Tanx [Expanded Edition]

• Artist: T. Rex
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 17, 2002
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Rock

Review

By 1973's Tanx, the T. Rex hit-making machine was beginning to show some wear and tear, but Marc Bolan still had more than a few winners up his sleeve. It was also admirable that Bolan was attempting to broaden the T. Rex sound -- soulful backup singers and horns are heard throughout, a full two years before David Bowie used the same formula for his mega-seller Young Americans. However, Tanx did not contain any instantly recognizable hits, as their past couple of releases had, and the performances were not quite as vibrant, due to non-stop touring and drug use. Despite an era of transition looming on the horizon for the band, tracks such as "Rapids," "Highway Knees," "The Street & Babe Shadow," and "Born to Boogie" contain the expected classic T. Rex sound. The leadoff track, "Tenement Lady," is an interesting Beatlesque epic, while "Shock Rock" criticizes the early-'70s glam scene, which T. Rex played a prominent role in creating. Other highlights include one of Bolan's most gorgeous and heartfelt ballads, "Broken Hearted Blues," as well as the brief, explosive rocker "Country Honey." Tanx marked the close of what many consider T. Rex's golden era; unfortunately, the bandmembers would drift off one by one soon after, until Bolan was the only one remaining by the mid-'70s. [The 2002 reissue adds seven bonus tracks, plus a full-length second disc featuring a plethora of alternate takes. The first disc's extra tracks are "Children of the Revolution," "Jitterbug Love," "Sunken Rags," "Solid Gold Easy Action," "Xmas Riff," "Free Angel," and the incredibly influential and awe-inspriing glam anthem "20th Century Boy." The second disc offers the entire album in its original order but using alternate takes, plus alternate takes of "Children of the Revolution," "Solid Gold Easy Action," and "Free Angel"; semi-acoustic takes of "Mister Mister," "Broken Hearted Blues," "The Street and the Babe Shadow," and "Tenement Lady"; and straight acoustic versions of "Tenement Lady," "Broken Hearted Blues," "Mad Donna," "The Street and the Babe Shadow," and "Left Hand Luke."] ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks

CD 1

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Tenement Lady	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:55)
Rapids	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:49)
Mister Mister	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(3:30)
Broken-Hearted Blues	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:03)
Shock Rock	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:43)
Country Honey	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:47)
Electric Slim and the Factory Hen	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(3:06)
Mad Donna	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:15)
Born to Boogie	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:04)
Life Is Strange	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:30)
The Street and Babe Shadow	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:17)
Highway Knees	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:34)
Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(5:22)
Children of the Revolution [Extended Play]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:30)
Jitterbug Love [Extended Play]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:59)
Sunken Rags [Extended Play]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:54)
Solid Gold Easy Action [Extended Play]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:20)
Xmas Riff [Extended Play]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(0:11)
20th Century Boy [Extended Play]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(3:41)
Free Angel [Extended Play]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:12)

CD 2

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Tenement Lady/Darling [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:49)
Rapids [Alternative][*][Take]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:59)
Mister Mister [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:48)
Broken-Hearted Blues [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:08)
Country Honey [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:50)
Mad Donna [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:18)
Born to Boogie [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:09)
Life Is Strange [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:47)
The Street and Babe Shadow [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:20)
Highway Knees [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:32)
Left Hand Luke [Alternative][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(5:17)
Children of the Revolution [Extended Play][*][Take]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:04)
Solid Gold Easy Action [Extended Play][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:13)
Free Angel [Extended Play][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:14)
Mister Mister [Acoustic and Bass Demo][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(3:31)
Broken-Hearted Blues [Acoustic and Bass Demo][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:08)
The Street and the Babe Shadow [Acoustic and Bass Demo][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:14)
Tenement Lady [Acoustic and Bass Demo][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:35)
Tenement Lady [Acoustic Demo][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:53)
Broken Hearted Blues [Acoustic Demo][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:50)
Mad Donna [Acoustic Demo][*][Version]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:44)
The Street and the Babe Shadow [Acoustic Demo][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(2:35)
Left Hand Luke [Acoustic Demo][*]	Marc Bolan	T. Rex	(1:58)

Credits

T. Rex (Main Performer), Mickey Finn (Conga), Mickey Finn (Vocals), Mickey Finn (Hand Percussion), Marc Bolan (Guitar), Marc Bolan (Vocals), Marc Bolan (Vocals (Background)), Marc Bolan (Bass Harmonica), Steve Currie (Bass), Jools (Package Design), Jools (Booklet Design), Tony Visconti (Vocals (Background)), Tony Visconti (Producer), Tony Visconti (Mellotron), Tony Visconti (String Arrangements), Tony Visconti (Original Album Producer), Bill Legend (Drums), Martin Barden (Compilation), Martin Barden (Annotation), Ros Davies (Compilation), Ros Davies (Annotation), Mark Paytress (Liner Notes), John Kosh (Cover Design), John Kosh (Cover Composition), Michael Putland (Photography), Mickey Finn (Conga), Mickey Finn (Vocals), Mickey Finn (Hand Percussion), Peter Howe (Cover Photo), Casey Howard (Saxophone)