Marc Bolan and T.Rex: Born To Boogie

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Elly Roberts reviews

Marc Bolan and T.Rex: Born To Boogie
Distributed by
Sanctuary Records Group

    CoverDVD:
    CD:

  • Cert:
  • Cat.no: SVE 4016
  • Running time: 325 minutes
  • Year: 2005
  • Pressing: 2005
  • Region(s): 1, 2, 4, PAL
  • Sound: Stereo, DTS 5.1
  • Languages: English
  • Subtitles: None
  • Widescreen: 16:9
  • Disc Format: DVD 9
  • Price: £19.99
  • Rating: DVD 10/10; CD 10/10; Music 10/10
  • Extras:90 minutes including, out-takes, deleted scenes, rare footage of TyrannosaurusRex performing Sara Crazy Child (1967), original trailer

Mark Feld, aka Marc Bolan was born to boogie.

He stood out from the crowd in many ways. His androgynous image and music wasonly the tip of the ice berg of a phenomenal talent. Behind the ‘King ofGlam’s stage persona, there was a deeply sensitive soul. This was reflectedin poetic and often mythical work, which took pop music to a level unparalleledat the time,and since.

In the mid to late ’60s he was a member of two seminal underground bands -John’s Children and Tyrannosaurus Rex. A big favourite of the festival scene,Bolan decided to change direction in 1970. Like Bob Dylan, he ‘plugged-in’and to some die hard fans, ’sold-out’. With the change, the music press pannedhim, totally demeaning and underrating his technical ability as a musician.

The chart singles Ride A White Swan, Hot Love, Get It On and Jeepsterwere prime examples of a man with the knack of delivering pure pop songs:memorable ones at that. Similar to his friend and contemporary David Bowie,he indulged in surreal lyrics, though Bolan failed to evolve in later years,which proved his downfall.

CoverAfter the demise of The Beatles in 1970, British teenagers were looking fornew heros, and they found it in T.Rex. ’T.Rextasy’ had arrived and I was partof it. I bought all the singles and albums. Posters were plastered on allbedroom walls. Even ex-Beatle Ringo Starr recognised this new phenomenon, somuch so he wanted to capture it for posterity.

So,at long last this DVD (and CD companion), filmed and directed by Starr onApple, will (hopefully) silence the critics. This is more than a rockumentary:it’s a final statement and testament, which is long overdue. Watching the firstof two shows it brought back happy memories of the day I was there. Somewherein the 12,000 crowd, there’s a 17 year old pre-art college Elly Roberts ravingit up.

On stage Bolan strutted, pouted and totally let-rip. His studio recordings weremeticulously geared for the pop market. Live, he was a totally different guitaristwho broke free and improvised his rock’n’roll prowess. Flanked by two hugeself-portraits and low key technology, he thrilled the constantly screamingcrowd.

Regular edits show teeny boppers going OTT with their look-alike hairdos andglittered cheeks. The band – Bill Curry on bass, Bill Legend on drums, MickeyFinn on percussion, they turned on the style, allowing The Slider to exhibittechnique rarely heard on disc. Hendrix played with his teeth, Page played witha violin bow – Bolan screeched his Les Paul with a tambourine. He was, in otherwords,a sensation.

Extras provide subliminal snippets of the bopping elf goofing around with Ringo,jamming with Elton John along with other source material. In reality it’sa hotch-botch, but who cares because it’s been faithfully restored by producerTony Visconti with contributions from son Rolan Bolan. As a bonus,you canexperience a concert on CD2 (tracks below) and soundtrack on Disc 1.

‘Tanx’ for the memory!

Weblink:Sanctuary Records Group.co.uk

The full list of tracks included are :

1. Rosko’s Intro
2. Cadilac
3. Jeepster
4. Baby Strange
5. Spaceball Ricochet
6. Girl7. Cosmic Dancer
8. Telegram Sam
9. Hot Love
10. Get It On
11. ‘Just one more?’ Emperor Rosko
12. Summertime Blues

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