T.Rex - Zinc Alloy

List of Reviewers

• Chadders
• Chadders 2
• Vampyre
• Gordon
• Simes
• Syd
• MarcO
• Zoom
• Ian
• Rick
• Michel
• Irving
• David Best
• David-Do
• Stewart
• Rabbit
• Terry
• Chris
• Melinda
• Sverre

=== Review by Chadders ====

Let's get the Bowie connections out of the way first. For a start there's the cover, reminiscent of 'Aladdin Sane', and the supposed band name is too close to Ziggy Stardust to deny, but most importantly the black laced gospel/funk/soul/shout prefigures the blue eyed soul of Bowie's 'Young Americans' the following year.

'Venus Loon' is probably the most easily accessible track and although hailed and trailed on BBC Radio 1 as the next single it was thankfully left on the album, 'Explosive Mouth' was always a favourite of mine probably because of the 'art-deco deli' line but it harks back to past glories as well, 'Galaxy' has more than a shadow of 'Universe' (from 'Dandy') about it, 'Teenage Dream' is a major work in all departments though the longer version favoured on the Edsel CD is a mistake, 'Change' is superb, 'Interstellar Soul' is a return to form and 'Leopards ...' rewards repeated hearings. The rest of it fades into an indistinct blur.

All that said, this album is a real departure, though how it sits in the Bolan catalogue is a real puzzle, we never really got anything like it again. It doesn't have the wholeness that distinguishes Bolan albums, but you can't get away from that big black sound. There is some sweet word play and there are riffs of distinction. But over all it fails to engage me and I rarely return to any part of it.

=== Review by Chadders 2 ====

There are exceptions, says MacDonald, Bowie and Springsteen being the most notable. He goes on elsewhere to say that the 'Get Back/Let it Be' fiasco was the Beatles attempt to reinvent themselves against this background of not really being interested in Beatles anymore.

Give a year or two and this theory fits Bolan around 1974. After three outstandingly successful years the big two seven loomed on his horizon. So out came the wildly different 'A Creamed Cage in August'. Originally planned to be credited only to 'Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow' (Shades of 'Richie and the Red Streaks' a possible Beatles pseudonym in 1969) it was to have been left to sink or swim on its own merit without the T.Rex badge until EMI intervened.

'Zinc Alloy' bears no relation to the in your face 'Slider' or more uncertain 'Tanx', and is a real musical departure. Was it a deliberate, but very unfocussed, attempt to reinvent Marc Bolan as a serious musician with a heavy black sound, and shed the teen idol skin while maintaining his distance from the 'prog rock' bores? What would we have called that new sound? Glam Soul?

I don't think this album, in itself, was responsible for the downturn in Bolanic fortunes, they were going to slip anyway. The time and place was against him for this album. It is very rare for teen idols to reinvent themselves successfully as 'serious' musicians, (I think only George Michael has succeeded), but Boley was going about it the right way by abandoning all previous stylistic motifs and taking on something recklessly new. However, the rigid conventions of the time meant that pop/rock experimentation was out of the window unless conducted in very measured terms and then only by a previously agreed list of artists. 'Zinc Alloy' and Marc Bolan were neither of these in 1974.

Caught between the self important musical pomposity of 'prog' and the flimsy manufactured bubble gum disco of the mid 70's, there wasn't much room for Bolan to flex his entertainly original ideas. The largely anti-black bias of 'serious' rock of the period meant that fans who had come in with the Glam hits were left holding the intriguingly different but socially unacceptable music of 'Zinc Alloy'. This is all they had to show to their 'prog' mates that Bolan wasn't just about 'commercial' pop and could return to 'contemporary' rock. The fact it wasn't very good was a real handicap.

By the time 'Bolan's Zip Gun' came along no one was listening.

=== Review by Vampyre ====

Zinc Alloy was the first T.Rex album not released in the US and so, it became the Holy Grail for me. Each successive album seemed to me to get better & better. I couldn't wait to hear Zinc Alloy....

