Search - Marc Bolan :: The Beginning of Doves

A prequel for Tyrannosaurus Rex fans only

Mark McLellan | Ringwood, Hampshire UK | 01/16/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If finding Sunken Rags on the Glastonbury Fayre triple album was like discovering a lost Shakespeare sonnet then Beginning Of Doves was like unearthing a complete previously unknown play. Listening to this prequel felt very strange - like time-travel had been invented or I had slipped sideways into a parallel universe where history had taken a different course. It is very obviously pre-My People, like someone had extrapolated Marc's musical progression backward to before time began. The sense of weirdness was compounded by having several tracks I recognised but mostly because of Catblack with completely different words. Too many tracks for me to do an itemised review, just bits and pieces:Observations. "bopping and shoving and making it in West One" A short geography lesson for non-UK'ers: West One is a postal district, London W1, aka "the West End" right in the centre of London. See also Dire Straits - "walking in the wild West End", Pet Shop Boys - "East End boys, West End girls". It is an area about 1.5 miles (3 km) square including Soho and Oxford Street with many smart shops, restaurants, China Town and media companies, including Marc's office. "Chelsea" is an area about a mile SW of the West End where the posh (upper class) people live which has a trendy and arty image. "Maida Vale" is a residential area about 2 miles NW of the West End with a strong Jewish connection (the rich ones, the others live in Golders Green).Eastern Spell. A thing of true joy.You Got The Power. The line "teddy bears with broken faces" really struck me, I used to doodle an illustration for it, which I may have to re-create for you as any notebooks from that era are long gone.The Beginning of Doves. Gave us that wonderful line "the ring was the thing that made it all begin".One Inch Rock. My favourite song, fascinating to hear it played slow. Wonder what made him speed it up later.Sally Was an Angel. Do I not hear more than a little of "Heartbreak Hotel" here - "and I'm so lonely I could die".That's all folksMarkMcL http://www.mmenterprises.co.uk/trex.htm"

So so

Thomas Prendergast | Texas, USA | 06/15/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a pretty big Marc Bolan and T. Rex fan, but I still found this release somewhat unsatisfying. Songs like "Hippy Gumbo" and "Mustang Ford" just lack the magic that is ever-present on his later (early 70's) material. Other tracks, such as "Lunacy's Back", and "Cat Black", hint at his potential as a song writer and mystical lyricist, but again, leave much to be desired. All this is forgivable, of course, as most of this is demoed material, and not really intended for mass release. This is only for absolute die-hard fans of Bolan, so I would not recommend this to the casual T.Rex listener. Start with Electric Warrior and The Slider, then move on to the earlier stuff, if you still have the craving..."