''T. Rex'' is a 1970 album by

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 band T. Rex, the first under that name and the fifth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968. It was released on 18 December by record labels

Fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

and

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

. The album continued the shift begun by its predecessor from the band's previous

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

style to a minimal rock sound, and was still a balance of electric and acoustic material.

Content and music

Although the album was credited to T. Rex, all the recordings (as well as the cover shot) were done when they still were Tyrannosaurus Rex, with the two-man lineup of singer/songwriter/guitarist

and percussionist Mickey Finn, although producer

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

played bass and recorder on a couple of tracks. Bolan had considered calling the album ''The Wizard'' or ''The Children of Rarn'', before opting for a self-titled album.Paytress, Mark. ''Bolan: The Rise and Fall of a 20th Century Superstar''. Omnibus Press. 2003. Bolan wanted to be pictured with his electric guitar to suit the new electric image he was trying to create. The album continued in the vein of the duo's previous album ''

A Beard of Stars ''A Beard of Stars'' is the fourth studio album by English psychedelic folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex, and their last before changing their name to T. Rex. It was released in March 1970 by record label Regal Zonophone. Music ''A Beard of Stars ...

'', with an even further emphasis on an electric rock sound and the addition of strings on several tracks. Certain tracks like "The Time of Love is Now", "Suneye" and "Root of Star", were stylistically closer to the folk music of Tyrannosaurus Rex.

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 ...

wrote that "The tone of the album is a bit more pastoral" than on the previous album but electric guitars are integrated in tracks in "Beltane Walk"," "Is It Love", and "Diamond Meadows", predating the style of the follow-up. Lyrics were inspired in part by

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

. It is poetry about wizards, Druids, and a "Liquid Poetess in a buckskin dress". Journalist Tom Everett observed that Bolan was "clearly infatuated with mysticism, as well as the pure sounds of the English language". The album contained electric reworkings of two old Tyrannosaurus Rex songs, one of which, "The Wizard", was originally recorded as the A side of Bolan's (solo) first single, back in 1965. The second was an electric version of the second Tyrannosaurus Rex single, "One Inch Rock", with an intro of scat-singing by Bolan and Finn, which the duo had been incorporating into live acoustic versions for some months prior to the album sessions. The remaining short songs, however, were new material. The opener and closing track were incursion into symphonic rock.

Howard Kaylan Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan, June 22, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of th ...

and

Mark Volman Mark Randall Volman (born April 19, 1947) is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with his bandmate and friend Howard Kaylan, a member of the 1970s rock duo ...

, aka "

Flo and Eddie Flo & Eddie is a comedy rock duo consisting of Mark Volman (Flo, short for Phlorescent Leech) and Howard Kaylan (Eddie). The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 mid-to late 1960s rock and pop group The Turtles. After the Turtl ...

", sang backup vocals for the first time on a T. Rex song, "Seagull Woman". They would go on to sing on most of the group's subsequent string of hits.

Release

The album was released on 18 December 1970 by Fly and Reprise. The sleeve design was unusual, requiring a sideways look to unfold the cover, or to have the artwork sideways to remove the LP. It broke T. Rex in the UK, following the surprise success of the then-recent single " Ride a White Swan", which reached No. 2 in the charts, and before its No. 1 follow-up " Hot Love". The album is today listed by the

Official Chart Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

's website as having eventually reached a chart peak of No. 7 and accumulated several runs on the charts totalling 25 weeks. This peak however took place during the

1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike The 1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike was a strike in the United Kingdom staged by postal workers between January and March 1971. Details The strike was Britain's first national postal strike and began after postal workers demanded a pay ri ...

during which no album chart was issued and therefore the site recognises the ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' chart for February–April 1971. The ''

Guinness Book of British Hit Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of t ...

'' which did not recognise any album chart for the missing weeks, listed the album as having peaked at number 13.Guinness Book of British Hit Albums, Guinness Books, 1977-2006 editions The US pressing of the LP concluded with "Ride a White Swan", rather than "The Children of Rarn (Reprise)".

Reception and legacy

Upon release, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' published a glowing review saying, "It's difficult to isolate any one or two songs as being special favorites". Reviewer Todd Everett praised the band for "their ability to intermix vocal and instrumental sounds — the voices often go into a feedback guitar imitation. It's not the kind of trick every group should try". In his retrospective review, Mark Deming of

wrote, "''T. Rex'' is the quiet before the storm 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 ...

'', and it retains a loopy energy and easy charm that makes it one of Bolan's watershed works".

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...

the Bongos The Bongos were a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...

covered "The Visit" on his first solo album, ''Cool Blue Halo'' (1987).

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

covered "Jewel" in 1999 with her second band

the Creatures The Creatures were an English band formed in 1981 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie (musician), Budgie of the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Creatures released their first extended play, EP ''Wild Things (EP), Wild Things'' in ...

."Siouxsie / the Creatures 'Jewel' (T. Rex cover) live in Oxford, Zodiac 1999"
Youtube. February 1999. Retrieved 2 June 2018

Track listing

Personnel

;T.Rex *

– vocals, guitar, bass, organ * Mickey Finn – drums, bass, Pixiphone, vocals with: *

– bass, piano, recorder, string arrangements,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

– backing vocals *

Roy Thomas Baker Roy Thomas Baker (born 10 November 1946) is an English record producer, songwriter and arranger, who has produced rock and pop and songs since the 1970s. Career Baker began his career at Decca Records at the age of 14 and later worked as an a ...

–

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control T. Rex (band) albums 1970 albums Albums arranged by Tony Visconti Albums produced by Tony Visconti Albums recorded at Trident Studios Fly Records albums Reprise Records albums