A BEARD OF STARS: 2020

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There are about sixty songs that Bolan recorded and broadcast on the BBC between 1967 and 1971. On 17 November 1969 he did a session for Top Gear featuring songs from Beard of Stars. The tracks played were

Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart
Pavilions Of Sun
A Day Laye
By The Light Of The Magical Moon
Wind Cheetah

(Top Gear was a radio show known for its specially recorded sessions in addition to playing records. It began life in 1964 and was revived with a progressive rock focus in 1967, running with that format until its end in 1975. Latterly John Peel was the presenter.)

Then on New Years Day 1970 he did a live session at the Paris Theatre, performing

Pavilions Of Sun
Dove
By The Light Of The Magical Moon
Elemental Child

He also did Elemental Child on Top Gear on 26 October 1970 and in the Paris Theatre on 10 December of the same year.

Mambo Sun

The track Mambo Sun is from Electric Warrior but it does contain this throwback line -

I've got stars in my beard and I feel real weird for you

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Instrumentation

On the album Mickey Finn plays Moroccan clay drums, tabla, finger cymbals and bass and provides backing vocals,

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Mickey Finn Obituary 2003

From The Times

Percussionist who, as a leading member of T Rex, defined the style of an era and kept the band’s name and music alive

The percussionist and occasional bass player of T Rex, Mickey Finn had a role in the group that went far beyond his musical contribution. In photo shoots and on album covers his straight, raven hair and handsome, pale face became the iconic counter to Marc Bolan’s dark eyeshadow and frizzy mane. Arguably, his admission into Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1969 marked a point - both in the group and in pop music generally - when style had become more important than substance.

After playing with the bands Hapshash and Coloured Coat, Finn was taken into Tyrannosaurus Rex as a replacement for the wayward Steve “Peregrine” Took - the other half of the band - whom Bolan had all but abandoned in Los Angeles. With Finn’s arrival, the whimsical Tolkienism of Tyrannosaurus Rex petered out (Took’s ersatz middle name had been added in honour of a mischievous hobbit in The Lord of the Rings). The album Beard of Stars was the last made with the original name.

When Bolan and Finn returned as T Rex in October 1970 with Ride a White Swan, the nonsensical lyrics about pixies remained, but a brasher, edgier sound had been crafted, with Bolan’s shift from Donovan-style acoustic guitars to an electric Sunburst Les Paul and massive amplification - earning the band the No 2 spot in the charts.

Despite Took’s undoubted musical ability, Bolan was not sorry to replace him with someone of more modest talents who would cause less trouble. Took’s massive appetite for drugs and desire to inject his own, hard-rock influence on the band had not been welcomed by Bolan, who was determined that any group he was part of would be his own.

Finn fitted in perfectly - he had little inclination to progress from his role as sometime percussionist (a “proper” drummer was hired in 1973) and full-time teen idol. Bolan would later say of him: “He can’t sing a note, but he looks superb.”

Finn did bend the group’s sound to a more “be-bop” feel, best felt on Get it On and Telegram Sam, and he eventually became a fair bass guitarist. More importantly, he was extremely close to Bolan and a vital confidant during the star’s constant emotional traumas.

As the hits and money rolled in, however, Finn embarked on week-long drug, drink and sex binges in hotel suites. Eight consecutive songs - including Jeepster, Children of the Revolution and 20th-Century Boy - all went to the top end of the British charts, yet the reign of T Rex over the chart was remarkably short given their success - partly because they never cracked the American market.

By 1975 the critics, irritated by Bolan’s inability to develop his style beyond three-chord sledgehammer riffing, became increasingly vicious. Bolan began to throw tantrums, and tried to cut down the earnings taken by Finn and the other members of the group - already modest by comparison to his own cut.

Bolan declared T Rex extinct in March 1975. Thereafter he gave up all toxins, made a massive effort to recover his health and embarked on a comeback tour, making the most of the admiration he enjoyed among some of the emerging punk groups and their fans.

Finn, meanwhile, now playing guitar with the Steve Marriot Group, sank deeper into drugs and alcohol. His problems were exacerbated by Bolan’s death in a car crash in 1977. He would later say: “Marc’s death unhinged me. We were more than brothers.”

Ten years later Finn had lost his looks and all his fortune, and returned to live with his mother in Norwood, South London. In 1997 he turned up for a show in Cambridge to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Bolan’s death.

