T. Rex

Artist: T. Rex
Label: Umvd Import
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Limited Edition
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 602498225134
EAN: 0602498225134
ASIN: B0002LU97Q

Release Date: 2004-10-21

T. Rex

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Tracks:

Children of Rarn
Jewel
Visit
Childe
Time of Love Is Now
Diamond Meadows
Root of Star
Beltane Walk
Is It Love?
One Inch Rock
Summer Deep
Seagull Woman
Suneye
Wizard
Children of Rarn
Ride a White Swan [Single 'A' Side][*]
Summertime Blues [Single 'B' Side][*]
Poem [*]
Visit [Take 4][*]
Diamond Meadows [Take 6][*]
One Inch Rock [*]
Seagull Woman [*]
Wizard [*]
Children of Rarn [*]

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Album Description

The classic T. Rex album from 1970, digitally remastered and augmented with nine bonus tracks - 'Ride A White Swan', 'Summertime Blues', 'Poem' (work in progress), 'The Visit' (take 4), 'Diamond Meadows' (take 6), 'One Inch Rock' (work in progress), 'Seagull Woman' (work in progress), 'The Wizard' (work in progress), & 'The Children Of Rarn' (work in progress). Universal. 2004.

Album Details

The Classic T Rex Album from 1970 Has Been Digitally Remastered and Now Comes Complete with Nine Bonus Tracks. Enhanced Packaging Includes Restored Original Artwork, Sleevenotes by Mark Paytress and Rare Photographs by Peter Sanders.

Customer Reviews:

ECLECTIC WARRIOR.......2006-07-01

"Electric Warrior" may have surprised a good many people, but only those who had not been paying attention. Through the folky haze of their formative years, before Bolan saw the dinosaur move, Tyrannosaurus Rex had already spun out dozens of great riffs and wonderful, highly stylized songs that struggled to find much of an audience. We could trade pre-electric playlists all day long. The fact remains that until Leo Fender and Les Paul put in their first appearance with the band by the light of the magical moon on "Beard of Stars" -- still a few years prior to the Big Bang -- it seemed that a significant audience might never arrive. But still, with all those years of simple acoustic accompaniment as ballast, this rewired T. Rex produced what might be their most characteristic record. Perhaps, arguably, their best. It's a polarizing thought, "T. Rex" vs. "Electric Warrior", on par with the "Revolver" vs. "Sergeant Pepper" debate. But the question is not without merit. (For the record, my votes go to "Revolver" and "T. Rex".)

The pose here is pre-glam, more candid, less rehearsed. There is a weird, beautiful shimmer and gleam to these songs that still has the innocent waxy glow of the right honorable early days -- a glow that becomes a hard silicon shine on "Electric Warrior." These songs are still sentimental, still strangely strange and still comparatively as eclectic as they are electric. And lurking behind almost every track, just within earshot, is that thing that became so destructively popular. That twitchy hiccup on top of a four-square beat, solid as rock, fluid as folk, light as air and bright as a star.

Since the source material is better to begin with, the sonic improvements here are not as spectacular as the much needed salvation work done to the still earlier Regal Zonophone recordings. That narrow range of acoustic guitar matched so closely to Bolan's voice that is typical of the earlier records is not an easy sound to deal with in the first place. Thanks to Visconti's and Bolan's maturing producing, writing and performing abilities "T. Rex" sounded pretty good when it was first released. The remastering is carefully done with an emphasis on preserving the thin, concise quality of Bolan's pre-Warrior sound. And the bonus tracks -- there are so many now, on so many different releases that it's getting tough to keep up -- are interesting enough and smart enough to include the "Ride a White Swan" single which was on the US album, but not on this, the original UK version.

"T. Rex" is one of those pure and eccentric records that come around now again -- products of those transitional times when a style is fully formed but hasn't quite yet been set in stone. You know, the kind of stone that guarantees vast success in exchange for rigid predictability. From this vantage point we still have "Warrior" and "Slider" to look forward to before things begin to get a little too slick. And, once more, we have the chance to spend another golden moment in Summer Deep.