When I finally got the album and had my first listen, my jaw dropped! Where was my beloved Bolan boogie? Like most new albums, it takes me several listens to really hear everything and get familiar. The first thing I noticed was that the familiar Bolan Boogie was replaced by what? - Soul funk? Sky church music? The easiest way for me to explain is that the chunka-chunk-chunka sound was replaced by a chug-2-3-chug-2-3-chug-2-3. The beat had slowed down and I was hearing things in between the beats.

The most noticeable was the background vocals. They aren't just background vocals but an instrument. The key must be the combination of Gloria, Pat Hall & Stephanie Spurill because on later albums with only Gloria, the background vocals are not as spectacular. Was that a cat being strangled on Bolan's Zip Gun? Or a pig squealing on Futuristic Dragon?

Bolan's vocals sound louder & in your face as if to magnify the lyrics. The lyrics are street poems loaded with characters. No more unicorns, sea beasts or chirpy chickens. Perhaps they have succumbed to an animal's disease? - Myxomatosis?

The music is different. What is it? I don't know but Bolan's guitar is also in your face and he creates some great sounds (The Avengers). Some of the songs are schizophrenic: choruses and verses go from soft to hard and don't seem to belong together (Sound Pit, Galaxy, Liquid Gang, Painless Persuasion). They are quite the attention getters. I wonder if Bolan was using Bowie's cut up technique before Bowie?

Hindsight makes me wonder if this was Bolan's Alladin Sane (sorry for the Bowie references but isn't there a similarity in titles between Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars and Zinc Alloy & the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow?). Is this Bolan's fame & fortune album? What has fame & fortune done for him/to him? Who is the jet junk jiver? Had drink & drugs overcome

Bolan? Was he overwhelmed by fame?

Did he care?

The center piece of the album is Teenage Dream. I actually prefer the original album version over the Bramleyized version and despite the story that Bolan really meant to have the longer version on the album, I think the right decision was made in 1974. This is one of Bolan's 3 minute symphonies extened to 5 minutes and one of my favorite songs if not my very favorite. The best word to describe it is "sweeping" from beginning to end starting with the tinkling piano (Visconti?) to the guitar & piano middle break to the final verse where Bolan seems to be asking for redemption or at least a way out. Redemption? The printed lyric is slightly different than what my ears hear: Is it "Nobody disapproves" or "Your God disapproves"? The song references God, Pope Paul, angels, & heaven.

Favorites, highlights? I like them all. Venus Loon gallops out the gate. It is totally manic. Sound Pit is the first schizoid song. Explosive Mouth seems like a hazy drug induced dream. Galaxy? Wake up, wake up, another schizoid song. Change slows the pace down (coming off a high?) A chance to be reflective? Nameless Wildness is short on lyrics, big on passion & great guitar piece on the end (the alt version is even better!). Liquid Gang has this big band sound to me and hammers home some great lyrical images. Carsmile Smith. More big sound, guitar solo, and the Cosmic Choir in full force. Jive & Spanish Midnight is more schizoid song going from hard to soft - the second half is a great ballad in one single sentence. Interstellar Soul is the only Bolan boogie song and somebody isn't buying this interstellar soul shit. I love Gloria's "Bullshit, bullshit." And somebody else name checks a previous hit single? Painless Persuasion is more schizoid and the sound gets harder & louder. What's gonna go? On The Avengers, Marc finally achieves the perfect soul funk sound. The last song Gardenia sounds like Marc has come off of a high, more reflection, more wonderful imagery & characters and doesn't somebody sound like they have a cold? Just a bit nasally?

A lot of my review is what I've noticed several years later and not quite knowing what is true & not true regarding Bolan and drugs. When I first heard it, I loved the totally different T.Rex sound and that was it. From My People to Zinc Alloy, IMHO, Bolan's albums evolved & I saw a progression in the sound. After Zinc Alloy I expected something that I guess would have been impossible to do better & maybe that is why Bolan's Zip Gun let me down or maybe Marc decided he had to change direction because he had reached the end of the line. Zinc Alloy never lets me down.

=== Review by Gordon ====

This is the hardest album for me to review as it is the album i feel is responsible for Marc's fall from grace and for the fans lookin elsewhere. After being told he was born to boogoe along comes an album ya just can't boogie to.

