release date: Jan. 28, 1973
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Tony Visconti
label: EMI Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Tenement Lady" - 2. "Rapids" - 9. "Born to Boogie" (4 / 5)
8th studio album by T. Rex. The album was a general success in Europe, and in particular in the UK where it reached number #4 on the albums chart list like its 1972 predecessor The Slider, but musically it's widely considered a step down for Marc Bolan. Except from "Tenement Lady" and "Born to Boogie" the album doesn't contain any great tracks.
The biggest issue about the album is that it mostly just sounds like a copy of his former hits and a mix of David Bowie and Lou Reed compositions. The originality is missing, and it's just okay glam rock and boogie rock. Some tracks seem like attempts to move away from the style on his previous two albums into a blues or rock & roll style with slower arrangements adding strings and backing vocals like heard on Lou Reed's Transformer (1972), e.g. the tracks "Mister Mister", "Broken Hearted Blues", "Electric Slim & The Factory Hen" and "Left Hand Luke".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars, Rolling Stone review without rating ]
