Author Archive

T. Rex “Tanx”

| Pop,Power

Tanx

If you love Electric Warrior and Slider then you’ll like like Tanx a lot!! For me, Marc Bolan has one of the greatest rock voices of the time. I don’t know what he was putting in his tea between 1971-1973, peppermint jasmine awesome, perhaps?

Tanx picks up right where Slider left off and even broadens the band’s sound adding horns and back up singers throughout the record. This album also serves as a perfect self confidence booster when you get ready to go out on a Friday Night, but don’t get too sexy!

In a way Tanx is a farewell album, mostly because the band would soon start to dismember, and Bolan would go on to make on a few more records that no one would listen to. Please do not let the ridiculousness of the album cover fool you, it’s a great listen; Bolan looks like a member of Gwar on the cover, no?

“Mister, Mister”

I too, was Born to Boogie

T. Rex

Electric Light Orchestra “Eldorado”

| Art,Pop

Eldorado

If any album cover has begged/hinted to its listeners to watch the “Wizard of Oz” while listening to the record it’s this one, right? I haven’t done it but I bet it’s awesome. Why? Because anything involving Eldorado is awesome. Also check out The Wizard of Oz, it’s about this girl who gets caught in a tornado and well I don’t want to spoil the rest¦..

Jeff Lynne considers Eldorado the first album that accomplished the sound he had set out to make when starting ELO. Some even call it the Sgt. Pepper’s of their career. For me, it’s their best album, if you twist my arm, I might say, Face the Music but since you’re not I’m sticking with Eldorado. It’s start to finish fantastic, it even has a reprise at the end which always makes us think we’ve come full circle and that we may have missed the bigger picture. It marks the beginning of ELOs string of super albums (Eldorado, Face The Music, New World Record).

“Boy Blue”

Eldorado at Amazon

Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado

Todd Rundgren “A Wizard, A True Star”

| Pop,Power,Psych

A Wizard, A True Star

The suits at Warner Bros must’ve been scratching their heads with this one. Following the success of Something/Anything, Todd Rundgren was well on his way to becoming a superstar but he had something else in mind. The title of this album shows his wariness of his new found success. If Something/Anything was delicious bubble gum then A Wizard A True Star is delicious bubble gum with glass in it and Rundgren makes you like the taste of your own blood.

This album is the first of several of his more Zappa-esque experimental albums and an example of Todd refusing to stay in one genre (don’t worry, in 9 years he’ll write Bang On the Drum All Day which will remain on the radio until “Tubthumping” replaces it). A Wizard A True Star, is a bit of a slap in the face to his record label and a little self indulgent at times but the bottom line is that it works. It’s refreshing to look back at a time when musicians would turn their back on success and do whatever they wanted to musically before this behavior became cliche and annoying. (Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah! I ˜m looking in your direction). wink

This album deserves a few listens so be patient with it, there’s actually a lot of sincerity behind it and even a tribute to Motown! Your homework for the week is to listen to A Wizard, A True Star at least once a day in it’s entirety. Who knows? You might find a hit or two¦.make a game out of it, whoever finds the most hits wins!!!

“When the Shit Hits the Fan/Sunset Blvd”

Wizard For Sale

Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star