The poetic side of Marc is in full flight with some of his best lyrics, unfortunately those lyrics are best seen as the written word and they seem to cause Marc a problem in that he had to finmd awkward melodies to fit to those words. Also many tracks seem to show a lack of direction or even worse trying to go in two directions at the same time as if they are two songs mismatched to try to fit the bill and failing.

Perhaps there was the internal battle between Marc and Tony for production superiority causing this seemingly aimless drifting. The music sounds tired and lacking energy, nothing wrong with the guitar playing but you can't rescue poor material with straight musicianship.

To me Marc's greatest strength has always been in writing some of the best melodies and hooks in mus Here he seemed to lose sight if this and most of the tracks sound soulless and trudging. Dreary even.

• Venus Loon- Not a bad rocking start though the riff grates a little, but ya can bop to it.
• Sound Pit- A highlight, a great groove, great guitar and great lyrics, Yes.
• Explosive Mouth- Marc by numbers, the sort of track he could put together during his tea breal and probably did. Best kept as a B side.
• Galaxy- Stilted plodding track that never gets off the ground. 60% of the album sounds like this track and therin the problem lies. Plodding a;ong with nowhere to go in a hurry.
• Change- a good ballad that has much to recommend it but it's downhill from here.
• Nameless Wildness-see Galaxy.
• Teenage Dream- good single but sounds lacklustre in these surroundings.
• Liquid gang- see Galaxy.
• Carsmile Smith-see Galaxy.
• You've gotta jive-Spanish Midnight- sounds like two Unchained series out-takes put together with no thought whatsoever.
• Interstellar Soul- see Galaxy.
• Painless Persuasion- see Galaxy.
• The Avengers- Just when it sounds like you've been in a nightclub where it sounds like the DJ has been playing the same record all night and you've lost the will to live BAM, great groove and Marc's woke up and is back.
• The Leopards- great end to the album,a street poem to the most laid back groove, brilliant. The fact that Marc still obviously had it in him to produce the good make sit even more frustrating that the bulk of the album is so listless, tired and i great need of a damn good melody and a kick up the A***.

The album ends on a high but unfortunately the damage has already been done. Only my humble thoughts, Marc was entitled to one duffer and this is it. Zinc Alloy would have made one hell of a good EP though.

Rock On.

Gordon.

=== Review by Simes ====

=== Review by Syd ===

=== Review by MarcO (part 1) ===

=== Review by MarcO (part 2) ===

=== Review by Zoom ====

=== Review by Ian ====

=== Review by Rick ====

=== Review by Michel ====

=== Review by Irving ====

=== Review by David Best ====

• Venus Loon has some great word combos....Slipshod gymslip in my neighbourhood, Empty head, steel bed, Dipseys no good,...What? Doesn't matter, the words just sound so good together...the backing vocals are okay on this one;-)
• I wonder why..Metal Guru's in the loo with my glue and Telegram Sam bought some land in Milan..uhmm, I wonder why? Sound Pit.. Marc in reflection.
• Explosive Mouth is not one of my favorites, but on listening to it again, more closely, some words of wisdom ....It's a shame for man to hide, All the things that do survive from his past.
• Tell me how they Bang a gong..More words of reflection on Galaxy..backing vocals still okay.
• Love the feel of Change, very moody..are we being warned by Marc of what was to follow? Change is coming, you'd better run. (Sorry Marc, I still like it, so I didn't run)
• This is where the change comes...turn down the backing vocals on Nameless Wildness please, I wouldn't lie;-) This one has the same feel from Marc as Change, but those screeching vocals are just annoying. A great boogie sound trying to find its way out.
• Still haven't found the answer to whatever happened to the Teenage Dream;-) A great song spoiled a little by the backing vocals being too loud...again.
• Well side one has come to an end, and my over all feel is that it's an okay (there's that word again) album so far, but nothing as good as what was done before.... Marc searching for something different, but not being happy at what he found?
• Oh no, not more of those vocals...arrrgh.....Peter with the heater he's such a messy eater...still some great words used together on this song, but sorry the backing vocals need to leave the Liquid Gang...neat brass.
• Carsmile Smith & The Old One is such an interesting title...another new character from Marc's urban legend world. Nice guitar solo..la la lala vocal sounds good and then don'tcha spoils it.(again)...neat brass string and guitar ending.
• Wouldn't you like to have more of Spanish Midnight and less jive to stay alive? Reminds of Electric Boogie from Raw Ramp..in the fact that they both seem to be incomplete..leaves me wanting more of the song.
• Intersteller Soul does nothing for me...is that 'push it' or 'bull shit' in the left channel?
• "You better look to your soul" starts Painless rocking but too briefly...it's not painless at all. It's gotta go, It's gotta go....what an interesting guitar finish where was that throughout the song..not enough here.
• Marc's voice sounds great on The Avengers..it's Superbad...you guessed it..spoiled by the screeching choir..dig this!..arrgh! I'm trying to listen to Marc's guitar..ssssh.
• Ends with my favorite song of the album...someone finally figured out how to use the backing vocals in a reasonable way...Gardenia and the Mighty Slug..great words.