He decided to reform T Rex with Paul Fenton, who had joined T Rex as drummer in 1973. This original pair, with four other musicians, gigged extensively throughout Europe and Japan as Mickey Finn’s T Rex and in 2001 released an album of rehashed T Rex classics called Back in Business. Finn was considering moving on to new material and was due to resume touring with a string of gigs in Norway.

Finn accepted a ribbing from Sean Hughes and Mark Lamarr on BBC Two’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks last year and, despite his altered looks, was quickly identified. More auspiciously, he played to 2,000 hardcore fans, along with Bolan’s son Rolan, on the 25th anniversary of Bolan’s death last year.

During a revival of interest in T Rex’s music in 1991 - for which he received no reward - Finn accepted his poverty but expressed his frustration that his role in T Rex had been eclipsed by his closest friend.

“I was an important part of T Rex and I don’t want it forgotten,” he said. “I hope people will remember Mickey Finn as well as Marc Bolan when they hear T Rex records ... I would be deeply hurt if I was totally forgotten.”

Mickey Finn, percussionist with T Rex, was born on June 3, 1947. He died in London on January 11, 2003, aged 55. He had been suffering from liver and kidney problems.

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Original American Gatefold Sleeve

Pie Chart of Tracks on the Album

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Promo Material from the time

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Catherine Lambert Covers

Seven of fifteen tracks from Beard of Stars appear reimagined in Mediaeval style on the album Tales from the book of time by Catherine Lambert and the Lore Liege Ensemble (originally known as Beltane with 12 tracks and only six from Beard of Stars). The tracks are

A Day Laye
Pavilions of sun
Organ blues
Wind cheetah
Great horse
Dragon's ear
Dove (not on Beltane)

Order on the Lambert album

Pavilions of sun
Dove (not on Beltane)
Dragon's ear
A Day Laye
Organ blues
Great horse
Wind cheetah

(Other tracks on it are the single King of the Rumbling Spires, Children of Rarn intro and finale and Diamond Meadows from T Rex, The Sea Beasts and Stones for Avalon from Unicorn and the lesser known Rarn! Rarn! and Beltane)

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Guitarist Magazine Article

Bolan at Clapton's home with one of Clapton's guitars c 1969

This is the beginning of an article found here

In this Guitarist Special we tell the story of how Marc Bolan plugged in, tuned up and rocked a generation too young for The Beatles and The Stones

In the autumn of 1969 Marc Bolan's musical fortunes were low. He had split with sidekick Steve Took on the back of a US tour, and returned home with no money, management problems, and a loss of confidence. But by the end of the year he had found two new musical partners; Mickey Finn and a white Fender Strat. Tyrannosaurus Rex was reborn. Bolan, then perceived as one of the least likely candidates to become a teen chart idol, was on a path that would change the face of English rock music.

The first fruit of this rebirth was the single By The Light Of A Magical Moon in January 1970. Taken from their forthcoming album, it featured the expected bongos and acoustic guitars, but also electric bass and some fine electric guitar fills. Reviewing it, Chris Welch wrote hopefully: "Marc has one of the most distinctive voices in pop, and it would be nice to see them get a hit after all this time." But predictably, it failed.

Three albums of acoustic music had given people a false impression of Bolan. By 1970 he was consciously returning to his first love, rock'n'roll.

"I've always been a fan of early rock and roll - it's really good music. The first Elvis records were incredible... My first experience of rock came when I heard Ballad of Davy Crockett by Bill Hayes. My Dad went out to buy me a record and got one by Bill Haley. I was so disappointed - until I heard the record. Then I threw Bill Hayes out of the window and rocked. I've been rocking ever since. I got turned on to Carl Perkins when the shop flogged me his version of Blue Suede Shoes because they had sold out of Elvis. I was really down. Then I played the record - and rocked again!"

Bolan now saw his duo rather differently to a chunk of his audience: "We are just a contemporary rock group. We are not the Incredible String Band or a folk group. We were thinking of going on at the Festival Hall with 400 watts each and freak 'em all out." That spring it didn't happen. But the wattage was coming.

Bolan thought Beard Of Stars (March 1970) the best album he'd ever done and conceded: "I suppose there is more electric guitar... I've been staying down at Eric Clapton's home quite a bit recently and you can't be around Eric and not be influenced."

