Bolan's Zip Gun is the tenth studio album by T. Rex

T. Rex (band)

T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...

, released in 1975. It did not chart in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and Marc Bolan

Marc Bolan

Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...

 would not chart again successfully until 1976's Futuristic Dragon

Futuristic Dragon

Futuristic Dragon is the eleventh studio album by T. Rex, released in 1976. Preceded by two UK Top 40 hits, "New York City" and "Dreamy Lady" , Futuristic Dragon was released in January, reaching #50. It was T. Rex's first album to register in the charts since Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of...

. The album was produced by Bolan, having dispensed with the services of previous producer Tony Visconti

Tony Visconti

Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...

.

The album contains two contemporary single releases: "Light of Love" (UK Chart position #22) and "Zip Gun Boogie", T. Rex's least successful release. Although the sound of the album was very stark and the lyrics very simple and direct, Bolan had tried to go beyond the rock format of the previous T. Rex sound and reflect his recent immersion in the US soul scene. His new partner Gloria Jones

Gloria Jones

Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...

 and other recent American friends, such as Gloria's brother Richard and backing singer Pat Hall, had helped influence Bolan's music, and he was experimenting with soul inflections all through this period at MRI Studios in Hollywood where the album was recorded.

Several of the songs had a very futuristic tone, especially "Space Boss", "Think Zinc", and "Golden Belt", Bolan being a great fan of science fiction. The band on this album also featured a twin-drum sound on some tracks, notably "Solid Baby", provided by Davy Lutton and Paul Fenton. Experimentation in sound was very much the order of the day on this album.

Reissues

Bolan's Zip Gun was remastered for CD by Edsel Records

Demon Music Group

Demon Records is a United Kingdom record label founded in 1980 by former United Artists A&R executive Andrew Lauder and Jake Riviera who had previously started Stiff Records...

 in 1994 as part of their extensive T. Rex reissue campaign. A number of bonus tracks were added (see below). A companion release, entitled Precious Star (The Alternate Zip Gun), was released in 1995 which contained alternative versions, studio rough mixes, a live version and demos of the main album and bonus tracks. A combined album digipak

Digipak

Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...

 (MEDCD718) was released in 2002.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Marc Bolan, except where indicated.

1. "Light of Love" – 3:16
2. "Solid Baby" – 2:37
3. "Precious Star" – 2:53
4. "Token of My Love" – 3:40
5. "Space Boss" – 2:49
6. "Think Zinc" – 3:25
7. "Till Dawn" – 3:02
8. "Girl in the Thunderbolt Suit" – 2:20
9. "I Really Love You Babe" – 3:33
10. "Golden Belt" – 2:41
11. "Zip Gun Boogie" – 3:26

1994 CD reissue (Edsel EDCD393)

12. "Do You Wanna Dance?
    Do You Wanna Dance?
    "Do You Wanna Dance?" is a song written by Bobby Freeman , and recorded by him in 1958. It is also popular in a version performed by the Beach Boys, which was released in 1965, and in a version recorded by Bette Midler in 1972...
    
    " (Bobby Freeman
    Bobby Freeman
    Bobby Freeman is an African-American soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who recorded for the Autumn Records label in San Francisco, California. He is best known for his 1958 hit "Do You Want To Dance?" and his 1964 Top Ten hit "C'mon and Swim"...
    
    ) – 2:13
13. "Dock of the Bay" (Steve Cropper
    Steve Cropper
    Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
    
    , Otis Redding
    Otis Redding
    Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
    
    ) – 2:20 sung by Gloria Jones

Precious Star (The Alternate Zip Gun) (Edsel EDCD 443)

1. "Light of Love" – 2:22
2. "Solid Baby" – 2:29
3. "Precious Star" – 2:45
4. "Token of My Love" – 3:40
5. "Space Boss" – 3:17
6. "Think Zinc" – 3:23
7. "Till Dawn" – 4:54
8. "Girl in the Thunderbolt Suit" – 2:42
9. "I Really Love You Babe" (Precision Debating) – 3:06
10. "Golden Belt" – 3:28
11. "Zip Gun Boogie" (Live) – 9:11
12. "Do You Wanna Dance?" - 2:15
13. "Dock of the Bay" - 2:22
14. "Solid Baby" - 6:06
15. "Till Dawn" (Marc's Guide) - 4:44
16. "Till Dawn" - 4:29
17. "Till Dawn" - 4:03
18. "Girl in the Thunderbolt Suit" (Blue Jean Bop) - 2:39
19. "Dishing Fish Wop" (Golden Belt) - 3:17

Personnel

• Marc Bolan
  Marc Bolan
  Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
  
  : vocals, guitars, DMS (Darth Mouth Music Synthesizer)
• Mickey Finn
  Mickey Finn (musician)
  Mickey Finn or occasionally Micky Finn , was the percussionist and sideman to Marc Bolan in his band Tyrannosaurus Rex , and later, the 1970s glam rock group, T.Rex...
  
  : percussion
• Dino Dines
  Dino Dines
  Dino Dines was a keyboardist best known for his work with T. Rex. He also worked with The Apostolic Intervention, The Keef Hartley Band, P.P. Arnold and The Hollies. Dino died of a heart attack in 2004.-External links:*...
  
  : keyboards
• Gloria Jones
  Gloria Jones
  Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She recorded the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit for the British synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. She was the girlfriend of glam rock artist Marc Bolan of the band T...
  
  : backing vocals, clavinet
  Clavinet
  A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
  
  
• Steve Currie
  Steve Currie
  Steve Currie was born in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. He was best known as the bass player and long term member of the English glam rock band T.Rex....
  
  : bass
• Harry Nilsson: backing vocals
• Davy Lutton: drums
• Paul Fenton: additional drums on "Solid Baby"

External links

• Demon Music Group / Edsel Records
• Album Review at Only Solitaire