Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow

by T. Rex

Overview

By the time Marc Bolan began recording Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow in 1973, he had proclaimed glam rock to be over, broken up with his wife, rediscovered American soul music, and made great strides toward figuring out what came next for him after massive stardom and success. To that end, the album makes some important changes to the T. Rex template. Vocalists Gloria Jones and Sister Pat Hall take on a large role, prodding Bolan on with their unbridled enthusiasm; the tempos have some extra funk baked in; and much like on the previous album, Tanx, the production is powerful and punchy with the beat quite often usurping the place of the almighty guitar riff. The alterations lead to something that's very T. Rex at its core, yet just different enough to be fascinating and thrillingly fun. Bolan's loose and lively interplay with Jones and Hall is a gas throughout; at times, the backing singers threaten to take over the spotlight, but he wrests it back by being extra slinky, strange, and Bolanesque. He definitely sounds inspired by the new surroundings; the internal and external struggles of trying to stave off the inevitable fall from the pop summit also drove Bolan to reach deep within himself for some very impressive songs, especially the ballads like "Change" and "Teenage Dream." These songs feel ripped from Bolan's soul, and he sings them with more sincerity than one might expect. Of course, he balances these missives from the dark recesses of his insecure soul with goofy, giddy rockers like "Venus Loon" and "Interstellar Soul" that have rubber-band limbs and big smiles plastered across their faces. The stripped-back -- for T. Rex -- production hides neat little surprises like thudding acoustic bass, wonky slide guitars, harp glissandos, and lots of barrelhouse piano to go along with Bolan's increasingly aggressive guitar playing. It's a familiar dichotomy on a T. Rex album -- Bolan was a genius at balancing strutting mythmaking and middle-of-the-night reckonings -- and here it feels even more drastic than on past records. It's almost difficult to reconcile hard-as-diamonds tracks like "Explosive Mouth," where the band and singers show the Rolling Stones what it means to be tough and sexy for real, and hilariously silly songs like "The Leopards featuring Gardenia and the Mighty Slug," which would fall into self-parody if they weren't so damn catchy. Really, though, that's the beauty of T. Rex and Marc Bolan -- the sublime and the ridiculous duking it out to see who gets to wear the glittery top hat. Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow might not be the best or most loved T. Rex album, but its deep grooves, real emotion, rock-hard sound, and almost breathless dedication and excitement make it impossible to dismiss. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	04/26/2011
Label:	Fat Possum Records / Universal Music
UPC:	0767981124216
Rank:	84533

Tracks

1. Venus Loon
2. Sound Pit
3. Explosive Mouth
4. Galaxy
5. Change
6. Change
7. Nameless Wildness
8. Teenage Dream
9. Liquid Gang
10. Carlisle Smith & the Old One
11. You've Got To Jive To Stay Alive - Spanish Midnight
12. Interstellar Soul
13. Painless Persuasion V. the Meathawk Immaculate
14. The Avengers (Superbad)
15. The Leopards Featuring Gardenia and the Mighty Slug

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Marc Bolan & T. Rex   Primary Artist
T. Rex   Primary Artist
Marc Bolan   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar
Gardenia & The Might Slug   Featured Artist
The Mighty Slug   Featured Artist
Patricia Hall   Choir/Chorus
The Cosmic Choir   Choir/Chorus
Gardenia   Featured Artist
Gloria Jones   Choir/Chorus
Big Rich   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Marc Bolan   Composer,Producer,Performer
Tony Visconti   Producer
Mark Paytress   Liner Notes