Unicorn [Expanded Edition] [Extra tracks]

 

 

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Unicorn was the third of four albums by Tyrannosaurus Rex and the last with Steve Peregrine Took. Released in May 1969, it followed the failure of their third single, Pewtor Suitor, in January. This had followed in the mould of the first two singles and albums by largely replicating the acoustic sound the band created onstage over the last year or so. The same could be said of the B-side, Warlord of The Royal Crocodiles, recorded near the start of the sessions for the album in December 1968.

Given that the duo had released two albums within the last twelve months, all written by Marc Bolan, the quality of the songs on Unicorn was remarkably strong, showing his considerable development as a writer, lyrically and musically, and fully utilising the flexible creativity of his musical partner Steve Took. Not anyway given to self-doubt, Marc Bolan must have been particularly confident at the outset of the sessions, and was therefore severely challenged by the commercial failure of Pewtor Suitor.

He met the challenge during the sessions, which lasted until 2nd February 1969, by experimenting with more instruments and multi-track overdubs, with the help of regular producer Tony Visconti and engineers Malcolm Toft and Rob Cabel, to create a much more complex panoply of chromatic sounds that incorporated Spectorish reverb and percussion. If not exactly a Wall Of Sound, they brilliantly complemented the beautiful idiosyncrasy of the songs. Marc added harmonium, lip organ and fonofidels to his repertoire, while Steve additionally supplied bass guitar, piano, drumkit and pixiepipe. Tony Visconti added some piano to Catblack. The result was a worthy 16-track successor to My People and Prophets and reversed their commercial decline by making a very healthy showing in the album charts.

The bonus tracks begin with Pewtor Suitor (in stereo) and show the way forward with the next single, not taken from Unicorn but freshly recorded in April 1969: King Of The Rumbling Spires/Do You Remember. This represented a quantum leap with electric guitars, Woolworth's organ and full drums in evidence. The remaining tracks are early takes of the songs from Unicorn and an early version of Do You Remember featuring as far as I know the only lead vocal that Steve Took recorded with Tyrannosaurus Rex. His enunciation is clearer than Marc's and allays a worry I have had for 35 years about one of the words in the lyric when he sings "Her face was like a coat to me".

We all know of Marc Bolan as the iconic lead singer of T. Rex; that grand, strutting peacock of rock, the eternal star-child of glam, peeling off those ferocious guitar-lines amidst nonsense verse spiked with blistering innuendo. But few casual listeners have ever bothered to delve further into the musical Mecca of records that Bolan released prior to the abbreviation of the unwieldy Tyrannosaurus Rex moniker, and indeed, before the addition of Micky Finn, Steve Currie and Bill Legend to create that archetypical T. Rex sound.

I suppose it's still easy to dismiss Bolan's early work as nothing more than trite, hippy-era, airy-fairy nonsense; with some critics still seeing the icon (at this stage in his career, at least) as a bargain bin Syd Barrett, and no doubt instead preferring to think of T. Rex as a brand name that began its life with the release of Ride a White Swan in 1970 and died, alongside our hero, on that fateful night in September, 1977. But really, there was so much more to the legacy of Bolan, pre-T. Rextacy, that it seems almost criminal to ignore it -- with a clutch of underrated albums, like the preposterously titled My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows (1968) and the later A Beard of Stars (1970) in particular standing out as exemplary pieces of work that could easily be ranked alongside the better known albums like Electric Warrior (1971) and The Slider (1972). Central to this early legacy of forgotten works is the third and arguable best album from Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn - which, like the first two albums, would pit Bolan's adolescent tales of woodland elves and high-road hotrods against a series of repetitively strummed and simplistic acoustic guitar melodies and the hypnotic bongo rhythms of original percussionist Steve "Peregrine" Took.

This combination of instruments would become the backbone of early Tyrannosaurus Rex until the magisterial Took was ousted for his rock n' roll attitudes and continual substance abuse; famously being replaced a few days later by Mickey Finn (who's unique style and good-looks appealed to Bolan's later desire to launch T. Rex as serious chat act). Personally, I always saw this is a bit of a tragedy, as the percussion here is the real salient factor of T. Rex Mk. 1, lending Bolan's songs an exotic authenticity that suggests both traditional Eastern and Asian folk influences and something more Medieval in design (perhaps suggesting the gypsy folk and remnants of chamber music that would come to inform much of Donovan's music - on albums like Sunshine Superman and The Hurdy Gurdy Man in particular - or similarly-themed albums by The Incredible String Band and Forrest). These influences are integrated alongside Bolan's fondness for early rock & roll rhythms, with the obvious ghost of Buddy Holly enthusing and enlivening some of the more up-tempo three chord strummers in a way that would set the template for all of those future T. Rex chart-topping hits.