=== Review by David-Do ====

=== Review by Pierre ====

• Venus loon : I often read that it was a great track, a missed single. I do feel like this. I find that it doesn't work, I mean the different part of the song doesn't fit together and it never make it IMHO.
• Sound Pit : too much guitars melting and not too inspired.
• Xplosive mouth : The atmosphere is better, but Marc doesn't really sound involved when singing.
• Galaxy : Your world, I mean your world : I like this part but is it enough to get a song from it ?
• Change : Oh This one I really love : the gentle bass in front, and the nice bluesy guitar small riffs here and there giving a sad but nice touch.
• Nameless Wildness : a weak one more IMHO. Nothing much to say.
• Teenage Dream : Yes Marc has used this shape many times before ( and later ) but it always work. A shame it reached only No 13 ( I think ) at that time. Beautiful guitar in the middle, and the piano adds really something. It's a pity that Marc used it so few.

• Liquid gang : Once more over produced , I like it a few. Horns at the end add a nice touch but too much guitars here too.
• Carsmile Smith & The Old One : This one I like too, in fact it appears that I far prefer the b-side to the a. A beautiful guitar solo while I write these lines . Once more I find this solo bluesy. I ain't too musician but Marc is using a minor mood or something like this : The line is not the obvious one but fits the best.
• You got to Jive to stay alive : not a great one.
• Spanish Midnight : I Love this one. Bolan's back to basic pop tunes, and thinking of it I think it is what is missing in this lp : instant pop tunes we were used and delighted to.
• Interstellar soul : The line I prefer is : Bumble bee in my ear, I see a tear but it's solid gold....his voice is raunchy. Nice guitar work here too.
• Painless persuasion v The Meathawk immaculate : What a title ! I would be unable to describe the track only from the title : it doesn't mean anything to me. I like this track. Piano here and there. Nice riff during the chorus.
• The Avengers ( Superbad ) : I like it a lot too. Marc gives it a funky mood and the song is well built.
• The Leopards Featuring Gardenia and The Mighty Slug : One of my favorites from this lp. There is also a reggae version that I like very much too.

=== Review by Stewart ====

=== Review by Rabbit ====

=== Review by Terry ====

=== Review by Chris ====

=== Review by Melinda and Sverre ====

Melinda:

We could probably tear apart and find something wrong or that we disliked about Marc's music/poetry or his gift of the (three chords). But why......... Given the situation and his state of mind at that time. He could have continued to increase his drug and alcohol use until, like so many before him and so many after him, he died from an overdose.

Melinda:

Every event and challenge he met, formed him into one of the people that we undeniably love.

Melinda:

I feel that this was a pivatol point of Marc's life and career. He at least wanted to continue to write and try to bring his words to life with his music. Remember he wanted to give the "kids" what they wanted.

Melinda:

Dear knight please be kind enough to help me down from the podium, I don't want to fall with these heels on.

Sverre:

Here is my hand! :-)

Melinda:

Thank you dear knight, so wonderful of you.

Melinda:

The cover is wonderful, the back is my fave though. And all those great little pics inside.

