T-REX – TANX LP – Nr MINT A1 UK ORIG GLAM MARC BOLAN

T-Rex – Tanx
(T-Rex/EMI Records  1973  BLN5002)
Matrix No’s: A1/B2 – UK Pressing

G&L Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
– some rubbing near the top
Inner Sleeve has a small split in the bottom
No Poster

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1968 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan.

Tanx is the eighth album by British rock band T. Rex, released in 1973. Tanx was a hit in UK and Europe but it failed to match the success of The Slider in the US, reaching only #102 in the album charts. It was critically derided by journalists who said the darker, adult sound was a complete departure from the unique melodic rock and roll that made the band famous.

It predates punk in some ways, with largely darker and more aggressive songs, and shorter songs than the previous two T. Rex albums (Electric Warrior and The Slider) with 9 of the songs less than three minutes long (by comparison, “Get It On” was 4:24), akin to Bolan’s previous albums under the name Tyrannosaurus Rex and the debut album under the abbreviated “T. Rex” name (all of which had no more than 2 songs over three minutes per album). Tanx is also the first album notably to incorporate elements of soul music, further explored in the following album, Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow, and other subsequent T. Rex albums. Likewise, it’s the beginning of Bolan’s marked departure from the glam rock style which he originated and helped popularise, preceding contemporary David Bowie’s departure from glam and move towards soul music with his album, Young Americans, by nearly 2 years.

The song “Born to Boogie” was actually not featured in the 1972 Ringo Starr produced film, also called Born to Boogie. Curiously, the popular single “20th Century Boy” was not included on the album. Earlier Sessions at Abbey Road Studios in early 1972 included “Left Handed Luke”, “Country Honey”, “Electric Slim & The Factory Hen”, also “The Groover”, & “Blackjack” but those two were not featured on any album, The earlier Abbey Road Sessions were either shelved or destroyed those songs would be re-recorded At Strawberry studios. The early sessions of “Blackjack” & “The Groover” are featured on The “20th Century Superstar” Box Set.

The album is also widely known to be the last of T. Rex’s string of successes since Electric Warrior; their next album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow would prove to be a financial failure and put Bolan’s musical career in jeopardy until 1976. It’s also T. Rex’s last album released under Reprise Records in the US, as Light of Love, released under Casablanca Records (like Reprise, distributed through Warner Bros. Records), would be the last of their albums released in the US.

Track listing

All songs composed by Marc Bolan.

1. “Tenement Lady” – 2:55
2. “Rapids” – 2:48
3. “Mister Mister” – 3:29
4. “Broken Hearted Blues” – 2:02
5. “Shock Rock” – 1:43
6. “Country Honey” – 1:47
7. “Electric Slim and the Factory Hen” – 3:03
8. “Mad Donna” – 2:16
9. “Born to Boogie” – 2:04
10. “Life is Strange” – 2:30
11. “The Street and Babe Shadow” – 2:18
12. “Highway Knees” – 2:34
13. “Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys” – 5:18

Personnel

• Marc Bolan – vocals, guitar
• Mickey Finn – conga, hand percussion, vocals
• Steve Currie – bass
• Bill Legend – drums
• Tony Visconti – mellotron, string arrangements, backing vocals, recorder
• Howard Casey – saxophone