The ads showed Marc holding the white Strat, and the Melody Maker's review announced 'Bolan goes electric': "Never before has T Rex sounded so heavy or exciting ... Elemental Child will come as a considerable surprise. It features Marc's untutored but energetic and groovy heavy rock guitar work."

Bolan told Beat Instrumental that May: "A lot of the numbers on the new record didn't start as riffy as they ended up; they grew into heavier things", though still rooted in the Tolkeinesque landscape of Marc's imagination. This fusion of rock and roll with Middle Earth is probably Marc's most distinctive gift to English rock music. Some of Bolan's best lead is heard on the album, in particular the wah-wah solo in Lofty Skies, and Elemental Child, with its reality-is-on-the-blink whammy-bar pauses and an extended coda with heavy damping of the strings.

Bolan and Finn gigged the new material at shows like the Pop Proms in April at The Roundhouse, and rehearsed. Finn would drive round to Bolan's flat in Ladbroke Grove on his 650cc motorcycle and they'd jam for a few hours. Bolan mused: "I think we'll have a bass player at some point, but not just yet ... there'll come a point where if I want to do a long guitar solo, or just allow something to happen like that, then we'll need a bass player for that number. I always seem to have ideas long before I can carry them out. I mean, T Rex has sounded like Beard Of Stars to me for two years. I was always going to do it, you know? Even when we did Debora, it was always, Next week I'll plug my Stratocaster in. But I couldn't play well enough then to make the noises that I wanted to hear. Our new things are rock and roll ... all 12 bars."

They played the Extravaganza Festival at Olympia on 4 June with John Peel, and the Lyceum in July. Meanwhile, the success of In The Summertime by Mungo Jerry led to talk of a skiffle revival. The resemblance between Mungo singer Ray Dorset's warble and Bolan's did not go unnoticed in the press. Dorset said: "What we're about is everybody getting up and jumping about. We just want everybody to be happy. I like listening hard to bands, but on the other hand a lot of people do go along to be entertained and they can't get into it." They were going down well at festivals playing 12-bar boogies that got people dancing again. A door was opening; people wanted to rock.

That summer of the Isle Of Wight, Bolan thought the next album would be a concept, built round his story The Children Of Rarn. In fact only a track of that name made it. During the summer Bolan's wife June told him one day to get out of her hair for a bit. Bolan retired to his recording studio. Hours later he emerged and played her the Ricky Nelson-influenced Ride A White Swan. In August it was announced as the next single.

Looking back, in November 1971, Bolan told Michael Wale about the crisis of 1970 and his musical change: "It came because I'd done four albums and we were boogie-ing along... things looked really nice, but they were comfortable, you know? I was very unhappy with the way that we were really being ignored by the media of all sorts, the papers and the radio and that. So what I did really was a gamble; either we've got to get a hit record, or I'm going to be a writer. End of story.

Like I was just going to back off, because I was beginning to be bored with what I was doing, the way I was doing it. That was, I suppose, just before 1970. Just before White Swan. We cut it and it sounded like a hit... so I thought, Well, f--- it, I'm going to put it out and if it's not a hit there ain't no way I'm ever going to get a hit record." .....

Black Ink and David Best Reviews from M&M Enterprises

Ahem...Greetings all. Here is my submission to the Record of the Month Club.

Obligatory intro story: I inherited an acoustic guitar from a friend who died in 1984. - I'd never played, but somehow, it seemed like the 'perfect gift'. Anyway, that summer, I was going through a pretty heavy Ty-Rex phase and one day while I was sitting strumming this guitar, I realized that I'd accidentally strummed out the chords of the rhythm guitar part in 'A Daye Laye'. (!!)

I love -everything- about this LP. From the very first note of Prelude which always makes my heart soar - to the 'Grand Cacophony' of Elemental Child, where I have often find myself pogo-ing around the room, bopping madly to that guitar thing at the end. (The cats, at this point, are both hiding under the bed.)

Here's my quick synopsis of the whole record - which I just recently found on CD! No lyric sheet with the CD though <for shame!>

A Daye Laye. <for me> is forever dedicated to absent friends.

Woodland Bop. A totally accessible pop tune.