Sverre:

I do not think the cover is wonderful, - but I like it! ("Beard", "Slider" and "E.W." are my fave cover pics.) About the front cover pic: Marc stare at us in a (sort of) stubborn and "diabolic" way. He does not have the dreamy, thoughtful look in his eyes which you find on "Beard". And not the innocent, elfish look you find on "Unicorn". Marc is challenging us with his 'stubborn' stare, - "Are you ready for my new direction!!?? This is where I am going!!" The back pic is very good and the pics inside are fascinating fragments of a wizard deep into the Rock and Roll Circus. :-)

So, I guess it is a perfect front cover pic! Marc dare us to come inside and see the mind of Zinc Alloy! :-)

And I sense a sci-fi mood because of the title.

Melinda:

I knew you would end up agreeing with me on the cover <G> my power continues to amaze, even me.

Sverre:

-lol-

Melinda:

Then on to the music........

Melinda:

Venus Loon - Love and Death before...... "Everyone I loved I'll love 'til I die" Maybe trying to come to terms with mortality. Do you think this has some sexual overtones in it?? maybe I should say Sex and Death??

Sverre:

It would not surprise me to find sexual overtones in that line, - or in any T.Rex song! <G> The title "Venus Loon" is a little confusing to me. I guess Marc does not sing about the planet between the earth and Mercury. We are talking about sensual love, - (Venus)!

(What is a loon? Loon means eccentric person, doesn't it? Or a diver!? Marc says: "*on* a Venus Loon", and he says "*oh* my Venus Loon", - so I am a little confused, (as I always am!) Where is my dictionary when I need it?)

Melinda:

a loon is a fish eating diving bird or a crazy person.

Sverre:

Thanks! :-)

Sverre:

Anyway, - "Goin' to see my baby in the afternoon Goin' to take my baby on a venus loon

Oh my venus loon it'll make you swoon it'll make you feel good........"

I read this as more than sexual overtones! Pure sex!!!

Don't tell me Marc sings about a *car*..........again!!?? :-) I don't understand much of the verses. Marc is playing with words in a brilliant way. Playing! "Venus Loon" is a perfect first song!! Distorted guitar, bongos, drums, and then.........

"Oh - yeah, (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah......) - ooooooooooooooh........."

And Marc takes off on a venus loon. Full "orchestration". Marc's voice is a bit hidden on the verses, but very audible on the "It'll make you feel good" - part. :-)

"First girl I ever loved I don't recogniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise". It sounds like Marc is singing through a megaphone! <G>

A nice cello is sometimes in the front of the soundscape. 'Add' strings and backing vocals, - 'stir' in Marc's classic "Oh yeah" and "Aaaaaaaahhhh" and the "picture" is complete. I think "Venus Loon" is a "staccato", confusing song, - close to collapse in the arrangement, *but*, it does not happen!!! Oh, it's a great song, did I say that? :-) A great song!!!

==================

Melinda:

Sound Pit - Was Marc was trying to get back to the playful use of words and the people he created so vividly. " I wonder why????" Great lyrics, and vocals.

Sverre:

This is a nice song! I sense a kind of 50's - 60's mood.

"Du du - du du du du, du du, du du du du......."

A nice melody. Upon a great bass line (pattern) - you hear several "tracks" of guitars. One "track" is the classic "Marc riff", another "track" is a pretty fast solo going in and out of the song. Marc's singing is crystal clear, sensual and beautiful. He stretches his voice and he sounds playful. Sometimes he sounds like a snake, - "......her dissolving ccccccccccccity". (I try to say, - he "rests" on the "s"'s in some words.) Now I am close to rambling, - right Mel? :-)

Melinda:

The best of rambling.

Sverre:

There is a lot of playful use of words on "Sound Pit", as you say! I don't understand the storyline (if there is one?), - but I sense Marc is singing this song with a twinkle in his eye and (maybe) with tongue in cheek. Yes, he needed some rhymes! :-) Oh, - I almost forgot, there is a nice string part between the verses.

"Sound Pit" is great! A nice sound pit!

"Du du - du du du du ..........."

===================

Melinda:

Explosive Mouth - mmmmmm, the seventies revisited. one of the strongest songs on the lp maybe because he was living it at the time and trying to learn from it. "I'ts a shame for a man to hid all the things that survive from his past". Ain't it the truth.

