Rating: 9 out of 10
Band Lineup:
Marc Bolan-acoustic guitar, lead vocals
Steve Peregrine Took-drums, percussion, pixiephone, backing vocals
Track Listing:
Side One
1. Hot Rod Mama (Bolan)
2. Scenescof (Bolan)
3. Child Star (Bolan)
4. Strange Orchestras (Bolan)
5. Chateau in Virginia Waters (Bolan)
6. Dwarfish Trumpet Blues (Bolan)
Side Two
7. Mustang Ford (Bolan)
8. Afghan Woman (Bolan)
9. Knight (Bolan)
10. Graceful Fat Sheba (Bolan)
11. Weilder of Words (Bolan)
12. Frowning Atahuallpa (My Inca Love) (Bolan)
The debut album by Tyrannosaurus Rex (later to find fame as T. Rex) is a unique and magical experience, but is definitely not for everybody. The album can best be described as folk-psych, and is entirely acoustic, featuring Marc Bolan on acoustic guitar and lead vocals and Steve Peregrine Took on percussion, pixiephone, and backing vocals. Furthermore, the lyrics are very influenced by mythology and Tolkein (further evidenced by Steve’s stage name, Steve Peregrine Took, after the hobbit, Peregrine Took). In addition, Marc purposefully sings in a bleating voice, which makes the lyrics hard to understand on the first listen (though it creates a magical and mythical quality that adds a lot to the atmosphere of the album). Overall, the first couple listens to this album are challenging, yet rewarding experiences, but thus album has a habit of growing on people, until it becomes a cherished favorite.
“Hot Rod Mama”: The album opens in a magical way with Steve gently banging a gong, before Marc comes in on his acoustic guitar in full force. This is a song that had been in Marc’s repertoire for a while, and was even played a few times with John’s Children. It shows Marc’s lifelong love for cars (despite the fact that he never learned how to drive!) existed even during his most mystical and Tolkein inspired period. Not the best song on the album, but it works well as the opener, as it is a little catchier and more accessible than some of the following tracks, and displays all of the elements of this album: Marc’s bleating vocals and acoustic guitar, and Steve’s percussion wizardry and excellent backing vocals.
“Scenescof”: A very simple yet beautiful song, displaying some excellent acoustic guitar work by Marc. Also, it is the first example on the album of Marc’s amazing scat singing ability, in which he literally turns his voice into an instrument.
“Child Star”: One of the strongest tracks on this album, features more beautiful guitar work by Marc, who seriously might be one of the more underrated guitarists of the era. Clearly he’s no Jimi Hendrix, but his ability to create such simple, yet hauntingly beautiful passages is simply out of this world. “Child Star” is definitely Marc’s fantasy-autobiography, as this is the way he clearly would like to be seen (the connection is made all the more obvious by the line, “your elfish fingers kiss your Beethoven hair”). Its hauntingly beautiful atmosphere definitely makes this one of the best songs on this exquisite album.
“Strange Orchestras”: One of the more up-tempo songs on the album, featuring nice acoustic guitar work and scat singing to match the rhythm by Marc and cool backing vocals/noises by Steve.
“Chateau in Virginia Waters”: Another standout track, though other than the two obligatory car songs, this is probably the least mythologically inspired song on the album. Instead, it tells of an author who struggles to write a book and live “free from all those culture vultures” who bring her down.
“Dwarfish Trumpet Blues”: A great ending to side one. A classic early Bolan story of a dwarf trumpet player who is “deaf, dumb, and blind,” but aided in his playing by a “solid silver genii.” This song also features some great scat singing by Marc and some excellent bongo work by Steve in the little up-tempo jam that closes out the first side of the album.
“Mustang Ford”: Just like side one, side two opens with a song about a car that Marc had originally performed with John’s Children. It has a catchy rhythm and good vocal improvisation by Marc, but is the only song on the album (on which nearly every song is under three minutes) that maybe goes on a little too long.
“Afghan Woman”: One of the best songs on the album. The lyrics are beautiful, and like almost all of their work, the melody is impeccable. Not much new ground can be covered by talking about the stylistic elements, as most of the songs on the album are fairly similar in that regard, but something about the magic of Marc and Steve prevents the album from ever getting boring.
“Knight”: Honestly, what more can I say without sounding like a broken record? This song is yet another beautiful acoustic number on an album full of them.
“Graceful Fat Sheba”: Perhaps the strangest song on the album, though on first listen it doesn’t seem to be any different from the rest of the album, as the instrumentation is the same. However, Steve’s vocals are prominently featured, as he sings the first few words of each couplet before Marc comes in. Furthermore, the subject matter strays far from the mythical, Tolkeinesque leanings of most of the songs to portray a female butcher in a somewhat gruesome image.
“Weilder of Words”: Yes, the title is deliberately misspelled, and yes, the bulk of this song is quite similar to the rest of the album. However, the scat singing element is taken to its experimental extreme on this song, as Marc and Steve spend about a minute singing the name of the “weilder of words,” “Robard de Font Le Roy,” over and over in different combinations of high and low voices, before veering off into another minute of purely syllabic scat singing with no words at all, which encapsulates their vision of psychedelic music, in which they used vocal experimentation in the same way that electric bands experimented on guitars and organs.
“Frowning Atahuallpa (My Inca Love)”: Definitely the pinnacle of beauty on the album. This song can be divided into four parts. The first part is a beautiful song by Marc remembering a lost love, who also happens to be some sort of Incan royalty. This song is again similar to the rest of the album stylistically, as is the second part, which is perhaps the earliest recording of a Hindu mantra on a Western pop record. It features Marc and Steve singing “hare krishna” in a style similar to the scat singing that they do on many of the other songs on this album. Then, in a radical departure from anything yet heard, the third part of this song is a recording of the famous British underground DJ (and Tyrannosaurus Rex champion) John Peel reading the first half of a short story written by Marc (the second half appears at the end of Tyrannosaurus Rex’s third album, Unicorn) about the adventures of Kingsley Mole and Lionel Lark. Finally, the song concludes with a brief return to the typical Tyrannosaurus Rex sound where Marc sings a beautiful four-lined piece that yearns for the simplicity of the past and ends with the album title itself.
BONUS: “Debora”: As a special bonus, here’s the A-side of Tyrannosaurus Rex’s first single, “Debora,” which was released around the same time as this album, and was actually a minor hit. “Debora” is a great song that is driven along by Steve’s percussion, while Marc’s guitar is more subdued, unlike on the album, and Marc’s vocals are a little clearer and less bleated, probably for commercial appeal. However, lyrically it fits right in with the material on the album, as it is a weird love song with similar mythical references. This is a great song and a great place for anyone interested in Tyrannosaurus Rex to start.
As I previously stated, this album can be challenging on the first listen, but over time its beauty grows and blossoms in your soul, making this a truly great record. For those who are up to the challenge, I recommend purchasing the Universal Records cd, which contains the original twelve song album plus sixteen bonus tracks.
As always, links to the songs (unfortunately I don't currently have links to all of them):
Also, the lyrics to the album for better understanding.
Great review. Your well written piece makes me long for yearn for a transcontinental car ride in which to listen to this cd and let it take root.
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