The Wiz: Marc Bolan- T. Rex- Electric Warrior
What connects a child's hunger for stardom, "The Lord of the Rings", a fearsome dinosaur and glitter?
Marc Bolan, "T. Rex" and "Electric Warrior".
The hunger for stardom.
According to friends and family, Bolan, born Mark Feld to a Jewish father, wanted to become a star from childhood. Seeing Little Richard and Elvis on the cinema screen showed him the way. After years of trying and two managers with little success, he still arrived at another manager's door carrying a guitar and announcing he would be a star.
Bolan founded, sang, played, wrote and led "T. Rex". Before shortening the original name "Tyrannosaurus Rex", the group played psychedelic folk.
His first wife June Child, formerly secretary to the management associated with one of his heroes, "Pink Floyd"'s original singer Syd Barrett, helped raise his profile.
Glitter and "Electric Warrior" followed.
Bolan understood the power of appearance: sparkling clothes and makeup, feathered hats and an androgynous image. He used television's growing influence, fashion and culture to project his star qualities and fuse them with the right attitude.
"Electric Warrior" was the band's sixth album, counting the earlier incarnation, and a decisive turn toward accessible, electric, pop-infused rock 'n' roll and the flamboyance later called glam rock.
His charisma and pioneering stagecraft influenced many others. Even in Israel, one can see echoes of that style in Tzvika Pick's early image.
One television moment often associated with the birth of glam rock is Bolan's glittering, gender-blurring appearance with the band on Britain's "Top of the Pops" in 1971:
Tony Visconti, the legendary producer of "Electric Warrior" and many David Bowie albums, said Bolan inhabited his own creative world. Bolan even asked him to read "The Lord of the Rings" to understand his imagination and writing better. He also wrote poetry, and his only poetry collection became a bestseller as his musical fame grew.
Bowie and Bolan shared Visconti as a producer and had both worked with manager Les Conn. Bolan played guitar on Bowie's 1970 single "The Prettiest Star", later rerecorded for "Aladdin Sane" (1973).
Bowie and Bolan had known one another since their early psychedelic and hippie years, and their glam-era friendship included a healthy rivalry.
Years later, Bowie performed "Cosmic Dancer" live with Morrissey, perhaps the most moving song on this album, or in the entire "T. Rex" catalog.
Visconti arranged its magnificent strings. The words beautifully express Bolan's passion and desire for freedom and distinction, with dancing connecting birth, childhood, adulthood and death.
In an almost eight-minute acoustic version, Bolan explains that the cosmic dancer's story extends beyond one life into reincarnation.
The linked playlists include that performance, the original and several covers, including Nick Cave's moving recent version. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1dExTQkjMrUwuH3CHAnEtl...
A brief family interlude: installment five of "Teach Your Children", conversations through music, revolves around this song and actually inspired this post.
An excellent BBC documentary about his life, named after the song:
Success and influence. "Electric Warrior" became a landmark in sound, culture and musical presentation, and Britain's best-selling album of 1971.
Its success crossed the Atlantic, with "Get It On", a British number one, reaching the American top ten.
The record appears on countless essential-album lists, including number 160 in an earlier edition of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums.
"T. Rex" are also due to enter the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.
The songs have appeared in many soundtracks and inspired numerous covers and artists: Morrissey and Johnny Marr of "The Smiths", David Bowie, Martin Gore of "Depeche Mode", Bobby Gillespie of "Primal Scream", "Guns N' Roses", former "Red Hot Chili Peppers" guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and "Oasis", whose "Cigarettes & Alcohol" strongly recalls "Get It On".
A Bolan and "T. Rex" tribute album is expected this September, featuring the Nick Cave cover mentioned above, Joan Jett, "U2" and Elton John, who also appeared with the band on television early in their career:
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