Fist Heart Mighty D-D-D-Dawn Dart. A personal favourite. I love the melody.

Pavillions of Sun. Awesome melody. 'Know the earth and you'll understand'

Organ Blues. 'Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah you know that I love you...' - Sheer Brilliance. Listen to the bongo drum, it's alive!

By The Light....Another totally accessible pop tune and I just love the lead guitar...the way it weaves itself around and through the melody...it sounds backwards!!! Awesome.

Doesn't Wind Cheetah sound like something totally foreign and exotic?

Great Horse. I have no words for this beautiful song. I think it might be my favourite off this album. It's sad -and- happy -and- gorgeous.

Dragons Ear is my least favourite!

Lofty Skies is the second song I learnt the chords to. :) Another personal favourite

Dove. Another one of those totally accessible little beauties.

Elemental Child. I think I covered this one in the intro!

So that's me. (This was a great idea Rick) I had fun listening to this record with 'fresh ears' again.

blackink

Hi Tillers,

Got done the painting and now have time for the review.

Like some others, I got to this album backwards. My first T.Rex album was EW and then I got the T.Rex album (here in Canada with Ride A White Swan instead of The Children of Rarn reprise...always thought Swan belonged there..a goodbye to Ty.Rex and on with the Electric Warrior) At the time I looked for anything by Marc. I don't quite remember, but I think that BOS was my first Ty.Rex album. I love the cover photos of Marc and Micky. I've just realised I have two vinyl copies of this (where did this second copy come from?.. age it does things to the mind), both on Blue Thumb Records, but each with a different foldout, also a cd copy.

The first thing that strikes me about this album is how short it is, only 35 minutes, but a very entertaining 35 minutes;-)

Prelude - appropriately titled - a prelude of things to come, simple and relaxing, listen to it on the headphones and the bells go back and forth - Micky's debut?

A Day Laye - great lyrics, "don't ever worry cos I'm your friend"

Woodland Bop - once you start it you'll find it hard to stop, do da da daa;-)

Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart - great title, I used to have Bard's Tale characters named Fistheart and Dawndart. I loved that game...funny how the day comes slo ow.

Pavilions of Sun - Swans will fly.....love the bongos, good job Micky!

Organ Blues - what a mood..oh yeah..simple yet entertaining..again good on the headphones. did he say feasties of the Bestys;-)..oh right beasties (phew!)

By the Light of the Magical Moon - nice guitar intro and bongos again, there's that 'lectric guitar..again moving around on the headphones.

Wind Cheetah - you can see Marc, standing on a hill, wind in his hair, playing the electric guitar, Micky at his feet, as they overlook the village below.....spinning their tale..

A Beard of Stars - backing vocals remind me of what was to come, nice work

Great Horse - love the words

Dragon's Ear - my favorite, love the simplicity of the start...I used to have a character named Dworn in BT as well...he kick ***. this would make a good rocker.. but let's not mess with a good thing.

Lofty Skies - we kissed and cried..good advice;-)

Dove - haven't we all felt this way?

Elemental Child - like the way Marc sings the title..the rest..well Hendrix he wasn't..also good to listen to on the headphones..nice backing vocal in the left ear..would have liked Marc to try this later when his guitar skills were better developed..did he ever perform it live as T.Rex?

Throughout this album we are treated to some GREAT poetry put to music..not all of it makes sense in reality, but in the fantasy realms of our minds it conjurs up visions of..........

Marc Hendrix is still playing in my ears, man they could have used a better bass line...<g>

My second review, is that a newbie record;-), again, go easy on me, I'm new at this.

Besty

Mark McL and Rick Reviews from M&M Enterprises

IT'S IN STEREO

Of course it is you say, but remember that in the late 60's stereo was still a novelty. I bought stereo LPs even though neither I nor anyone I knew had one. "This can be played on mono equipment fitted with a suitable stylus. If in doubt consult your dealer" was printed on the back of most stereo albums.

With my freshly bought copy of BOS I went round to my friend John Sayer's; he had a new stereo (well his dad did really) AND stereo headphones. I had never tried headphones before and as I listened to Prelude the cymbals went "from ear to ear" right across the middle of my head - WOW!!

FIRST PERSON

Compared to the first three albums Marc has moved from narrative and descriptive songs to songs written from a personal viewpoint. This means mainly love songs which were not really present before. Also the tone is much sadder, a catch in the throat. What was happening in his personal life at the time that could have brought about this change?

