Search - T-Rex :: Zinc Alloy & Hidden

A great band on the decline

Geoffrey Warner | Australia | 11/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought all of the T.Rex albums right up to this one.The album before this one was called Tanx,and I remember feeling somewhat dissapointed in it after being so blown away with the Electric Warrior and Slider albums. So I was hoping that the Zinc alloy album would be a return to form, but alas it was not to be. The album starts of great with Venus Loon, being a supercharged stomping piece of space funk,and track two "Sound Pit" is frantic and crazy fun. But the Album soons becomes bogged down in the middle and never really recovers.The production seems overdone at times, and there are some dodgy bass and guitar mistakes that have been left on this album, which shows that producer Toni Visconti was loosing interest in the band.Some of the songs like "Spanish Midnight' come across as cheap and pointless.And Gloria Jones backing vocals are over used and dont fit the band sound as well as Flo and Eddies did. Sometimes Glorias vocals are grating to listen to. At this point Bolan would have done well to have started co writing with somone, although his huge ego would not have considered this. If you havnt heard T.Rex I wouldnt start with this album. Check out Electric Warrior or The Slider first. Then you will get a better idea of what the amazing man Marc Bolan was capable of when he was focused, before the cocain and brandy took over."