Release date: 01.02.1974
Label: EMI Records
Producer: Tony Visconti
Length: 46:17
Genre: glam rock
Rating: 7/10
By 1974, when the ninth studio album from the legendary English band T. Rex came out, crowned with the oddball title »Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow« (subtitled »A Creamed Cage in August«), the glam rock mania that Marc Bolan and his crew had kicked off was already well into its decline. The same went for Bolan’s T. Rex, who were slowly losing their popularity and the media’s affection.
Bolan himself was at least partly to blame for the artistic and commercial slide during the making of »Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow«. He had started meddling more and more in the work of longtime producer Tony Visconti, for whom this album was the last collaboration with T. Rex. Of the classic T. Rex lineup, percussionist Mickey Finn, Steve Currie on bass and Bill Legend were still on board, joined by Danny Thompson on double bass and B. J. Cole on steel guitar. Backing vocalists now played a much bigger role in the T. Rex sound, and the standout among them was the Black singer Gloria Jones, who soon became Bolan’s wife.
On »Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow«, which leaned even harder into soul than its predecessor, Bolan only half succeeded in carrying on with the eclectic mix of glam rock, soul and funk that defined the superb »Tanx« (1973). As a whole, though, the album sounded pretty hollow in places, and most of the material fell below the usual T. Rex standard. The opening soul teaser »Venus Loon« wasn’t a bad effort and gave hope that the album would at least come close to its predecessor’s level, but it becomes crystal clear soon enough that this won’t be the case.
»Sound Pit« leaned mostly on strong female backing vocal harmonies, while Bolan’s singing at times made it seem like his heart was no longer in it. Utterly misfired tracks like »Explosive Mouth« are barely worth a mention. On »Galaxy«, Bolan did manage to pull off a fairly successful cross between glam and soul, and once again it’s the ethereal female harmonies that impress most. The somewhat gloomy, half-autobiographical »Change« reflects Bolan’s pretty haunted and emotionally drained state at the time.
»Nameless Wilderness« is an example of a track with good potential that, overall, sadly ended up way too out of tune, mostly thanks to overcooked vocal harmonies. With its rich symphonic arrangements and tasteful female refrains, »Teenage Dream« was one of the rare bright moments on this album, and with it Bolan managed to create one of the few T. Rex classics from his later period. The slightly harder-edged »Liquid Gang«, an almost perfect soul outpouring, had a rather entertaining vocal ‘bickering’ between Bolan and the singers.
Besides the usual soul tricks, led by gorgeous female harmonies and lovely symphonic arrangements, »Carsmile Smith & the Old Gang« features a brilliant guitar solo and ranks among the better moments on this album. The medley of two interlinked parts, »You’ve Got to Jive to Stay Alive-Spanish Midnight«, stirred up mixed feelings, while »Interstellar Soul« was once again closer to what Bolan created in his prime.
»Painless Persuasion V. The Meathawk Immaculate« was proof too that Bolan, who impresses here with one of his better vocal performances and a sparkling guitar solo, still had a few good ideas up his sleeve. Less successful was the wildly out-of-tune »The Avengers (Superbad)«, where the female harmonies came across as grating in the overall context. On »The Leopards Featuring Gardenia and the Mighty Slug«, Bolan, backed by ethereal female vocals over a surreal lyric that mixes sci-fi with psychedelic daydreams, returns to his poetic beginnings from the Tyrannosaurus Rex days, which the album’s extremely long title also reflected.
By the time »Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow« came out, it was clear that Bolan’s ‘creative muse’ had started to desert him and that much rougher times were ahead for T. Rex. The album wasn’t without the odd great moment where the old magic flared up again, but next to its excellent predecessor »Tanx«, it was a considerable letdown. Bolan had by then sunk into a deep creative crisis and had also begun to suffer from ‘Elvis syndrome’. Various addictions and extra pounds piled up like clockwork, while real creative inspiration was nowhere to be found. No wonder that when the next album came out, the thoroughly below-average »Bolan’s Zip Gun« (1975), it felt like T. Rex’s final hour had struck.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
1. Venus Loon
2. Sound Pit
3. Explosive Mouth
4. Galaxy
5. Change
6. Nameless Wildness
7. Teenage Dream
8. Liquid Gang
9. Carsmile Smith & the Old One
10. You’ve Got to Jive to Stay Alive – Spanish Midnight
11. Interstellar Soul
12. Painless Persuasion v. the Meathawk Immaculate
13. The Avengers (Superbad)
14. The Leopards Featuring Gardenia & the Mighty Slug
T. Rex:
Marc Bolan – vocals, guitar
Mickey Finn – percussion
Bill Legend – drums
Steve Currie – bass guitar
Guest musicians:
Danny Thompson – double bass
B.J. Cole – steel guitar
Jack Green – guitar
Lonnie Jordan – keyboards
The Cosmic Choir: Big Richard, Gloria Jones, Sister Pat Hall – backing vocals