ELEMENTAL CHILD

Most of the album is Tyrannosaurus Rex "Plugged" and then this track bursts upon you. Who? What?? Where??? What is going on here, this is so-o-o different! A harbinger of things to come. Each album has an oddball track that sticks out from the others, this is BOS's. For those unready to move on this is the writing on the wall. Exciting or self indulgent? Don't care really - I liked it.

Anyway (June 1st) ----- "Beard of stars"

1- "A day Laye"

This song could have fit on almost any prior T-Rex or Tyrann. LP. I could even see it fit onto many of the later LP's (well maybe not Zip Gun Boogie, or Futuristic Dragon) ....

It always reminded me of the opening of "Children of Rarn" from the T-REX Lp As with the UK release of that Lp it would have fit in nicely as a reprise at the end of "B.O.S"

On my site (small P.R. work) I've used two of my favorite lyrics to introduce certain sections & both of them came from this track.

To greet those at my collections I have ::

"Every dawn of our lives a heart is forged and

Linked with lore to one so similar"

To thank those on my homepage I included :

"Even though the wind might blow it all away

Don't ever worry 'cos I'm your friend"

I still get a warm feeling every time I hear this song. It represents a human quality .. man connecting to fellow man/woman I think Marc saw this as Lp as he did the T-Rex Lp ..A Book . and "A Day Laye" is the prologue .. In the past 25 years I think i've used the latter lyric in countless letters to friends (there was a time when we only had snail mail) if they were feeling down about something.

Well that is how the song touches me .. As I probably will review all the tracks , on a personal level. Each song that Marc gave us ,in turn gave me, a better insight to myself. Even if it was only "You can bump & grind if it's good for you mind" That Bump & grind was still imbedded in my mind!

______________

Rickster

----NEXT---?

Alison Blair comment

Bolan's next release, A Beard of Stars (1970) is subtitled "Some Lore from the Books of Agadinmar." This title frames the entire album as a reproduction of fragments from an ancient spiritual work, which is, in itself, Bolan's own invention. The "existence" of this fictional work, then, sets up an entirely Bolan-created fantasy world. The inner sleeve of the record features a photograph of Bolan's own statuette of the Greek god Pan and is dedicated to "the Priests of Peace, all the Shepherds and Horse Lords and my Imperial Lore Liege - the King of the Rumbling Spires." Throughout, the album features references to the sun and moon, the woodlands, the earth, mountains, sea, wind, stars, and sky and includes Bolan's own mythical creation, the "Dworn" (a fighting machine mentioned in the song "Dragon's Ear"). The Dworn, the sleeve notes explain, is a "machinery of war, a bronze frame with wheels of white ivory and horns of a gazelle for steering, so sayeth Agadinmar," Bolan's own fantasy invention in a narrative of good versus evil, which is, as [Frederic] Jameson notes, a trope of the fantasy genre that reflects (in a particularly escapist way) the ideological struggles of the present.

Alison Blair from Global Glam and Popular Music: Style and Spectacle from the 1970s to the 2000s by Ian Chapman and Henry Johnson

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Marc Bolan Mickey Finn

Publicity photo shown on the expanded edition

Bonus Tracks on the Deluxe version 2014

1-15 Find A Little Wood (Single B-Side) 2:05

1-16 Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart (BBC Live Top Gear 17 11 69) 2:43

1-17 Pavilions Of Sun(BBC Live Top Gear 17 11 69) 2:52

1-18 A Daye Laye(BBC Live Top Gear 17 11 69) 2:01

1-19 By The Light Of A Magical Moon(BBC Live Top Gear 17 11 69) 2:47

1-20 Wind Cheetah (BBC Live Top Gear 17 11 69) 2:33

2-1 Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart (Home Demo Take 1) 2:34

