After the thrilling rush of 1972, during which Marc Bolan and T. Rex ruled the musical world with a glittery fist, 1973 proved a different kind of year. Tired of glam and looking for a new sound, Bolan turned to the sounds of America for inspiration. Determined to become a star there, he led the band on a number of tours and along the way understood that fans wanted harder and less poppy music; he also fell in love with the soul and funk beaming out over the nation's airwaves. 1973: Whatever Happened to the Teenage Dream? is a four-disc set that captures what happened when Bolan and the band turned away from glam and went in search of something else. It contains both the Tanx album, which was recorded in late 1972, and 1974's Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow, recorded in 1973. Alongside them are non-LP singles, demos Bolan made at home, Zinc Alloy outtakes, the 1973 single credited to Big Carrot, and the aborted sessions for a Sister Pat Hall record.
Neither of the two studio albums were huge leaps away from the template already established by the band; the changes were small but significant. On Tanx, some elements of harder rock like slide guitar, straightforward songcraft, and simpler lyrics are implemented, but at the same time Tony Visconti's production often sends the album into the cosmos, especially when the phasers kick in and the backing vocals levitate. Zinc Alloy adds the intense backing vocals of Gloria Jones and Pat Hall, swings a bit more loosely, and even gets funky on a few tracks. Any T. Rex fan wouldn't be shocked by the small alterations, though, and both Bolan's strut and sadness are amplified in interesting ways. It's often seen as a transitional period in the group's career, and some prefer to focus on the brilliant non-LP singles like "Children of the Revolution" and "20th Century Boy," but to ignore Tanx and Zinc Alloy in favor of earlier or later work is ill-advised and would mean missing out on some strange and wonderful music.
The demos and outtakes have all been released before, and they are uniformly brilliant, proving that Bolan didn't need glitter or volume to get across the genius contained in his melodies and words. The Big Carrot single is a gas, with the rollicking "Black Jack" letting Jones and Hall take the lead and "Squint Eye Mangle" showing off Bolan's guitar heroics in joyously ramshackle fashion. The Sister Pat Hall album is a nice addition to the set, and while her voice can get a little strident at times, it's fun to hear Bolan give the T. Rex sound a funky twist. Like the 1972 set that preceded it, there are no real rarities here, but the comprehensive view it gives to a year that was difficult, yet triumphant in its own way, is something that is of use to any T. Rex fan, be they obsessive or new.
CD 1: TANX
1. Tenement Lady
2. Rapids
3. Mister Mister
4. Broken-Hearted Blues
5. Shock Rock
6. Country Honey
7. Electric Slim And The Factory Hen
8. Mad Donna
9. Born To Boogie
10. Life Is Strange
11. The Street And Babe Shadow
12. Highway Knees
13. Left Hand Luke And The Beggar Boys
BONUS 45 CUTS
14. Children Of The Revolution
15. Jitterbug Love
16. Sunken Rags
17. Solid Gold Easy Action
18. Xmas Riff
19. 20th Century Boy
20. Free Angel
CD 2: ZINC ALLOY AND THE HIDDEN RIDERS OF TOMORROW/A CREAMED CAGE IN AUGUST
1. Venus Loon
2. Sound Pit
3. Explosive Mouth
4. Galaxy
5. Change
6. Nameless Wildness
7. Teenage Dream [single version]
8. Liquid Gang
9. Carsmile Smith And 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
BONUS 45 CUTS
15. The Groover
16. Midnight
17. Truck On (Tyke)
18. Sitting Here
19. Satisfaction Pony
CD 3: PRIVATE NUMBERS
TANX ERA
1. Jitterbug Love
2. Electric Slim And The Factory Hen [alias You Got The Look]
3. Highway Knees
4. Mad Donna
5. Mister Mister
6. Country Honey
7. Rapids
8. Life Is Strange
9. The Street & Babe Shadow
10. Darling
11. Free Angel
12. Left Hand Luke And The Beggar Boys
ZINC ALLOY ERA
13. Change
14. Galaxy
15. Carsmile Smith & The Old One
16. Spanish Midnight
17. Sitting There [Sitting Here]
18. Gardenia & The Mighty Slug
19. The Groover
20. Dance In The Midnight
21. Saturation Syncopation
22. Delanie
23. Saturday Night
24. Till Dawn
25. Stand By Me
CD 4: LOOK TO YOUR SOUL
T. REX
1. Hope You Enjoy The Show
BIG CARROT
2. Black Jack
3. Squint Eye Mangle
T. REX – ZINC ALLOY OUTTAKES
4. The Avengers (Superbad)
5. Look To Your Soul
6. Down Home Lady
7. All My Love
SISTER PAT HALL
8. When I Was A Child
9. Ghetto Baby
10. Sailors Of The Highway
11. Jitterbug Love
12. High
13. City Port
14. Sunken Rags
15. Do Your Thing
16. Tell Me
T. REX
17. Sky Church Music
18. Teenage Dream [Top Of The Pops version]