Sverre:

It is the truth, Mel, - and it is deep wisdom in that line you quote. It is universal. Can we also read this as: "It's a shame for Marc Bolan to hide all the Tyranno.Rex stuff that do survive from his past."?? Does Marc sing about himself in that line??? The King of "Glam Rock and three chord hits", - remembers the acoustic elf, for a moment????

What do you think, Mel???

Melinda:

I was thinking on a broader level, but I like your interpetation.

Sverre:

I bought "Zinc" in 74 and this song has been a fave from day one. A fabulous song!!! Marc's *phrasing* on this song reminds me of Dylan, - *on the verses*!! The words float upon the rhythm, - almost without melody. There is a lot of treble on/in the voice, again I think of a megaphone. <G> Beautiful guitars!! There is a gentle guitar solo with a wonderful sound at the end, and sadly it fades out too quickly. I wonder how much more they recorded of it? Songs should end properly. I hate fading!! It is cheating!!! I want the final chord!!! And again I ramble. Sorry! :-)

Melinda:

So enjoyable to read your rambling.

Sverre:

:-)

Sverre:

I can't say anything about the story. Great lyric, especially verse three! Fabulous!! I agree with you Mel, - this is one of the strongest songs!!

And I have a feeling someone will hunt me down for that Dylan analogy! <G>

Melinda:

I'll prepare your armour and sword, Sire.

Sverre:

-lol-, Thank you, Mel! :-)

============================

Melinda:

Galaxy - Like a half dream this song flows. I'm not sure where Marc's head was, Maybe a drug induced half dream.

Sverre:

"Which galaxy are you from" "Your world..............."

"Metal clad rocker with the bent teeth" - might be Zinc Alloy, the futuristic rocker, - a shadow in the alley at midnight. "My world................." says Marc.

"Do they have glitter crap gaiety" - in - "Your world.........

I wonder if Marc is questioning the glam period in verse four, questioning the "glitter rock and roll" - circus?? He was on the brink of a new musical direction, he might have done that. What do you think, Mel??

Melinda:

Wonderful thoughts, possibly longing for the simple world he left behind.

Sverre:

Marc sounds very tough in the verses! And he sounds sweet and softened upon the beautiful synth soundscape in the refrain. Nice backing vocals. The synth "picture" floats and changes color everytime it comes up and in the end, the sound starts to phase which creates a futuristic feeling, a sci-fi mood, - at least in me. :-) I don't understand the story! Hey, - I say that all the time! Maybe there ain't no!!?? :-) Beautiful bass guitar. Galaxy fades out after 1:47. Very short, - but it is a great song. Pretty dark verses and sweet refrains!

======================

Melinda:

Change - Subtle references to growing up, and dealing with what fate gives you to work with. Great song.

Sverre:

One of the best!!! Nice intro, nicked, - rumours say! :-) Marc's singing is wonderful! I sense some pain too! Beautiful backing vocals. Very bluesy guitaring. A gentle playing, with bended strings. A wonderful, - and sad lyric!

"Change is coming just like the sun" - "see it all the time" "The Sun Also Rises" - hey, I found a Hemingway link! :-)

Melinda:

you would be the one to a find that link ;-).

Sverre:

"I could write a book about my life"......."about your life" Everybody are an exciting un-written book. And I would love to read Marc's book about his life. The closest we're getting is to his poems and lyrics. Which is very close! Oh, - "Change" is a brilliant song!!!

=======================

Melinda:

Nameless Wildness - I love this song from the first time I heard it. Great lyrics Marc is very seductive with his voice, I think. I want to play this very LOUD when it comes on the stereo. Love the reference to be-bop dresses oh to be twenty years younger.

Sverre:

This is a great song! I agree with you, Mel! Marc's singing is very seductive and sensual. Nice riff and drums in the intro. Lovely guitar sound. There's a very audible "cowbell" in there. Great ending, with a tough classic T.Rex riff.

Melinda:

Shamefully, I must admit I never heard the cowbell, I must no have been able to distiguish it from the ones outside. I'll have to listen closer.

Sverre:

<LOL!!!!!>

There's a harp adding 'color' on the refrain and it took me years to hear it. Hidden.........deep down, under the "wildneeeeeeeeeeeeees".

