from the LP Electric Warrior, Reprise Records, 1971The concept of having a “next big thing” has chewed up and spit out a myriad of artists over the years, the notion that there is always something just around the corner, waiting to be discovered and celebrated, while at the same time encouraging us to turn on that which we were loving only moments before, but must then scoff at as “so last year”. I’m sure all of us here are above having our tastes be impacted by changing trends (right, and monkeys might fly out of my butt…), but generally speaking, fads have a way of destroying musicians as quickly as they have made them into stars; this is nothing new, as even classical performers & composers fell victim to passing styles and new crazes. Marc Bolan was something of a paradox when it comes to this subject matter, clearly having been an individual that was keenly aware of all the things considered in-vogue at any given time, but also someone interested in helping to define whatever zeitgeist happened to be emerging; thus, even though he was quick to abandon his elfin-hippie persona once ‘60s psychedelia became passé, he imbued a number of his glam rock masterpieces with an underlying sense of dippy ephemera, something which clearly differentiated his work in T.Rex from that of other glam “rockers” that tread much closer to the bubblegum model. That mixture of pastoral and spacey acoustics cut with harder-driving electric tendencies was a combination that makes this album absolutely magical, as evidenced in this lilting number, particularly towards the end of the track with that mind-melting back-tracked guitar & violin filled coda, simply divine and utterly heady man!