A beautiful and spiritual Bolan album, mature and ethereal........2006-06-06

This has to be my personal favorite 'on a spiritual level' Marc Bolan album. Period. I am moved so by his music, and especially this masterpiece. His later work such as Warrior, Slider, and Tanx have to be some of the most exciting music ever, but this album is just brimming with something obvious and yet subtle- I can't put my finger on it! Ethereal and almost otherworldly- the only way to describe it is to suggest he wrote it from somewhere beyond consciousness, yet while still conscious- or from beyond the grave and yet still living......it doesn't really contain any real commercial stand outs, or defining songs(except the bonus song 'Ride a White Swan'), but is a sort of 1970 suburban/garage band/fantasia/simply complex plethora of guitar-wah wah-poetic imagery-stream of consciousness-inspired cosmic dittys. This album is somewhat different from Beard of Stars in the lyrical content- but the guitar is similar and more refined to a tasteful sound. Beard is more fantasy/King Arthur-ish/Tolkien meets Hendrix(no disrespect to Jimmy intended).Unicorn and Beard of Stars leave me with an image of Marc writing songs on the hill of Glastonbury Abbey or in the shade of a great castle. This album is more of a current(1970) state of being, more focused on now versus then. I picture him writing these songs on a cool English morning perhaps recording early demos in a makeshift studio in a garage, with the door wide open to a field of beautiful flowers overlooking a lake with a breeze rippling the deep blue waters .....wait, I'm getting ahead of myself! Unique album, and I guess I would have to say it was another moment in time that Marc captured, and thankfully left us from his short life. The first song draws you in-'The Children of Rarn', beckoning you to enter this adventure like a childe entering the world, or a mind travelling to a more cosmic dimensional plane, a crossroads akin to a matrix - then suddenly in a loud distorted ,earthy, heartbeating drum- thumping you are suddenly forced to listen to 'Jewel' which is a good, noisy, bluesy rock and roll riff song about a woman called Jewel(mother or witch?). Next is the song simply entitled 'The Visit', a beautiful song about, perhaps a visitor from somewhere distant, or alien, or perhaps he is the visitor ala' 'Cosmic Dancer'? The following song is 'Childe' which is very hypnotic, strange, and yet pleasing to listen to, and I cannot fathom it other than a song about giving to others what he wishes he himself had. 'The Time of Love is Now' is another beautiful, yet in-your-face urgent message from Marc, and very spiritual, almost an American Indian sounding middle/solo with a flute. Inspirational and a message that makes no sense, yet the message gets into your subconscious and then you know what it really means, I guess. 'Diamond Meadows' has lush backing of violins similar to the Beatles 'Yesterday', and the melody is absolutely sweet as it gets. 'Root of Star' is my favorite song on the album. Simply beautiful. It has an Eastern, as well as a western, cosmic/spiritual/shamanistic/tribal/wah-wah essence to it. Next we are at first teased by what sounds like a last minute tuning of a guitar then hit with the absolute coolest, distorted, simple, almost flatulent sounding notes, followed by optimistic, sunny stringed orchestral envelopment in the song 'Beltane Walk'.'Is It Love' is next, and even more distortion to the point of distorted distortion! Simple song but catchy and great guitar hook! 'One Inch Rock' is re-invented once more after previously being in earlier material- and simply fun fantasy rock. 'Summer Deep' is a hook filled song, and uplifting:Tyranasaurus Rex meets T. Rex in the most absolute way! 'Seagull Woman' is remindful of the Grateful Dead' but more powerful and melodic, and sweet and sad, yet bittersweet at the same time in lyrics and instrumentation. I love this song like a child of my own! 'Suneye' is next, and I think of John Lennon, lyrics and music reminiscent of 'Julia' off from the White album or 'Look at Me' off the Plastic Ono Band album.'The Wizard' is very very long, and yet also hypnotic and another rehashing, or should I say 're-hatching' of an earlier concept that, probably only would fit onto Bolan's first Tyrannasaurus Rex album other than this one.The closing song is the reprise to 'The Children of Rarn', and thus ends the complete cycle to this masterpiece! What follows on this extended cut version of the album is the seminal, and relative T. Rex incarnate sound of 'Ride a White Swan'(probably should have been included as a cut originally to this set). 'Summertime Blues' ushers us into the true inspiration to Marc Bolan's rock and roll roots, namely Eddie Cochran. Incidentally didn't Eddie die young in a car crash? The remaining versions of previous songs follow, but they are not too much different than their final versions. Buy this album, you won't be dissapointed- just make sure you listen to it two or three times then you will be hooked!!!