Sverre:

There are four verses, and every verse got only *one* line!!! Fabulous lines!!! Mel, why do you love the reference to be-bop dresses!? :-)

Melinda:

I will have to reply in private, no need to take up the time of the List.

==========================

Melinda:

Teenage Dream - This song sums up the total album for me, pretty much says were Marc was at when he worked on this. The innocence of youth, trying to be grown-up, and the next thing you know, youth is gone.

Sverre:

This is another all time fave to me! I have always loved this one! Marc's singing is strange, 'twisted', and playful again. The song is built upon the classic C Am F G chord scheme (?) which Marc used a hundred times, at least a handful times, (and more!). Still, it sounds new and fresh! The string arrangement is fabulous, - really wonderful!!! There's a new arrangement on every verse, so the song changes "color" all the time. A harp and a bluesy, jazzy, "honky tonk" piano add a very new sound. As I said, Marc's singing is playful, but I sense a sad "undertow" too! The interlude is nice, with Marc's guitar upon the strings. Gloria struggles hard to hit the note on the "Do it to me babe - a - a - a - a" - part! She doesn't...... The cello part on verse four always hits me hard. I don't know why. It is beautiful, and it reminds me of something. "Teenage Dream" has always been the song *with the strings*, - to me!! And the song with the question:

"Whatever happened to the teenage dream".

Maybe Marc is looking back at the days when he was HOT, when he was the newspapers' - and the teenagers' "darling".

"Whatever happened to the teenage dream". Some of us might have said that too, - looking at our lives, and our (maybe!) shattered dreams. I have. Still, I dream on. I build new ones, to hunt down! :-)

A lot of strange characters are introduced in this song, and I don't understand the storyline, - (have I said that before? <G>)

This is my wife's fave T.Rex song!!! She really loves it!! And so do I...

=====================

Melinda:

Liquid Gang - This song reminds me of the list and our dear Master Rick, 'you're gonna be, gonna be grand.... '

Sverre:

In younger days, - "Liquid Gang" and "Explosive Mouth" were my fave "Zinc" songs. Today, - I still think "Liquid Gang" is a good song - BUT, I think there is too much guitar playing swirling around upon the chorus, strings and horns. From 1:28! The backing vocals are a little bit loud on the verses.

Marc sounds like he is excited, (a little out of breath), and desperately wants to tell us a story. He sounds very enthusiastic!

The ending with brasses are really nice! Beautiful!!! I won't try to say anything about the lyric.

Yes, the Master Rick reference is obvious! :-) And the list was almost named "Liquid Gang", wasn't it?

=====================

Melinda:

Carsmile Smith & the Old One - It took me a few listens to really like this song, do you think in reality we are all like Bessy? I will be like Bessy, in London in October I'm sure of that.

Sverre:

We are all like Bessy, I believe. We miss a man we never knew. Still, somehow, I feel we "knew" Marc through his works. We miss Marc, and especially on certain days in September.

Yes, Mel. You will be like Bessy. By the tree and by the grave, - "Like a woman of love would do".

A good song with a sad lyric. Wonderful backing vocals. A very warm sound. Nice strings and solo. Although, too much guitar playing at the end.

======================

Melinda:

You got to Jive to Stay Alive - I guess Marc knew best when he wrote these lyrics. Messy business the record industry and so fickle (unlike me).

Sverre:

Another good song. I almost wrote "No depth in the lyric, just rhymes." But I didn't. <G>

Melinda:

Thanks so much for not writing that.

Sverre:

If Marc sings about misleading talk, you are right!!! If he sings about dancing to jazz-style music, "to stay alive", then I am in deep trouble. :-) I totally go for your interpretation of this song!!!

And the line: "And everything I do I do for you" turns this into a love song! :-)

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Melinda:

Spanish Midnight - The better half of Jive, should have been a song in itself, and much, much longer ( I've said that before, I'm sure <G>).

Sverre:

I am sure too. :-) It should have been longer, with added lyric. This is what we got. A beautiful little jewel. Suddenly, an acoustic guitar can be heard on "Zinc Alloy". The sound is VERY "Tanx" to me. I always think: This one was meant for "Tanx", - when I hear it. Great backing vocals. Marc's voice is beautiful.

