind of figurehead for the Punk/New Wave movement. Bolan's association with Punk is misguided to say the least to me, its largely based around the simple fact that T.Rex toured supported by The Damned in 77 and that his new TV show "Marc" introduced The Jam, The Boomtown Rats & Generation X to a new TV audience. Unfortunately (depending on your taste!!) you could equally thank Marc for showcasing Stephanie de Skyes, Showaddywaddy & Robin Askwith on the same show which in reality was nothing more than a low budget children's production going out at around 4.00pm in the afternoon. I don't think there's any doubt that Marc admired the freshness and drive of the new movement, but thats surely as far as it goes, and to credit him as "The Godfather of Punk" is a ludicrous statement. Anyway wasn't the "Godfather of Punk" Ray Davies???, that’s another story!!!.
    As far as the album itself is concerned, it must surely be the weakest in Bolan's canon. The title track is a solid start and is one of the few standout tracks here, but the following "Crimson Moon" sets the tone for the remainder of the album, limp, uninspired, disco/snyth pop romps. "Universe", "I'm a Fool for you Girl", "Visions of Domino", "Hang Ups", "Groove a Little" and "Teen Riot Structure" are all shockingly poor tracks for my money, devoid of any invention and lacking the edge that Bolan had previously infused in his material. As I've said previously, I have the upmost respect for those repsonsible for selecting Bolan's single releases as once again the three singles from "Dandy", "I Love to Boogie", "Soul of My Suit" and the title track are by far the strongest here. "Jason B Sad" as you correctly state is structured around the famous "Get it On" riff and I guess is a little more respectable than most. "Pain and Love" sees Bolan bravely (or stupidly) attempt a different vocal delivery, but it just doesn't work for me. In fact if you get hold of a copy of the alternate "Prince of Players" album you can hear a much better version featuring a more familiar vocal style over a mellower backdrop, just to add a little more weight to the ridiculous "Godfather" claims "Pain and Love" is billed as "A Punkoid Opera in C Flat and Razor Sharp" on the lyric sheet!!!. The album closer "Teen Riot Structure" as you point out is nothing like the title suggests. I too on first listen was expecting an edgy climax to the album but I'm afraid its anything but and its another track which shows more promise on the "Prince of Players" album. In fact listening to the demo's on that release supports what I've always believed about "Dandy" that there is a album which is possibly equal to most of Bolan's 70's ouput hiding in there somewhere. It's just a mix of dire production, a lack of guitars drowned by synths, coupled with some of Bolan's worst lyrics for years that kill the album for me.
    I have very little to recommend about this album and Bolan was certainly capable of better. I feel "Dandy" has always been elevated to higher plain than it actually deserved in light of the tragic circumstances that occurred six months after it's release. "Dandy" was never going to compete with the rush of arrogant and abrasive albums that were issued around this period and I don't believe it ever promised the upturn in Bolans fortunes that others claim. Surely evidence of this can be found in the fact that the awful "Celebrate Summer" single that was issued in the UK just weeks prior to Marc's death still failed to chart, a sad end to a wonderful career.

Ian's Music Reviews - I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels as though Dandy is nothing close to punk, although a couple of the singles (the title track and 'Soul Of My Suit') culled from the album may point vaguely in the direction of new wave (but even that is doubtful at best). Your account of Bolan's famous TV variety show is quite interesting. Everything I've read about it had led me to believe that the show gave Marc the exposure he needed to get his career back on track, and that he had a hand in fueling the punk movement (due to the fact that hot new bands like Generation X and The Jam appeared as guests). It is interesting to hear from a first-hand witness (such as yourself) that the show was actually a low budget program aired in the mid-afternoon, and that few actually watched it. And yeah, calling Marc the "godfather of punk" is pretty inaccurate, to say the least. In some ways, punk was a reaction to the type of music Bolan was making in the mid 70's - bloated, pretentious, and stale.
    As for your assertion that Dandy is the weakest T. Rex album, I can see where your coming from, but I still say that Zip Gun is the worst of the lot. The songwriting is better than it is on Zip Gun, even if the execution just wasn't there. I'll definitely have to seek out the alternate version of Dandy that you speak of, because I'm sure that with more stripped down production the album could've been a lot better. I think that sometimes I'm willing to overlook cheesy production if the songs are still decent, so that's probably why I have a slightly better opinion of Dandy than you do. But regardless, I can't argue with your basic point: Dandy is not significantly better than the last few Bolan albums, and there is nothing even remotely punk about the synth-heavy, wimpy guitar-toned music.
    It was definitely a blast reviewing the Bolan catalog. It's nearly impossible to find nearly any T. Rex material in Canada apart from Electric Warrior and a few low budget compilations, and there is absolutely zero chance of finding any Tyrannosaurus Rex CDs - even in the Virgin megastores, where you can usually find almost any music ever recorded by mankind. Nobody knows about Bolan here, although the appearance of his music on a couple of recent movie soundtracks ('Ballrooms of Mars' on School Of Rock, for example) has raised T. Rex's profile slightly. It's a tragedy, really. I've often wondered why out of all of the Brit glam rockers it was Bowie who had the greatest fame in America, especially considering just how distinctly "British" and artsy (in a good way) his music can often be. I've always felt that T. Rex's groovy, catchy music was tailor-made for American tastes, but for whatever reason Stateside success eluded him. Regardless, I'm glad I finally got around to exploring a band that I've always been interested in, but never found the time to obsess about until now.
    Although I've finished reviewing T. Rex for the time being, I will keep my eyes open for any T. Rex live albums, as well as the alternate versions of the big 70's albums that you speak so highly of. I have no doubt that I haven't heard all of the essential Bolan material just yet, so I will definitely add on to the T. Rex page in the future.