The Dawn of T. Rex.......2006-03-03

This magical album for Marc Bolan and his newly christened band T. Rex is a wonderful timepiece from the 1970's. It is the perfect mix of Bolan's fanciful imagination, his lyrical poetry, and producer Tony Visconti's string arrangements. It would be the album that launched the T. Rex craze in Britain for the next three years.
The "T. Rex" album marked the transition from Bolan's gentle Tolkien inspired Tyrannosaurus Rex acoustic days to the Electric Warrior, the king of fashion conscious, mascara heavy Glam Rock. Many early fans were quite disappointed with the change, as their homegrown favorite had now become the darling of the teenage set. The single "Ride a White Swan" from this time (that should be included on this CD) paved the way for the T. Rex hit machine, and was a staple in Bolan's live set until his all-too-early death in 1977. It was a huge hit in the UK and has been covered numerous times since Bolan's death.

The album opens with the short intro "The Children Of Rarn," Bolan's own piece of mythology that bridges the divide between Tyrannosaurus Rex to T. Rex beautifully. Interestingly enough, Marc had created a whole 20 minute piece around this track ("The Children of Rarn Suite") that didn't see the light of day until Tony Visconti released a version back in 1978. It could have been a wonderful concept piece. The songs that follow on the album are simply beautiful works of poetry set to music. Highlights are "Jewel," "The Visit," "Summer Deep," and "Diamond Meadows" (most recently heard in the movie "Velvet Goldmine").

While each T. Rex album is near and dear to my heart, this probably isn't the best place to start if you're interested in Marc Bolan and his band. The album of choice for a starting point would be "Electric Warrior," followed by "The Slider," then this album. Once you're under Bolan's spell, you're hooked!

Blend of acoustic and electric styles remains Bolan's best.......2005-03-14

In a rather ecstatic review for the earlier unremastered Castle
CD of this first T.Rex album from 1970, I declared it Bolan's absolute best, a transitional work that combined prime but far more accessible examples of the earlier acoustic Tyrannosaurus Rex sound ("The Visit", "The Time Of Love Is Now", "Root Of Star") with thrilling embryonic versions of the T.Rex electric pop sound ("Jewel", "Childe", "Beltane Walk", "Is It Love?", "One Inch Rock"), with not a single weak track in sight and capturing Bolan's magical personality at its purest. The last album with the two-man lineup of Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn, it was also the first album to feature strings, drums and Flo & Eddie on backing vocals (albeit on only one song, the gorgeous "Seagull Woman").

My opinion remains unchanged and has only grown with time; what was always frustrating was the thin sound of all previous CD releases, which did not do justice to such an important work. This latest deluxe reissue finally gives the album its due, with a loud and clear remaster that highlights every explosive guitar solo, epic scream and production trick. The lyrics and artwork
are restored, although unfortunately the bonus tracks are the weakest of all the remasters: while the seminal non-LP single "Ride A White Swan"/"Summertime Blues" is included, the outtakes sound almost identical to the released versions despite being labeled "works in progress". Outside of a slight remix, I found nary a difference to the album versions. What's more, the fantastic instrumental outtake "Deep Summer" is not included, one of the few T.Rex cuts to remain in the hands of the bootleggers. Despite this, I would recommend everyone get their hands on a copy of this reissue, if only for the quality of the album itself, combined with the vastly improved sound.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Toshiko's Piano ~ Toshiko Akiyoshi

Warm Front ~ Jr. Billy Joe Walker

Ramsey Lewis' Golden Hits (Newly Recorded, All-Time, Non-Stop) ~ Ramsey Lewis

Modern Jazz Quartet ~ The Modern Jazz Quartet

Essential Crooners ~ Various Artists

Pumpkin's Delight ~ Sphere

Colection Estelar de Navidad Tropical ~ Navidenas Bailables, Various Artists

Ost ~ Yoshitsune Nhk

Jika ~ Winston Mankunku, Mike Perry

Golden J-Pop: Best ~ Toshiyuki Nishida