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Melinda:

Intersellar Soul - Another fave of mine. I really enjoy the rock & roll that Marc put out, maybe I'm just such a materialist, that I think this way. Who knows, not me obviously. I did think it was push it, my daughter, Sarah was the first one to straighten me out on this (of course I had the look of horror on my face, then she apoligized for using that language).

Sverre:

-lol- Through the years I never could decipher what they were shouting in the background. I didn't know before you told me, some time ago! Thanks, Mel! This is a fabulous song, with a great lyric! Full of lines only Marc could come up with. Absolutely fantastic. I love Marc's singing, and the backing vocals are very beautiful on the verses. A cello(?) is in there, adding "color". And they use a *double bass*, which is a pretty rare thing in the history of T.Rex. Do I hear a 'bottle neck' guitar too? :-)

A fabulous song!!!

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Melinda:

Painless Persuasion v The Meathawk Immaculate - Okay help me out with this one Sverre, I'm lost. Maybe it should read PC v Mac?? maybe??

Sverre:

I am pretty lost too. I'll try this: In verse one, the protagonist has a nightmare vision, and he tells what he can *see*. In verse two, he no longer watches these things, he can *feel* "earthquakes inside of me", - he can *sense* "landslides of devilry". He says, "I can be everything that is bad to me", - and he adds: "What's going on?"

The protagonist is self destructive, close to losing his mind, and his soul! He has a suspicion what is going on and he says: "Look to your soul, you better look to your soul, or else it's gonna go, it's gonna go". An advice to himself and to us!!

This is how I see it, Mel. I can be wrong, - I don't know. Maybe I stretched this too far. (Wouldn't have been the first time! <G>) The melody is great and Marc's voice is brilliant!!! The bongos are high up in the mix, fun to hear. A very "rock and roll" refrain changes the mood totally! Another great song!!!

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Melinda:

The Avengers - Another one that I am lost on, I like it though. Some songs don't mean anything I guess, at least not to me.

Sverre:

I don't understand this lyric, - although I like it. Especially verse one. This is a very funky song with a tough sounding vocal! Marc is great!!! The string arrangement is exciting, it sounds Arabian???? Long guitar solo. The backing vocals are annoying here!!! "Avengers", "Avengers", Avengers". This is the weakest song! I have always thought so.

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Melinda:

The Leopards - Marc really worked on the characters in this song. His voice is so good in this song it makes it worth hearing over and over...' to spend your life inside a song' with Marc I could do that. this song aways leaves me with 'But I'm young and built of steel' in my mind, that in itself is dangerous<LOL>.

Sverre:

-lol- I know!! :-)

Sverre:

And what characters!! I won't even try to talk about them! <G> I agree with you! Marc's voice is fabulous. It is sexy, haunting and playful. He is good when he talks or sing-talks through songs. The backing vocals are really wonderful! A very gentle guitar floats through the song. The T.Rex (classic) guitar sound is gone. I like that deep single guitar tone at the end of the verses, - where the "just like...." begins. A tiny, tiny detail, with great effect. There is air in the "soundscape", everything is relaxed, - musically! This is a fantastic song! A perfect last song. "We're the leopards........."

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Sverre:

My final word. I don't think this album is over-produced! It is just a new sound, and that is something different.

I would have put Gloria deeper down in the final mix, on a couple of tracks, if I had anything to say. Anyway, this is the album Marc wanted to give us! And I am very thankful!! It is a great album!!!!!!

"Spaceage Funk", - as David Do said!

All these strange characters in a "Blade Runner" setting. "The Slider" was Marc's first "Urban Jungle record". No more "unicorns in silhouette on hill tops". (Gee, - I quote myself! <bg>)

On "A Creamed Cage in August", Marc goes several steps further. Everything is "twisted" and often shadowful. We see the mind of Zinc Alloy, - maybe!? Read David Do's story again, Mel, - it says it all. A fabulous story!!!

Oh, - there are some beautiful love stories on the album, too! :-)

Mel! It was a thrill to hold your hand, and look into the dark and post- apocalyptic world of Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow.

Melinda:

It truly was my pleasure, we'll do it again maybe? Thank you for sharing this album with me. Your 'rambling' brings the songs a together a little better for me.

Sverre:

Thank you!