Album Review: T Rex - Tanx

ukevents.net · Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 2517

Album Review: T Rex - Tanx

By 1973 the Glam movement was on the outs and that meant, sadly, anything that was associated with it would be to.

T Rex had scored four number 1 singles by 1973 and they had no intention of stopping, if anything Marc Boland was working on a slightly newer version of their sound and that’s what Tanx is.

Sure there are few songs that take you back to the boogie, but a lot of new ideas were coming into the picture.

The album opens with “Tenement Lady” which is one of the standout tracks, its sound is so dense you feel like your shimming in a “gin house milk shake” and then half way through, the track just wonders off down this strange little road, and you feel lost, almost as if your guide has deserted you.

The next track brings you right back to that iconic sludge groove, it’s so sexy and dumb and recognizable because it’s what we want, music has always been at it’s best when dumbed-down because it makes it fun, just like a drunk person. That’s what “Rapids” is. I don’t know what the song is about and I don’t care because it isn’t important.

Then comes the sky surfing “Broken Hearted Blues”, a lot have called it the best track on the album-- it’s not bad but I’ll tell you which is the one that will grab your attention..
Lyric wise don’t try to analyze any of these songs because their not to be taken serious
at all, what they do manage to give you are some wonderfully bizarre images that you would not have dreamed up in a million years, for example “All the rats and all the peacocks, built a ship and flew to Venus” .

The song I was talking about before, with the power to pick up your attention radar and bleach it is “Electric Slim & The Factory Hen” and it’s spell is instant. With its “Greased in the sun, California fun” lyrics and smoky midnight vibe it’s like listening to a movie-- a rather beautiful one at that which he has the power to take you from where ever you might be, to a deserted highway in your brand new red Corvette.

I do believe one day this album will be included on the list of solid T Rex albums, the only reason it wasn’t is because the singles “Children of the Revolution” and “20th Century Boy” weren’t included.

Other than that Tanx doesn’t have much fault (only the fact that “Born To Boogie” is atrocious) it is everything a T Rex album should be, with magic as the main ingredient.

Written by Fabrizio for UKEvents.net