Marc Bolan & T.Rex
"Spaceball"
(NMC)
I am sitting here looking at a stack of T.Rex CDs that could easily choke a horse. I've had most of them for over a year and more than half of them are still in the plastic. I can't explain exactly how and why I have all these T.Rex discs but I assure you that nothing illegal transpired in the process of acquisition. The one thing that bothers me about this stack of discs is that it doesn't include Marc Bolan's finest album ever, "Electric Warrior" or even the first disc where he shortened the band's name from Tyrannosaurus Rex down to just plain old T.Rex and contained their first hit single in America, "Ride A White Swan."
The reason I'm looking at this stack in the first place is that I have just received a copy of "Spaceball" by Marc Bolan & T.Rex. This twqo-CD set is a compilation of American radio performances by Bolan and the band. Some of it is acoustic solo and some of is full-on electric silliness. Recorded in 1971 and 1972, these sessions reveal a rare, stripped down view into Bolan's musical strengths and weaknesses. Besides the outrageous glam veneer that became T.Rex's signature, Marc Bolan was a trippy little songwriter from England who seemed intent on melding the disparate worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of The Rings" with Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie." A huge influence on a young David Bowie (think: "Space Oddity" or Moonage Daydream"), Bolan's UK success was ultimately eclipsed by that of the Thin White Duke.
A rock and roll Merlin who crooned towards the moon and the stars with songs like "Spaceball Ricochet" and "Planet Queen," Bolan was also a solid electric guitarist who was more than slightly influenced by Jimi Hendrix. These tracks capture Bolan performing with wasted elegance and elfin glee. Unable to hide behind studio production and countless guitar overdubs, Bolan becomes a resolute entertainer with a quirky, distinctive style. His voice was an elusive, almost fey-sounding instrument that could generate blissed-out cosmic idealism as easily as exhibiting an omnivorous sexual hunger. His warbling falsetto cuts through the unplugged performances and overcomes some extremely weak-sounding recordings that sound like they were performed in a broom closet.
I like the "Spaceball" sessions just fine but did we really need three different versions of "Cosmic Dancer?" Why no "Ride A White Swan" or even "Bang A Gong (Get It On)?" I guess I'll have to go back to my vinyl for those classic tracks. So, if you already have copies of "Electric Warrior," "Tanx," "Slider," "Light Of Love," "Bolan's Zip Gun," "Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders of Tomorrow" "T.Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recording (Vols. 1-4)," "Live 1977," "Messing With The Mystic," "Dandy In The Underworld," "Futuristic Dragon," "Great Hits 1972-1977 The A Sides," and "Great Hits 1972-1977 The B Sides," it's time to put on your wizard's hat and pick up on "Spaceball."
by Mitch Myers
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.