Woodland Rock - T Rex

Woodland Rock first appeared in 1971 as one of the 'B' side tracks to Hot Love. Not to be confused with the earlier Woodland Bop, this is one of the first tracks recorded with Steve Currie on bass and Bill Legend on drums. In many ways it is a very old fashioned stop start rock'n'roll number (based on Long Tall Sally no doubt, although Jailhouse Rock may be in there somewhere too). Despite the title, the lyrics are not particularly pastoral. Bolan often used a capo and a slightly different tuning to get the sound he wanted. There has also been some electronic jiggery-pokery from the producer Tony Visconti. The guitars appear to be going backwards at some points as pioneered on the Beatles track Rain.

Is it love? - T Rex

Is it love? is best known as the b-side of the successful break through single, Ride a White Swan. It shared the space with a version of the Eddie Cochran song Summertime Blues. It was also the opener for the album T Rex and has its own merits, without doubt. The song is very simple, lyrically and musically, minimalist almost. It is a sort of transitional song for the folky duet sound of Tyrannosaurus Rex that became the regular guitar band sound that T Rex espoused. Here we have distorted electric lead and bass but backed by bongos rather than drums. Other distinctive features are the drone effect caused by some sort of electronic buzz, the distinctive cry and count down at the beginning of the track and the multi-tracked voices at the end. The short lead riff was then a new departure for T Rex. The song's brevity (2' 36") is another one of its strengths. It is a hidden gem.

Sunken Rags - T Rex

Sunken Rags is one of those throw away Marc Bolan tracks that he seemed to be able to come up with with ease when T Rex was in its hey day. Indeed this is one of two songs that first appeared on the B-side of Children of the Revolution (the other track was Jitterbug Love). This one was recorded in Copenhagen at the end of the Slider sessions. The lyrics are as throw away as the tune but what he actually says is in the main correct (from a Christian point of view) "So ride on, fight on, Love is gonna win. It's gonna beat your sins." However, there is no real instruction as to how this will come about. Ultimately, it is a song about unrequited love, one of so many in the pop genre, although some suggest he is speaking to an antagonistic press. As ever with Bolan what exactly each individual line means is anyone's guess. Sunken rags is the best line in the piece. The vocals of Flo and Eddie (Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman) add a lot to the track. They appear to be joined by Micky Finn and Tony Visconti. There is an acoustic demo of the song that was recorded in 1971. There is also a remix recorded in 1985.