Life's A Gas

It's amazing what happens to music when it feels like I haven't thrown it onto the digital Victrola since it was new. Lots of previously hidden details in familiar material present themselves for what I'm perceiving as the first time, even though they've been there all along, of course. Maybe it's just decent mastering that's far better than it was in the 1970's. The records I'm talking about are by the cosmic dancer himself, Marc Bolan and his band, T.Rex.

A rare photo of the entire T. Rex band, not just Marc Bolan

T.Rex was an English rock band fronted by guitarist, singer and songwriter Marc Bolan. Formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1960's London as a Folk duo, their 1968 debut album, "My People Were Fair and Had Sky In Their Hair... But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows" (yes, really), reached #15 in the UK. But in the early 1970's, they achieved worldwide mainstream success as a Glam Rock band.

Following a gradual waning of commercial success during the mid 70's, T. Rex ended in 1977, when Bolan was killed in a terrible car wreck. The car was driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, an R&B singer with her own history on the Pop charts. It is unfortunate that the notoriety of this accident still follows her to this day.

Most everyone is familiar by now with their big hit "Bang A Gong (Get It On)". For most folks, the tune sums up the T. Rex experience in 3 short minutes. but their sound was so much more than that one song. The album "Bang A Gong" came from, "Electric Warrior", is considered a must have for any self-respecting collection of Rock music, along with the equally essential follow up album, "The Slider", which may as well have been titled "Son Of Electric Warrior". Man, what a lewd, sleazy batch of Glitter Rock 'n Roll this is! Specifically, Bolan was very good at writing those slow, sexy, grinding grooves that must have launched the careers of ten thousand strippers. The music wasn't complicated and lyrically, it often got kinda post-hippie spacey. But T. Rex definitely had an instantly identifiable sound all their own. The unique backing vocals of Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan from The Turtles, and later, Frank Zappa's Mothers) can clearly be heard on many T. Rex tracks, and are as much a part of the band's sound as any other instrumentation.

But a lot of people forget that, like their peers of the day, Led Zeppelin, acoustic music was just as much a part of the sound of T. Rex as the electric bump 'n grind. Many of Marc Bolan's best songs were at least based on an acoustic rhythm track, including this one from "Electric Warrior", optimistically entitled "Life's A Gas".

A vintage Mutron Octave Divider. In this condition, it'll run you $950 & up.

Guitar equipment companies have been trying to stuff the sound of Jimi Hendrix into one stompbox pedal for as long as I can recall, although in fact, it was a chain of specific components that made up his sound. But one analog device surfaced in the late 60's that Hendrix had employed to great effect. This device was called an Octave Divider, although it's available under several different names today. What the unit does is to replicate an identical note 1, 2, or more octaves above or below the note being played. Like any effect, it can be pushed to an extreme, as Metal musicians have discovered, but as we usually find, it is best used judiciously. You can hear Jimi using it on "All Along The Watchtower", during the instrumental section prior to the last verse. Marc Bolan definitely played through one of these on his recording of "Life's A Gas". You can also hear it in Jimmy Page's solo on "Fool In The Rain" from Led Zeppelin's "In Through The Out Door".

You can hear a vintage Octave Divider put to good use once again on this tube distortion and tremolo-soaked version of "Life's A Gas" recorded by Southern Culture On The Skids on their 2007 album of cover tunes, "Countrypolitan Favorites". The effect is such an important part of the sound of the song that you really couldn't do the song without it. It's also neat to hear the vocal recast as a male/female duet.

Southern Culture On The Skids

Southern Culture On The Skids, also known to their fans as SCOTS, is an American rock band that was formed in 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band consists of guitarist Rick Miller, drummer Dave Hartman, and bassist Mary Huff. SCOTS' music is a blend of Rockabilly, Surf, Country, and R&B with a Punk edge mixed with rural trailer park humor, as evidenced in their songs "Cheap Motels", "Camel Walk", "Soul City", and the infamous "Eight Piece Box". But don't let the image and the goofy charm fool you. This trio is tight as a tick, and they play as a hard hitting, no nonsense rhythm section should after nearly 30 years on the road. They are well known for their wild live shows, which often includes throwing fried chicken and banana pudding into the crowd, and inviting audience members to dance onstage. A SCOTS gig is a guaranteed sloppy, sweaty mess of a party.

"Countrypolitan Favorites" was the 11th SCOTS album since 1986, so they've been busy over the years. Check out their website for news and tour dates. There's even an online store where you can buy stuff like T-shirts, CD's and vinyl direct from the band, because that's the best way to support the musicians whose work you enjoy! You can also find their music at Amazon, if that's what works for you. Go see 'em live when you have the chance, but count on doing some laundry the next day!

As I said earlier, any decent collection of 70's Rock absolutely must include both "Electric Warrior" and "The Slider" by T. Rex; preferably on vinyl. Both have been reissued recently in solid 180 gram editions at reasonable prices, so you vinyl junkies best hop to it, lest your cool factor fade. These 2 albums will serve your collection far better than any "Best Of T. Rex" compilation, of which there are several. For all you digital or CD folks, you can certainly find yourself some T. Rex (with bonus tracks) at your local emporium of musical oddities, or at Amazon. They have some good deals on the aforementioned vinyl editions too, but you should also visit online with our friends at Acoustic Sounds as well. They're not the cheapest, but the customer service is first rate, and their care in packaging and shipping your records to you is without peer. Highly recommended, and a big thumbs up!