Regardless of the later allusions and musical foreshadowing of Bolan's eventual shift towards blistering glam-rock, Unicorn fits firmly in the bracket of psychedelic-folk, with the combination of both strummed and finger-picked acoustic guitar melodies double tracked alongside the bongo-like percussive elements, really creating a rhythmic and hypnotic groove that is further augmented by unlikely instruments such as the kazoo, mellotron, Chinese gong and pixiephone to add background ambience and various surreal atmospherics. Added to this, we also have the interweaving vocal shrieks, screams and yelps of both Bolan and Took merging seamlessly, whilst simultaneously creating meaning from incompressible improvisations and almost mystical religion chants. All of this further combined alongside those surreal, fairy-tale-like lyrical vignettes to create an album that takes us on an enthralling, colourful and continually imaginative little journey over purple hills of rarn and beyond the kaleidoscopic sea of green, where Debora rides a galleon stallion through a psychedelic cloud of woolly, black-perm.

The overall sound of the album ties in nicely with the certain other acts previously mentioned throughout this review; with the Bolan of Unicorn seemingly inspired by the work of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron of The Incredibly String Band, the Donovan of A Gift from a Flower to a Garden and the Barrett of Bike and Gnome. It also foreshadows many of the current wave of highly acclaimed alternative folk singers gathered together under trendy catch-all banners like psyche-folk, nu-folk and anti-folk, with the sound of early Tyrannosaurus Rex apparent in the work of Animal Collective (in particular some of their solo projects, most notably Young Prayer (2002) by Panda Bear and Pullhair Rubeye (2007) by Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan), Angels of Light, Joanna Newsom (in particular her first album The Milk Eyed Mender (2002)), Vetiver (certain elements of their 2004 debut) and most prominently the work of "nu-folk" pioneer Devendra Banhart, who claims to have never heard anything by Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is fortunate, as the majority of his work, especially in comparison with albums like My People Were Fair... and Unicorn, seriously tows the line between homage and theft.

It's still very much a T. Rex album at it's core, with particular songs like The Seal of Seasons, She Was Born to Be My Unicorn, Evenings of Damask and Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are no doubt sounding just as great if they'd be performed with a fully switched-on, glam-rock arrangement (and slipped onto the track listing of later albums like Electric Warrior, The Slider and Tanx). In other words, they continue the legacy of Bolan perfectly; tying into the various themes and obsessions that would underline his much more iconic work of the 1970's, such as decadence, love, rock-star idolatry, and the various mystical musings around ancient history, poetry, literature and bonged-out hippy-bliss philosophy. There's no obvious stand-out track for me, with the twelve songs here all complimenting each other perfectly, while simultaneously adding to a continual mood wherein all tracks blur seamlessly into one riveting, rhythmic whole. A remarkable album then, not simply within the context of Bolan's career, but within the wider cannon of the psychedelic-folk movement, and the 1960's in general.

'Unicorn' is more a product of certain aspects of its time than many other albums produced in 1969, which makes it interesting of itself. I like Marc Bolan and the various incarnations of T.Rex very much but did not find 'Unicorn' particularly easy listening. This review was written after a first playing of the album with the aim of giving a sense of initial impressions. I bought it because I have enjoyed snatches of 'pixiefied pop' on T.Rex compilations in the past but odd snatches interspersed amongst other musical styles is a bit different from a well packed, very good value expanded edition album all in 'pixiefied' style. Perhaps we're too used to expecting to instantly connect with music these days and one step removed from the album listening experience? Despite the hippie influence, coming through strong here is the enthusiasm, talent and charm Marc will rightly be remembered for. I wouldn't say every track here is a total gem but certainly some of the harmonies are glorious and very inventive. There's tremulo a plenty which, if you like Bolan too, you're unlikely to be averse to as it so much underpins his vocal style. 'Pewter Suitor' is possibly my favourite track; the vocals are reminiscent of the extended versions of 'Deborah'. I think 'Unicorn' will grow on me. If it doesn't, it won't be because I don't want it to.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer Nostalgia
This was one of my most favourite vinyl albums, now sadly long gone, and when I saw it was available on CD I was unable to resist and wasn't dissapointed. Read more

Published 19 days ago by Mister H

5.0 out of 5 stars A fan must have.
It's a Bolan fan must have really!! This is a great way to see the progression of the mans genius from the early stages of his career.

Published 1 month ago by D.Hendrick

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Tyrannosaurus Rex Album
There are so many great tracks on this album it's almost an embarrassment of riches. There's the sassy, Beatles-ish 'Cat Black (the Wizard's Hat), the Tolkienesque, slightly... Read more

Published 4 months ago by John F

5.0 out of 5 stars T-Rex.
As a T-rex fan of the 70's, it is interesting to hear some of this more obscure stuff. But still some hidden gems.

Published on 12 May 2009 by Mr. G. P. Barnett

5.0 out of 5 stars Marc's talent on show
There is not a great deal to add to the review below but just to put my twopenneth in,I often think that this record demonstrates the quality of Marc's vocal ability, possibly... Read more

Published on 15 Oct 2007 by DavyA

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic
This is a fantastic album!!! It's impossible not to like the amazing vocals and tunes. There can be no greater compliment to an album than to say that you feel like you're stoned... Read more

Published on 4 Jan 2005

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