1) Prelude
2) A Daye Laye 3) Woodland BOP 4) First Heart Mighty Dawn Dart 5) Pavilions of
Sun 6) Organ Blues 7) By the Light of a Magical Moon 8) Wind Cheetah 9) A Beard of Stars 10)
Great Horse 11) Dragon's Ear 12) Lofty Skies 13) Dove 14) Elemental Child
“Unicorn”
reached number 12 in the UK charts and was the first Tyrannosaurus Rex album to be released in the United States. It failed to make any dent whatsoever in the New World, however, so Marc Bolan and
his percussionist and background singing extraordinaire, Steve Peregrine Took, decided to make a radical transformation of
their sound. They began recording their next album, to be titled, “A
Beard of Stars,” using electric guitars and a full drum kit. With
the basic tracks for the album completed, Tyrannosaurus Rex went to the States for a promotional tour in hopes of converting
new fans. It was on this ill-fated string of performances where their partnership
collapsed.
Took was a true
hippie in every sense of the word, believing very strongly in the “tune in-turn on-drop out” lifestyle. He wanted to start and help lead the revolution, and was a little jaded from being the “sidekick.” Like every good hippie, Took was a frequent drug user, with acid being his drug of
choice. Bolan, on the other hand, rarely, if ever used LSD, and wanted one thing,
and one thing only…to be a superstar in the rock world. Although he looked
the part of the great hippie guru, and was heavily into the literature of Tolken and mysticism, Bolan could care less about
the revolution. Perhaps the band’s biggest problem stemmed from the fact
that Took wanted to have the band record some of his own compositions, something the ego of Marc Bolan could never handle,
and when Took went ahead and recorded two of his own songs (on the solo debut of former Pretty Things member John “Twink”
Alder’s album, “Think Pink”), Bolan was upset to say the least.
Everything seems
to have hit the fan on a gig close to the end of the tour at the Electric Garden on Sunset Strip. Took, high on acid, peeled off all his clothes and began whipping himself with his belt until he bled while
on stage. Bolan was shocked and had had enough, so he abandoned Took right there,
leaving for England to find a replacement. He found Took’ successor at
Seeds Restaurant, where Tyrannosaurus Rex’s next percussionist was employed as the restaurant’s mural painter. It has been said that Mickey Finn got the job because he looked very similar to Steve
Took and because Bolan fell in love with the painter’s motorcycle. More
realistic however, was the fact that although Finn was nowhere near the musician Took was, Finn knew his place and didn’t
mind being the “sidekick.” Because Took’s percussion was already
recorded on “A Beard of Stars,” and because it would have taken too long to teach Finn the parts,
Bolan rerecorded the percussion himself, making the album, a true solo effort.
From the very
first song, “Prelude,” Bolan lets his listeners know that this is not the same band. The quiet instrumental piece features Bolan playing an extremely elementary, but smooth and clear electric
guitar “solo” overtop of finger cymbals for about a minute. It isn’t
really a song so much as a set up for what is in store. “A Daye Laye”
follows and sounds a lot like “Unicorn:” catchy and groovy, with a great melody. Bolan only twitches the sound by adding electric splashes on the track, not really changing his style all
that much. On “Woodland BOP” Bolan’s electric guitar
gives the tune a slightly darker edge, but this is still the sound of “Unicorn” with its dance
around the May pole structure and elfish catchphrases. “Fist Heart
Mighty Dawn Dart” is “Bolan blues,” with the electricity starting to take on a greater role, but overall
this is still a hippie sing-a-long song.
“Pavilions
of the Sun” is another dancing elf tune featuring Bolan on bongos and a great melody. The elf does a little moshing towards the end though as Bolan pulls out a punk guitar solo, slowly but
surely transforming his sound, almost track-by-track. “Organ Blues”
actually is structured like a blues song…but I doubt you will ever hear another blues tune just feature a monotonous
organ and poorly timed bongos. It is interesting and short, but not very memorable. On the contrary, “By The Light
Of A Magical Moon” is a good tune. The happiest track on the record,
it has a very soothing, bouncy rhythm and is close to pop as the record gets. “Wind
Cheetah” closes out the first side of the record with an evil, atmospheric, electric guitar driven chant that is
most definitely not the kind of song you’d want to hear while tripping. Never
has Tyrannosaurus Rex sounded so Goth, and coming on the heels of “Unicorn,” this is downright
frightening.
The second side begins with
the title track. Basically an instrumental, Bolan lets his electric guitar take
center stage. It isn’t technically great, but he adds his unique take on
melody and the performance manages to come across as gleaming. “Great
Horse” is a slow ballad with an interesting melody that doesn’t come right out and grab you, but it is a
haunting tune. “Dragon’s Ear” is a cool, standard
Bolan tune with his typical musical changes that sound out of place, but somehow work.
A wah-wha guitar is featured in the background of the cute little love song “Lofty Skies.” The song is nothing amazing, but is pleasant and agreeable. “Dove” is a pretty ballad, warm and genuine.
For the first time, Marc lyrics are straightforward and have none of the mysticism heard previous. The touching ballad makes for an interesting lead in to the lengthy Bolan album closer. This isn’t the unusual spoken poem closer though…”Elemental Child” is
a distorted, hard rocking tune, that is gritty and Hendrix like. It is shocking
in terms of what Bolan’s previous albums sounded like, but is definitely paving a road for what was to come, with Bolan’s
one-man assault on your eardrums. Not a classic by itself, but in terms of Bolan’s
career, an enormous turning point, and a telling way to end the record.
None of the songs here are actually classics by
themselves. The album though, is very even and effective when listened to as
a whole. Significantly, Bolan doesn’t use his slurred vocal delivery that
had become his trademark. On “A Beard of Stars”
you can make out most of what Bolan is saying, and while this might add to the accessibility, it does take away from that
elfin charm. You could call this a sellout album, where Bolan begins his quest
for a hit record, or you could call it a transitional record, where Bolan slowly but surely develops his true sound. I’ll just call it a pretty good album, with no filler, packed full of interesting,
if not great tunes.
