Release date: 16.02.1975
Label: EMI Records
Production: Marc Bolan
Length: 33:42
Genre: glam rock
Rating: 6/10
With “Bolan’s Zip Gun” in 1975, Marc Bolan and his T. Rex sank into a deep creative crisis, and with the glam rock craze over, the band fell out of favor commercially too. Bolan’s soul experiments on the previous album, the pretty average “Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow” (1974), brought mixed results, but it still had a few moments that recalled the ‘good old days’. During the making of “Bolan’s Zip Gun”, the good songwriting ideas dried up in a big way, and in places you could feel that Bolan’s singing wasn’t as heartfelt as it used to be. On top of that, he only rarely surprised with interesting guitar solos.
Most of the arrangements got even simpler than on the predecessor, after which Bolan ended his collaboration with the legendary producer Tony Visconti, which was a big mistake, while the soul stamp was still very much present on most of the material. The key roles here went to the piano arrangements of keyboardist Dino Dines and the female backing vocals, which included Bolan’s wife Gloria Jones. Bolan’s old buddy, percussionist Mickey Finn, also returned to the band after sitting out the previous record.
That things on “Bolan’s Zip Gun” had veered off in a weird direction was already audible on the opening single “Light of Love”, where Bolan strolls through the emotions with the help of hand claps, while the central melody is completely forgettable. The lack of good ideas is even more glaring on “Solid Baby”, where not even decent female vocal harmonies can save the erotic daydreaming. “Precious Star” tried to revive some of the old glam rock magic from the ‘golden’ era between 1971 and 1973, but Bolan’s singing lacked its former fire.
“Token Of My Love” was a slow-paced soul and glam hybrid, while the overly repetitive “Space Boss”, laced with sax parts and female screeching, reflected Bolan’s long-running fascination with science fiction. The raunchier, but therefore more fun, moments on the album definitely include the rock ‘n’ soul fantasy “Think Zinc”, with its hand claps and a much more emotionally invested Bolan on vocals. On the next soul experiment, “Till Dawn”, the female backing vocals with Gloria Jones were already front and center, while Bolan’s singing no longer had any of its old spark. “Girl in Thunderbolt Suit” carried on the creative and stylistic emptiness and repetitiveness of most of the songs on this album.
The love outburst “I Really Love You Babe”, dedicated to Bolan’s beloved Jones, which is why her high-pitched vocal approach dominates the background, was a kind of awkward middle ground between the classic T. Rex approach and over-the-top soul pomp. A somewhat more interesting and refreshing moment on the album was the nostalgic “Golden Belt”, with its Las Vegas atmosphere and slight disco pulse, recorded using a talk box. “Zip Gun Boogie”, which also came out as a single, nails just the right feisty blend of glam, hard rock, soul, and boogie, with a punchy guitar riff bringing in electrified energy, and it was one of the few truly quality moments on “Bolan’s Zip Gun”.
With the ‘American’-sounding (by T. Rex standards) and below-par “Bolan’s Zip Gun”, it became clear that Bolan’s crew had slid into an all-too-obvious creative crisis. Bolan, who on most of the songs on “Bolan’s Zip Gun” sounded like he’d recorded them with his head somewhere else entirely, was at the same time battling problems caused by excessive use of intoxicating substances, and he also struggled with extra pounds. Still, the following year he managed to claw his way out of the creative and personal abyss, and the next album, “Futuristic Dragon” (1976), was a pleasant surprise.
Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Light of Love (3:16)
2. Solid Baby (2:37)
3. Precious Star (2:53)
4. Token of My Love (3:40)
5. Space Boss (2:49)
6. Think Zinc (3:25)
7. Till Dawn (3:02)
8. Girl in the Thunderbolt Suit (2:20)
9. I Really Love You Babe (3:33)
10. Golden Belt (2:41)
11. Zip Gun Boogie (3:26)
T. Rex:
Marc Bolan – vocals, guitar, synthesizer
Mickey Finn – percussion
Dino Dines – keyboards
Gloria Jones – backing vocals, clavinet
Steve Currie – bass guitar
Harry Nilsson – backing vocals
Davy Lutton – drums
Paul Fenton – additional drums on “Solid Baby”
Bill Legend – drums on “Till Dawn”