2-2 Organ Blues (Home Demo Take 1) 2:52

2-3 A Daye Laye (Home Demo Take 1) 1:59

2-4 Lofty Skies (Alternative Home Demo) 0:51

2-5 Organ Blues (Home Demo Take 2) 1:31

2-6 Black Cat Sittin' On My Shoulder (Home Demo Take 1) 1:27

2-7 Instrumental (Guitar And Organ Home Demo) 1:23

2-8 Pavilions Of Sun (Home Demo #1) 2:33

2-9 I Got The Blues So Bad (Home Demo) 1:14

2-10 By The Light Of A Magical Moon (Home Demo) 2:57

2-11 Find A Little Wood (Home Demo) 2:59

2-12 Great Horse (Home Demo) 2:04

2-13 Wind Cheetah (Home Demo) 1:38

2-14 Pavilions Of Sun (Home Demo Take 2) 2:31

2-15 Elemental Child (Home Demo) 2:50

2-16 Black Cat Sittin' On My Shoulder (Home Demo Take 2) 1:30

2-17 Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart (Home Demo 2) 2:08

2-18 Oh Baby (Home Demo) 2:40

2-19 Prelude (Alternative Take 1) 1:15

2-20 Dove (Alternative Take) 2:05

2-21 Dragon's Ear (Parts One & Two) (Take 2) 2:34

2-22 A Beard Of Stars (Alternative Take 1) 1:41

2-23 Organ Blues (Alternative Take 7) 3:33

2-24 Lofty Skies (Alternative Take 1) 3:00

2-25 By The Light Of A Magical Moon (Instrumental Take 1) 3:06

2-26 Elemental Child (Part 1) (Alternative Take 1) 2:17

2-27 Elemental Child (Part 1) (Alternative Take 10) 3:33

Bonus tracks on the Expanded Edition 2004

The expanded edition included 16 bonus tracks, The first two tracks were not released, Versions of the next three tracks appeared on an album called The Best of T Rex and are from a previous recording session with Steve Peregrine Took. The other tracks are alternative takes of versions on the original album.

15 Ill Starred Man (Take 1) 2:10

16 Demon Queen (Take 1) 1:40

17 Once Upon The Seas Of Abyssinia (Take 3) 2:16

18 Blessed Wild Apple Girl (Take 2) 2:36

19 Find A Little Wood (Take 1) 2:19

20 A Daye Laye (Take 1) 2:00

21 Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart (Take 2) 2:44

22 Organ Blues (Take 2) 3:40

23 Wind Cheetah (Take 4) 2:37

24 A Beard Of Stars (Take 1) 1:42

25 Great Horse (Take 1) 1:35

26 Dragons Ear (Take 1 & Take 2) 2:34

27 Dove (Take 5) 2:06

28 Elemental Child Pts 1 & 2 (Take 1) 6:04

29 By The Light Of The Magical Moon (Take 3) 2:51

30 Prelude (Take 1) 1:15

20200304

Jukebox Rebel Review

With Steve Peregrin Took having been ousted as a result of artistic frictions, Marc appointed a new sideman and marched forward, unfazed. The new duo were: Marc Bolan (22, acoustic and electric guitars, lead vocals, chord organ, bass) and Mickey Finn (22, Moroccan clay drums, backing vocals, tabla, finger cymbals, bass). The introduction of the electric guitar was a first on Tyrannosaurus Rex albums, but it's played in a fairly unobtrusive way, beefing up the sound a tad without losing sight of the trademark slappy-happy-folkie-mystics which have served the group so well thus far. I'm first enraptured by “Organ Blues”, a simple love song where “there's gold in the mountains and a people living in the sea”, framed by a droning organ and lightly slapped hand drums. This is followed by the equally brilliant “By The Light Of A Magical Moon” which fuses the alt-folk with traces of - shock-horror - rock guitar, and comes out unscathed, pointing towards an evolving new sound in Marc's head. This is underlined on the album's closer, “Elemental Child”, which - again, shock-horror - introduces a lilting rock-boogie into the proceedings. The pot's bubbling…

The Jukebox Rebel

22-Dec-2007

Steve Kilbey Review

Things in transition always excite me. Here we find Marc Bolan morphing before our eyes from hippy-minstrel changeling to the bopping elf, as he would later come to be known. But two very interesting records separated these two extremely different Bolans as he moved from one thing to another, and the first transition album is A Beard Of Stars. It features the result of a few guitar lessons from Eric Clapton himself. Bolan must have learned something because he suddenly knew how to make his Fender Strat talk and sing. The wah-wah solo in “Lofty Skies” is achingly and unbearably poignant. It is the very voice of love. “Oh this time of love moves me,” sings Bolan softly at the end of it.

