You won’t fool the Children of the Revolution

So, the Slider has 3 tracks previously released and yet the recent maxi single, 'Metal Guru,' has two new tracks deemed unsuitable for inclusion on the new album. The maxi singles were generous as was maintaining low-price tickets for concerts, but the over-exposure was starting to tell.

The b-side to 'Metal Guru' held no interest for me. I didn't buy the single, but it was selling by the bucket-load. 'Thunderwing' is an odd one, a rehash of the 'Woodland Rock' riff, but at a tiresome pace and with none of the jaunty humour and energy of that Elvis pastiche. 'Lady' was similarly unremarkable. It appeared that 1972 was evolving into a catalogue of errors for T.Rex.

Why put 3 old tracks on a new album when clearly new material is available? 'Buick Mackane & the Babe Shadow' had already been recorded and was a superior track, in every respect, to most of what's on 'The Slider.' If only some advice could have been offered & received, things may have moved in a completely different direction in the following years.

The reception bit seems to have been the main issue. For instance, rumour has it that a tour with Alice Cooper in the USA was declined on the grounds that T. Rex would not be headlining. That opportunity would have opened up a huge potential audience, since Alice was becoming a major player and a year later was touring his 'Billion Dollar Babies' extravaganza by private jet! Alice was by now a drinking-butty and who knows where this may have led? Harry Nilsson was also on board (there's a photo of him on the rear cover of the next T. Rex album, 'Tanx.') There's also photographic evidence of the three of them recording at Morgan Studios in London, along with Keith Moon! (Who's got those tapes?). There’s a photo of Alice & Marc singing together (holding a copy of Pal Joey!). Alice did record ‘The Lady Is A Tramp’ not long after - I can imagine Marc telling Alice, “I’ll be Sinatra. You can be Rita or Kim, coz you’re Alice!”

the lady is a tramp

Then there's the next single, another maxi, but in a different league from the previous one. 'Children of the Revolution' is released later with a much more interesting and stronger b-side. Why none of these tracks appear on the album is anyone's guess. Although the single version of 'Children of the Revolution' is fine, a slow chugging version with some strings, there are two superior versions which were completely ignored for release. Baffling and mind-boggling. The version recorded for the film, 'Born to Boogie' wipes the floor with the single. It has acoustic and separate electric dynamic parts and excellent bluesy piano from Elton John. Perhaps there were contractual issues, but that's the one which should have been held back for release. I have a version of that which extends way beyond the film version. How these decisions came to be made I've no idea, but his management must have been weak or ignored.

There's an even more extraordinary version of 'Children of the Revolution' which comes in at about 12 minutes which is full of Marc's Hendrix impersonations and is simply amazing. There are cock-ups early on in the track where the backing singers and some of the band miss their cues on the chorus, but it could easily have been reworked and edited. How stuff like this gets omitted and abandoned is wild. Another missed opportunity.

The b-side has 'Jitterbug Love' which stomps along furiously, but again there's a more interesting version produced a year later for the backing singer, Pat Hall, who was to release a soul album. This is much slower and more menacing, but it does show what a good producer Marc may have become. The other track on the flip is 'Sunken Rags' which had appeared on the Glastonbury Fayre album in an acoustic form, when Marc supported the ill-fated financial disaster that had occurred then. How times have changed. Glastonbury used to be the small-time event nobody cared about. Now it's a corporate financial behemoth which I wouldn't touch with a barge pole!

Then there were the CRITICS! 'The Slider' was pronounced a "complete artistic collapse." Rather harsh, that. As much as I complained, it's hardly a write-off. But these are the same people who slate Bowie's 'Low,' now regarded as a masterpiece. Apparently, every T. Rex song now sounded the same. You couldn't have three more dissimilar items than 'Telegram Sam,' 'Metal Guru' and 'Children of the Revolution.' But that matters not. The main issue seemed to be Marc's confidence turning to arrogance, ironically signalling a complete lack of inner confidence.

And.....lurking around the corner.......a rather different proposition to The Osmonds, David Cassidy & Slade.....someone called David Bowie & his powerhouse band, The Spiders. I'd already acquired a copy of 'Starman' in April on its release and its impact was to have a far greater effect on T. Rex than any other element. This was someone desperate for a last stab at success and a musician with real depth and vision. And, worse, he was an old mate.

Throw in some disastrous shows in the US to the mix, where Marc got smashed on champagne prior to performing and all was not really hunky-dory in the Bolan camp. People will point to the Wembley shows being a triumph (rightly) and to the record sales of 1972, where T. Rex comfortably outsold anyone. And there were consecutive number 1s, despite the interference of Fly's release of 'Jeepster' to make a quick buck when Marc switched labels. This re-releasing of old Tyrannosaurus Rex material did nothing to help the cause either, just over-exposing the artist and confusing both the record-buying punters and radio stations alike.

For me, 'Solid Gold Easy Action' sums up the year. There are several versions of 'Fast Blues' kicking around, where the song is put through its paces. I love the Sesame Street version and its crazy lyrics. It's a raunchier heavier affair with more of a hint to the 73 version of Zep Rex. Of course, a wimpy inferior version is released for the Xmas market.

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Of course.