''Bolan's Zip Gun'' is the tenth studio album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band T. Rex, released on February 1975 by record label

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. Eight of the eleven songs on the album had already been released in the US the previous year on the ''

Light of Love ''Light of Love'' is a US-only album released by British rock band T. Rex in 1974. It is composed of 3 tracks previously released in the UK on the album ''Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow'', together with 8 songs recorded in the Sp ...

'' album on

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...

. ''Zip Gun'' was a repackage with three extra tracks.Paytress, Mark. Bolan: The Rise and Fall of a 20th Century Superstar. Omnibus Press. 2003. However, it was the only T. Rex album that failed to chart in the UK.

Background and production

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

's new partner

Gloria Jones Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song "Tainted Love" and has wo ...

and other recent American friends, such as Gloria's brother Richard and backing singer Pat Hall, had helped influence Bolan's music, and he was experimenting with

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

inflections. The album was recorded at MRI Studios in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, United States. The album was produced by

Music and lyrics

Although the sound of the album was very stark and the lyrics very simple and direct, Bolan had tried to go beyond the rock format of the previous T. Rex sound and reflect his recent immersion in the US

scene. Several of the songs had a very futuristic tone, especially "Space Boss", "Think Zinc", and "Golden Belt", Bolan being a great fan of science fiction. The band on this album also featured a twin-drum sound on some tracks, notably "Solid Baby", provided by Davy Lutton and Paul Fenton.

Release

''Bolan’s Zip Gun'' was released on February 1975 on the T. Rex label (distributed by

). It did not chart in the United Kingdom. Two singles were released from the album: "Light of Love", which reached No. 22 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and "Zip Gun Boogie". In 1994, Edsel Records's released ''Bolan’s Zip Gun'' as part of their extensive T. Rex reissue campaign, but cut down on the number of bonus tracks. A companion release, entitled ''Precious Star (The Alternate Zip Gun)'', was released in 1995 which contained alternative versions, studio rough mixes, a live version and demos of the main album and bonus tracks. A combined album

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

was released in 2002.

Reception

Upon release, ''Bolan's Zip Gun'' was poorly received by critics. In a retrospective review,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised the diversity of the material, with tracks like "the delightful knockabout "Precious Star," the unrepentant boogie of "Till Dawn" and the pounding title track" which was a return to the "understated romp he had always excelled at", "Token of My Love" was described as "equally incandescent" for being a playful blues. Reviewer Dave Thompson noted that a sparser sound "emphasized the rhythms, heightened the backing vocals, and left rock convention far behind. "Light of Love," "Golden Belt" and the heavyweight ballad "I Really Love You Babe"" all had "an earthy authenticity". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' wrote, "A purposeful return to the looser sound of ''

Electric Warrior ''Electric Warrior'' is the second studio album by English rock band T. Rex, their sixth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex. The album marked a turning point in the band's sound, moving away from the folk-oriented sound of the group's pre ...

'', ''Gun'' fires blanks. For all its directness, the album is mostly perfunctory, working some of the same sounds and ideas, but the results lack movement and liveliness; Bolan's mojo definitely wasn't working. Worse, he really doesn't sound invested in these songs." However, reviewer Stephen M. Deusner noted that the alternate takes on the second disc of the 2014 reissue were "rougher and rawer" and "vastly improve on these songs, bringing out a charmingly stiff boogie piano on "Precious Star" and the popping bass line on "Light of Love".

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

shared a similar opinion saying that "''Zip Gun'' contains enough good moments to preclude classification as a disaster, but just barely." However, reviewer Whitney Strub praised a few tracks saying, ""Light of Love" opens things on a glam-funk note, and "Precious Star" offers irresistibly creamy doo-wop."

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, guitar, DMS (Dartmouth Music Synthesizer) and Moog * Mickey Finn – hand percussion *

Dino Dines Peter Leslie "Dino" Dines (17 December 1944 – 28 January 2004) was a British keyboard player, best known for his work as a member of T-Rex. Dines was also a member of Apostolic Intervention and the Keef Hartley Band. Career Early Dines was a m ...

– keyboards *

– backing vocals,

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

Steve Currie Steve Currie (19 May 1947 – 28 April 1981) was an English musician who was best known as the bass player and a long-term member of the English glam rock band T. Rex. While working for the local Tax office, Currie played with local Grims ...

– bass guitar *

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

– backing vocals * Davy Lutton – drums * Paul Fenton – additional drums on "Solid Baby" *

Bill Legend Bill Legend (born William Arthur Fifield, 8 May 1944, Barking, London, Barking, Essex, England) is an English musician and former drummer for glam rock band T. Rex (band), T. Rex during their most successful period. Biography One of three chil ...

Background and production

Music and lyrics

Release

Reception

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

References

External links