Elsewhere there is some true weirdness that has been fueling my imagination for a long time. We don’t know really what Phoenician or Babylonian music sounded like, but I reckon it might have sounded like “Wind Cheetah,” a bizarre song that is like nothing you’ve ever heard … even I can’t handle listening to it every time! There’s “Great Horse,” a strange song as if from Old European tradition or something. Although these songs are played on guitar, bass and percussion instruments, almost all of them are strikingly medieval or Biblical or Eastern Orthodox or a strange mixture of all of that. But at the same time Bolan has finally figured out how he may rock, and on “Elemental Child” he delivers a big noisy and dumbly wonderful guitar solo, one that even Neil Young might have been proud of. (I guess?!)

His words are part Middle Earth, part hipster-romantic-poet jive. All sung in that strange accent, which was becoming more understandable. You see, on the first three Tyrannosaurus Rex albums, Bolan had warbled and bleated almost unintelligently, but now for the first time you could understand large chunks of the lyrics. (No lyric sheet with my copy, good!)

On the next record he would abbreviate the name to T.Rex. (The first time anyone anywhere used that term by the way, now everyone calls the dinosaur T. Rex, but they didn’t before Bolan.) A friend of mine upon hearing this record in 1970 for the first time exclaimed, “He’s singing in old English!”

A Beard Of Stars: I think you might grow to adore this record after a few plays; it’s quite special!

See here

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Lyrics Elemental Child

Torch girl of the marshes, her kiss is a whip of the moon

Dawn's damsels are dancing to the hum of her sunny young tune.

Ho, ho, Elemental child

Ho, ho, yeah, yeah, Elemental child

Gems hemmed in the heart's head, the shield of the rivers is hers

She once told me to think white and the night disappeared like a bird.

Hold the glove of gold behind you

Love the glove of Truth.

Lyrics Dove

All my days are leafy blue

Because I'm not with you.

All my words are ragged steel

When I'm not with you.

See how the sun shines like an arc where you walk

All my fears are water clear

When I'm not with you.

All I hear is wicked dear

When I'm not with you.

Lyrics Lofty Skies

Sat 'neath the eyes of the lofty skies

We were enchained by the rain to the pain of our love

and then we cried

Held 'neath the bars of the tumbling stars

We were pinned by the might to the warrior night

We kissed and cried.

O this time our love moves me.

Lyrics Dragon's Ear

Dragon's ear and druid's spear

Protects you while the *Dworns are here

The winds of wrath there chill cold -a- the cloth

There which drapes her shape -a- from fangs of fear.

I love you my love

Please -a- taketh this heart which I bear

O heal my sorrow

Weareth my arms like a charm through the dales of your doom

Dragon's ear and druid's spear

Protects you while the *Dworns are here

The winds of wrath there chill cold -a- the cloth

There which drapes her shape -a- from fangs of fear.

Our lives are merely trees of possibilities.

Quick, quick while the witch with a smile has got a dagger on her lip.

Black cat sitting on my shoulder and I 'm glad

Quick, quick while the witch with a smile has got a dagger on her lip.

Sweet little girl, head full of curls.

(*Dworn - Machinery of war, a bronze frame with wheels of white ivory and the horns of a gazelle for steering, so sayeth Agadinmar.)

Lyrics Wind Cheetah

Her with moon trodden plough

Herds of African cows

Grazed on her beauty

Fragrant and pale.

Young once youthful still now

Muse to the willow and ploughed

Fields arched with orchards,

Blooms of the stars.

Day whipped -a- his black dray,

Opaque orphan of Ring.

Myrrh coated rider,

Guider husband to Matron the King

Streams of yellowy mud

Run to the one that I love

Chained to the chalky

Chalice of night.

Day whipped -a- his black dray,

Opaque orphan of Ring.

Myrrh coated rider,

Guider husband to Matron the King,

Great Horse

Great Horsey, Champer Gold braid

Pranced proudly in the garden dithers with the Sun,

Dipped diving with his horned onyx,

saddle shining in the black aped eyeballs of the gun.

When the great apple falls

She'll be queen of your halls.

Tall bowman from the burnt pastures

Saw Champer and he bowed, ground kissing, to his lord.

Strange beastie from the legend lair

Sire, I can master with the aid of this skull powdered cord.