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we do not like to discuss bolans zip gun even if the album cover kinda slaps [wip, needs proper write-up]
My personal thoughts
If you asked me to rank T. Rex's discography from best to worst, Bolan's Zip Gun would absolutely be at the bottom of that list. I do not like this album. Plain and simple. Zinc Alloy and The Hidden Riders of Tomorrow was annoying, but Bolan's Zip Gun was just plain awful. The best way I can describe this album is that it's like a collection of Zinc Alloy tracks that are desperately trying to sound like they're from Tanx or Electric Warrior.
I can say that there are only two tracks off of this record that I actually enjoy and two that I mildly tolerate. "Light of Love" is one of those songs that I enjoy. I don't think it's a strong opener, I wouldn't even call this track worthy of being an opener, but it's not bad. "Light of Love" comes off more as a scrapped Zinc Alloy track than a song written for Bolan's Zip Gun. The layered reverberating vocals towards the end of the track are part of why I get that Zinc Alloy feeling, but maybe "Light of Love" was just trying to do something similar to "Venus Loon", Zinc Alloy's opener. The lyrics for this track aren't anything particularly special, just a few repeating verses. Repetitive T. Rex songs are nothing new (arguably, this is what most of Tyrannosaurus Rex was), but this song is noticeably more repetitive than most T. Rex tracks.
Any decency that was on "Light of Love" immediately goes away from this point onward. "Solid Baby" is incredibly disappointing to listen to. It's not an interesting track, just annoying and forgettable. One of the most noteworthy aspects of this track in my listenings has been the fact that the mixing is just not good. Unless you're working with a genre like shoegaze or dream pop where there is heavy distortion, it's generally a good idea to make your lead vocals audible. I cannot hear Marc that well on this track, with or without headphones. It doesn't help that his vocals are distorted here. [wip]
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