I was unimpressed with what little I heard of "AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs Of Marc Bolan & T.Rex" when it was released last year. The mistake I made was randomly listening to the covers by the artists I knew and for the most part, liked. So what I heard first were Joan Jett's lazy version of "Jeepster," U2 & Elton's even lazier "Bang A Gong," Lucinda Williams outwarbling Bolan on "Life's A Gas" and Sean Ono Lennon's boring by the books take on "Mambo Sun." Of course, Todd Rundgren's entry, a lounge act version of "Planet Queen" disappointed me at first because of all people, I wanted him for once, to play it straight. His version has since grown on me. I never bothered with the rest of the record, as I really had no interest in most of the acts.
Then last week, I came across a very cheap copy of the set on vinyl. So I bought it, and because I guess things happen that way, I played all four sides and enjoyed so much more of it than I ever expected to.
That's where this Weekend Mix comes in. I chose some of my unexpected favorites and sequenced them with Bolan's originals. I was particularly taken by John Cameron Mitchell's gorgeous reading of "Diamond Meadows" from the "T.Rex" album, the Philly soul strings added to Father John Misty's "Main Man," as well as Emily Haines via Bowie's take on "Ballrooms Of Mars."
The genius of producer Hal Willner on this project should not go unnoticed. The musicians chosen to back up these singers are world class- Van Dyke Parks, Marc Ribot, Trombone Shorty, Davey Faragher, Pete Thomas, Donald Fagen, Wayne Kramer, Bill Frisell, Mike Garson, Steven Bernstein, and Richard Barone to name more than a few--and the arrangements are at times, pretty damn brilliant. I would not have known about the players had I not found a copy of the vinyl. I gave up on this release the day it came out and now I am thrilled to have it around for repeated spins.
Give it a whirl.
TRACKLIST
Beltane Walk- T. Rex
Rock On- Perry Farrell
Solid Gold Easy Action- T. Rex
Diamond Meadows- John Cameron Mitchell
Beltane Walk- Gaby Moreno
Cosmic Dancer- T. Rex
Planet Queen- Todd Rundgren
Rock On- T. Rex
Cosmic Dancer- Nick Cave
Diamond Meadows- T. Rex
Solid Gold Easy Action- Peaches
Ballrooms of Mars- T. Rex
Main Man- Father John Misty
Planet Queen- T. Rex
Ballrooms Of Mars- Emily Haines
Bang A Gong- David Johansen
12 comments:
Excited to take a listen to this - it will be the soundtrack to my Friday morning. Thank you!
Very cool idea, thank you for this
Great collection but fails when trying to download.
Marty, it’s all good and working on my end,
Nice idea to revisit a cast-off; I have also discarded albums in the past and later relistened and re-evaluated and then enjoyed.
As in life, everything or everybody deserves a second chance.
T.Rex blew my young teenage mind on Top Of The Pops and for many more years to come until well….
Marc Bolan is a unique genius and good luck to anybody who attempts to mimic him.
True story: On a Saturday afternoon in 1972 I took the bus from my small English village to the next town to buy Metal Guru
(To you youngsters out there - oh, never mind). On the return journey, on the top deck of the bus I was singing to myself “Metal Guru, is it you?” A nice old lady asked the (young) bus conductor if I was OK? To which he replied, “Course, that’s the new T.Rex single!”.
Greetings From Berlin
Ah, in a cosmic (dancer) coincidence, a record I thought sounded so goofy that I hung on to it to play (as a joke) for my best bud before getting rid of it, absolutely stunned me when I went to play it the second time (for what I thought would be his amusement). He just thought it goofy, too, but I heard something I hadn't the first, aborted time, and became a huge fan since that day in 1987 or so. The record was Nick Cave's 'Kicking Against The Pricks' -- an album of covers, to add to the coincidence of you finding value in something you'd initially dismissed -- and, even in my fandom, I approached him covering 'Cosmic Dancer' with trepidation, because I love T Rex even more than Nick Cave. But even my Cave-indifferent bud (still best friends, and a T Rex fan since the early 70s like me) thought Cave did fine on it, so I'm curious to hear other stuff from the tribute.
C in California
@RadioTowerRecords-Berlin -- I grew up in England and
used to LOVE it when T. Rex were on Top Of The Pops
doing "Metal Guru." (I would have been about 12 years
old at the time, and it would have taken a couple more
years before I started buying records and working
backwards to stuff like "Ride A White Swan.")
Listening to it now, thanks!
Interesting how time/mood can create a quite different impression when listening again to earlier heard music!
At the time Marc had only 3 hits in Holland, but I don't recall hearing these on the radio...
Oh, Hal Willner is missed! What a unique, cool talent and career.
@CrabDevil
Nice, then we are about the same age and grew up with the same sounds.
Those - often mimed and often badly - TOTP performances are still good today
e.g. Bowie singing Starman with arms draped around Mick Ronson waving his finger in the camera.
If the press is to be believed then Bolan-Mania at that time was on a level with Beatlemania - great days.
Hot Love was at #1 for several weeks and the extended coda of „la, la“‘s never bored.
By the time of Jeepster and Get It On Marc could do no wrong - Life‘s A Gas
Oh and because it‘s Sunday night and the first of The Oktoberfestbier has arrived have a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y16oB1iHNfQ
Cilla is a British treasure along with Marc
Tyrannosaurus Rex. John Peel's radio show. Then T-Rex. Ride A White Swan. Girlfriend hot for Bolan. Say no more. Great songs. Cheers!
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