Tanx is the eighth album by British rock band 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 1973. Tanx was a hit in UK and Europe but it failed to emulate the success of The Slider

The Slider

The Slider is the seventh studio album by British glam rock band T. Rex, released on July 21, 1972. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was the band's second record released with their new glam rock style opposed to the band's previous folk oriented music....

in the U.S., reaching only #102 in the album charts. It was critically derided by journalists who said the darker, adult sound was a complete departure from the unique melodic rock and roll that made the band famous.

It predates punk in some ways, with largely darker and more aggressive songs, and shorter songs than the previous two T. Rex albums (Electric Warrior

Electric Warrior

Electric Warrior is the sixth album by British rock group T. Rex, and is widely considered to be one of the quintessential glam rock releases. Electric Warrior reached number thirty-two in the US; it went to number one for several weeks in the UK, becoming the biggest album of 1971...

and The Slider

The Slider

The Slider is the seventh studio album by British glam rock band T. Rex, released on July 21, 1972. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was the band's second record released with their new glam rock style opposed to the band's previous folk oriented music....

) with 9 of the songs less than three minutes long (by comparison, "Get It On

Get It On (T. Rex song)

"Get It On" was covered by the Power Station in 1985. Their version – titled "Get It On " – was released as their second single from their debut album. The track was a hit in both the UK, reaching number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and the U.S., where the song peaked at number nine on the...

" was 4:24), akin to Bolan's previous albums under the name Tyrannosaurus Rex and the debut album under the abbreviated "T. Rex" name (all of which had no more than 2 songs over three minutes per album). Tanx is also the first album notably to incorporate elements of soul music, further explored in the following album, Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow

Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow

Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – A Creamed Cage in August is the ninth studio album by Marc Bolan & T. Rex, released in February 1974. When originally released the initial pressings were a multi-layered triple gatefold sleeve, a latticework image of the current cover featuring...

, and other subsequent T. Rex albums. Likewise, it's the beginning of Bolan's marked departure from the glam rock

Glam rock

Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...

 style which he originated and helped popularize, preceding contemporary David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

's departure from glam and move towards soul music with his album, Young Americans

Young Americans

Young Americans may refer to:* Young Americans , an album by David Bowie** "Young Americans" , the title track from the album* The Young Americans , a 1993 crime drama* Young Americans , an American television drama...

, by nearly 2 years.

The song "Born to Boogie" was actually not featured in the 1972 Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr

Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...

 produced film, also called Born to Boogie

Born to Boogie

Born to Boogie is a 1972 concert film based around a concert at Wembley Empire Pool starring Marc Bolan and T. Rex. Directed by Ringo Starr, the movie was released on The Beatles' Apple Films label...

. Curiously, the popular single "20th Century Boy

20th Century Boy

"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...

" was not included on the album.

The album is also widely known to be the last of T. Rex's string of successes since Electric Warrior; their next album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow would prove to be a financial failure and put Bolan's musical career in jeopardy until 1976. It's also T. Rex's last album released under Reprise Records in the US, as Light of Love, released under Casablanca Records, would be the last of their albums released in the US.

Reissues

Tanx 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 Left Hand Luke (The Alternate Tanx), was released in 1995 which contained alternative versions, studio rough mixes 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:...

 (MEDCD716) was released in 2002.

In 2003, further recordings from the Tanx sessions were released by Thunderwing Productions Limited (TPL), the owners of several original ¼”, 1” and 2” Master Tape recordings of Marc Bolan & T.Rex. These tracks were released as The Tanx Recordings.

Track listing

All songs composed by 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...

.

1. "Tenement Lady" – 2:55
2. "Rapids" – 2:48
3. "Mister Mister" – 3:29
4. "Broken Hearted Blues" – 2:02
5. "Shock Rock" – 1:43
6. "Country Honey" – 1:47
7. "Electric Slim and the Factory Hen" – 3:03
8. "Mad Donna" – 2:16
9. "Born to Boogie" – 2:04
10. "Life is Strange" – 2:30
11. "The Street and Babe Shadow" – 2:18
12. "Highway Knees" – 2:34
13. "Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys" – 5:18

1994 CD reissue (Edsel EDCD391)

14. "Children of the Revolution" – 2:30
15. "Jitterbug Love" – 2:59
16. "Sunken Rags" – 2:54
17. "Solid Gold Easy Action" – 2:20
18. "Xmas Riff" – 0:11
19. "20th Century Boy
    20th Century Boy
    "20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...
    
    " – 3:41
20. "Free Angel" – 2:12

Left Hand Luke (The Alternate Tanx) (Edesl EDCD 410)

1. "Tenement Lady / Darling" - 2:49
2. "Rapids" - 1:59
3. "Mister Mister" - 2:49
4. "Broken Hearted Blues" - 2:08
5. "Country Honey" - 1:50
6. "Mad Donna" - 2:19
7. "Born to Boogie" - 2:09
8. "Life is Strange" - 1:47
9. "The Street and Babe Shadow" - 2:20
10. "Highway Knees" - 2:32
11. "Left Hand Luke" - 5:17
12. "Children of the Revolution" - 1:04
13. "Solid Gold Easy Action" - 2:13
14. "Free Angel" - 2:14
15. "Mister Mister" (Acoustic and Bass Demo) - 3:32
16. "Broken Hearted Blues" (Acoustic and Bass Demo) - 2:08
17. "The Street and the Babe Shadow" - 2:14
18. "Tenement Lady" (Acoustic and Bass Demo) - 1:35
19. "Tenement Lady" (Acoustic Demo) - 1:53
20. "Broken Hearted Blues" (Acoustic Demo) - 1:50
21. "Mad Donna" (Different Lyrics / Acoustic Demo) - 1:45
22. "The Street and the Babe Shadow" (Acoustic Demo) - 2:36
23. "Left Hand Luke" (Acoustic Demo) - 1:58

The Tanx Recordings (TPL.CD.03)

1. "Tenement Lady" - 3:18
2. "Darling" - 1:46
3. "Rapids" - 4:39
4. "Mister Mister" - 3:31
5. "Broken Hearted Blues" - 2:16
6. "Shock Rock" - 2:36
7. "Country Honey" - 2:06
8. "Electric Slim & the Factory Hen" - 3:16
9. "Mad Donna" - 4:10
10. "Born to Boogie" - 2:10
11. "Life is Strange" - 2:39
12. "The Street & Babe Shadow" - 2:17
13. "Highway Knees" - 2:35
14. "Left Hand Luke" - 5:26
15. "Children of the Revolution" - 3:32
16. "Jitterbug Love" - 3:59
17. "Solid Gold Easy Action" - 3:31
18. "20th Century Boy" - 3:57
19. "Free Angel" - 2:21

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, guitar
• 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...
  
   - conga, hand percussion, vocals
• 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
• Bill Legend
  Bill Legend
  Bill Legend was the drummer for glam rock band T.Rex during their most successful period....
  
   - drums
• 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...
  
  - mellotron, string arrangements
• Howard Casey - saxophone

External links

• Demon Music Group / Edsel Records
• Thunderwing Productions Ltd