Audio CD review:
T. Rex - T. Rex

T. Rex - T. Rex

Band: T. Rex Title: T. Rex Rating: Release Date: 02 March, 1999 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Children of Rarn 2: Jewel 3: Visit 4: Childe 5: Time of Love Is Now 6: Diamond Meadows 7: Root of Star 8: Beltane Walk 9: Is It Love? 10: One Inch Rock 11: Summer Deep 12: Seagull Woman 13: Sun Eye 14: Wizard 15: Children of Rarn

Customer Reviews Sweet Album One is a hippie poet who sings songs about elves, goblins, wizards. This record is a perfect blend of Bolans two characters he created. 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 want to give every child a chance to dance" 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. . The Genesis of Glam Rock Rex is a wonderful timepiece from the 1970's. This magical album for Marc Bolan and his newly christened band T. 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!. . You can see a complete list of all T. Rex discography, or go back to the T. Rex tabs