Lots of people know T. Rex. One of the biggest groups of the early 70's, Marc Bolan was able to capture the imaginations of young kids from a period of roughly 3 years to become almost as big as The Beatles. Lots of people point to Led Zeppelin as The Beatles of the 70's, but from 1970-1973, the group scored four no.1 hit songs in England. Led Zeppelin were massive, but they were never successful on the singles charts. In fact, not a single one of their singles charted at all in England. T. Rex were also arguably the group responsible for the glam rock boom. David Bowie kicked the doors wide open with Ziggy Stardust in 1972, but he might not have without seeing his friend Bolan appear on Top of The Pops a year earlier in a glittery, make up glory. You could be forgiven to think Bolan and T. Rex were a brand new group breaking out of nowhere, but Marc had been around for a few years before, just under a longer name and vastly, vastly different sound.
Now while the first, self-titled T.Rex album from 1970 bridged the gap pretty well between their earlier work as Tyrannosaurus Rex and the simple glam rock that would make them worldwide sensations, I don't think anyone familiar with songs like Get It On or Metal Guru expect the utter difference that Tyrannosaurus Rex is. There's no chunky electric riffs, no 12 bar blues. This is psychedelic folk at it's most fantastical. Sure, Bolan's lyrics were more poetic than the next glammer, with even the most simple song like Get It On having lines like, "Well you're an untamed youth/
That's the truth with your cloak full of eagles" but with songs about beasties, unicorns, sentient salamanders and crocodiles to name a few, this is pure English fantasy. The formula was perfected, in my opinion, on their third album, 1969's Unicorn.
Only a duo here, Bolan and original percussionist Steve Peregrine Took up the ante from their previous two records with the inclusion of electric guitar and a full drum set. Nowhere does this become them rocking out, but is a logical progression of their sound and adds a new dimension to the songs. Bolan had a way with creating an extremely tangible atmosphere in these songs. Even though there are times where it's difficult to make out what he's singing (apparently on purpose) but the sound, the vibe and the little bits and pieces you get here and there firmly sits you in a cozy, warm glow where if you close your eyes, you can really believe you're in an English garden where all of these fantastical things are happening all around you.
I have an emotional attachment to this album, as when I first found this album, I was dealing with a lot of anxiety issues and going through the first throes of panic disorder. I didn't quite know it was panic disorder yet, but I knew something was wrong, as every day I would have horrible panic attacks. It was the summer of 2005 and since it was the summer time, I wasn't in school so I didn't really need to be anywhere. This, along with having no idea why I was basically freaking out every day caused me to isolate myself from my friends and family. I'd spend most of my time in my room listening to music. I already knew of T. Rex but had no idea they had music that was any different from the boogie glam that made them famous. I got a copy of Unicorn and listened to it non stop that entire summer. It really relaxed me and put me in a tranquil state of mind which I really needed. I have vivid memories of pulling all nighters (which is not good for panic disorder let me just say that) and having that overtired fuzz in my head combined with the sunrise and Unicorn it just being a very idyllic, almost spiritual thing.
I could almost see the characters Bolan was singing about come to life in front of me as I was listening to it day in and day out. One thing I think Bolan lost a bit with T. Rex was his penchant for writing some extremely amazing melodies. T. Rex's music is catchy as hell, and some of the ballads, especially on Electric Warrior and The Slider like "Life's A Gas" and "Spaceball Ricochet" are gorgeous, but here, it's just an acoustic guitar and percussion and you either make up something that sticks in people's brains or it just becomes simple, by-the-books singer songwriter-y pap. There's absolutely nothing simple or pedestrian about Unicorn. This album is wacky and it's a shame that after this, the original duo of Bolan and Took splintered as Took's drug use became too much to handle and Bolan would finally begin moving towards the sound that made him a megastar. There was one more Tyrannosaurus Rex album after this, but the writing was on the wall. The Tyrannosaurus Rex that once was was no more and Bolan was onto his next image and his next sound. But I'll always have the memories of Unicorn.
Key Tracks: Chariots of Silk, The Seal of Seasons, The Throat of Winter, Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat), She Was Born To Be My Unicorn, Warlord of The Royal Crocodiles, Evenings of Damask, The Sea Beasts, Iscariot, Nijinsky Hind, The Misty Coast of Albany
His chariot legs
Are tree green and autumn brown
His crown of dusk
Is a glimpse of things to be
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