T. Rex: Tanx

1973 T. Rex Records BLN 5002

I wasn't that keen on Marc Bolan's 1972 release The Slider, even though he was at the top of his game and both Number-One singles Telegram Sam and Metal Guru were included. Somehow the record lacked 'oomph', and - amazing to say - had I not received it as a Christmas present I may even not have bought it! By the spring of 1973, with the success of Children Of The Revolution and Solid Gold Easy Action - both Number Twos - behind him, Bolan's sound was beginning to sound tired, with critics accusing him of churning product. Indeed, the next single, 20th Century Boy was highly reminiscent of Sam, (London's Capital Radio even ran a phone-in offering a prize to the listener who could point out the most differences), disappointing Bolan by 'only' reaching the Number Three slot, and its later follow-up The Groover would be decidely lacklustre, only making it to Number Four. No, Bole was on the slide, so when the music grapevine rumbled with the promise of a new album, tentatively titled Left Hand Luke, we all wondered what was in store.

When the retitled Tanx appeared, its cover featuring 'that' rude photo, picturing Marc astride one of the titular vehicles (there would also be a poster enclosed in a similar vein), the first surprise - especially for a singles-driven pop act such as T. Rex - was that, even as Boy was hitting the airwaves, for the first time the album contained no singles to boost it. It meant that the music would be judged seriously on its own merits, and not on the back of singles chart success. This was hardly reflected in the vainglorious back cover, which sported a mixture of photos of Bolan hobnobbing with celebs such as Harry Nilsson, producer Tony Visconti and Ringo Starr (who had directed the film Born To Boogie the previous year), glitzy live shots, pictures of Marc admiring snaps of himself or reading fan mail, and one in full makeup, presumably to compete with the androgynous image already being flouted by David Bowie, which would be embellished even further with the release of his Aladdin Sane set a month later.

Side One is a kicker, the chugging opening verses of Tenement Lady soon melting into a sweet balled on which the curly one's voice is channelled through a synthesiser. Rapids is a mid-tempo belter, mixing typical elfin nonsense lyrics with some dodgily suggestive ones: 'Clean out yer toes, Rose, and go and lick some uncooked meat', while Mister Mister is a camp, swingalong number with flute-tuned synths evoking Michael Jackson's 1971 take on Rockin' Robin. Broken Hearted Blues ranks among Bolan's most beautiful ballads, while Shock Rock is another chugger, somewhat slight if we're honest, but delivered with top Marc attitude. Country Honey emulates the vaunted Bo Diddley beat, with Bolan using slide guitar for the first time to outrageous advantage, while the closing Electric Slim & The Factory Hen starts off in somewhat melancholy mood, but closes with more rambunctious Bolan camp. So that's side one, a great selection of compositions that plays all the way through without a glitch, the only weak spot being Rock, which nevertheless gets by because of Bole's sheer front.

Side Two is a bit of a mixed bag. Mad Donna is a classic formulaic Bolan composition which could have been among his better singles: a couple of verses, a catchy chorus, a brief guitar break, then repeat choruses ad infinitum till fade. Bole was obviously smitten with his own wit by the punning title, and demonstrated the device's inability to work in other languages by having it introduced by a child in French: 'Donna La Folle' (the album was recorded at Château d'Hérouville studios near Paris, where Elton John waxed part of his Yellow Brick Road album). The following Born To Boogie, (now shorn of its seasonal introduction) was something of a disappointment, having been the B-Side of the band's Christmas Number-Two hit Solid Gold Easy Action. As the flip it rocked along quite nicely, but there's something not quite right here - possibly mastered slower, I'm not technical - but it comes over as a bit lifeless compared with its B-side performance, and was in any case old hat by this time. Worst track on the album is the feeble Life Is Strange, which definitely doesn't rank as one of Bolan's most beautiful ballads, with its thin melody and banal lyrics.

However, this is the point where the album picks up, with three impressive numbers taking it to the close. The upbeat The Street And Babe Shadow opens on British sessioneer Howard Casey's raunchy, blaring sax accompanied by pulsating mellotron, before giving way to the wistful, mid-paced Highway Knees, which once again features synths tuned to sound like flutes or whistles. And finally, what was originally to have been the album's title track, Left Hand Luke And The Beggarboys, a powerful, overwhelmingly cacophonous blues din featuring over-the-top guitar parts from the principal and very bluesy backing vocals from veteran Brit session singers Sue and Sunny.

It's interesting to note Sue and Sunny's presence here, as all of T.Rex's backing vox up to this point had been supplied by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (aka Flo and Eddie from US rock & poppers The Turtles). But this was a transitional period, post F & E but prior to their replacement by Gloria Jones and Sister Pat Hall on this LP's follow-up Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow. I can only discern one track - the old B-Side Born To Boogie - which definitely features the former Turtles, most of the other cuts appearing to feature Bolan himself singing falsetto through some sort of voice box (again, I'm not technical). It's also been suggested that backing was provided by Vicki Brown, Barry St John, Leslie Duncan and Madeline Bell, which may well be the case. However, it's an established fact that Sue and Sunny provided the vocal support on Left Hand Luke. They can also be heard on both 20th Century Boy and The Groover which were hits around the same time.

So, for me, this is probably Bolan's best album, just ahead of his stonkin' 1971 outing Electric Warrior. Side One plays through superbly, while Side Two stalls a bit at first before taking off midway to cross the line in blistering form. Sad to say, it was all downhill from here: a series of tripey singles saw his chart placings slide dramatically, and despite more recent positive reevaluations, the following Zinc Alloy (1974) album was a stinker, its successor, Zip Gun Boogie (1975), was only marginally better (although critics think it's the other way round) and 1976's Futuristic Dragon also recovered little ground. Marc really only found his form again with his final album Dandy In The Underworld (1977), which gave him a Number 13 hit single in March of that year with I Love To Boogie, but subsequent 45s Laser Love and Soul Of My Suit only managed to creep into the low 40s, and the title track Dandy In The Underworld didn't chart at all. A final single, Celebrate Summer also failed to make any impression, and by the end of August Bolan was dead, a victim of the now-infamous Barnes Common car crash. Ahead lay 40 years of compilations, reissues and remixes, as the pundits opined on what direction his music might have taken had he lived. We'll never know. Life is strange...