T. Rex Album: “Unicorn”

Nothing had a stronger effect on me as the very first time I have heard UNICORN by Tyrannosaurus Rex. A friend of mine was just back from London in 1969 with this recording and I remember vividly being first attracted by the cover (a picture of Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrin Took, in photographer Pete Sanders' house in London) and then the very first notes of guitar, hand drums and phonofiddle on Chariots Of Silk (the first track)... then this voice from another world. I couldn't catch a word Marc Bolan was singing and I thought he was singing in tongue. I was sure Marc Bolan was an elf and they had allowed him to cut a record. It entered deeply into my very soul and I knew from that moment that music woudn't be the same anymore. This was the only possible musical evolution after having survived to the Beatles' break up. To make it simple: UNICORN is to music what J.R.R. Tolkien's Bilbo The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings are to literature... For years I felt as I was probably the only one on earth with this unique devotion to UNICORN until, at almost 50, I met so many fans of Marc Bolan on the net, spread all over the world, thinking exactly the same and considering this album as the most important musical event of their life. Nothing less... believe it or not.

I have all T.Rex albums and three Tyrannosaurus Rex albums and this is my most played. Marc Bolan should be regarded as the UK's no.1 rock star after creating such an enchanting and beautiful album as Unicorn. Chariots of Silk opens the album strongly and is one of my favourite Bolan tracks. There is not one weak song and it is hard to pick out highlights as the whole album blends together beautifully. The John Peel read story adds to the mysticism and shows the genius in Bolan. Steve Took was the best musician Bolan worked with and his percussion, backing harmonies and strange noises (!) work brilliantly with Marc's wonderful voice and choppy guitar rhythms. This is a truly unique album that cannot be compared to anyhting any artist has ever made. The only thing wrong with the album is that it is a little bit too short, or rather I am left wanting more. Please buy this album and enjoy it for the rest of your life.

One quick question? Why is T. Rex NOT in the rock and roll hall of fame? Maybe it's because American critics born and weaned on such mainstream music as the Beach Boys and the Four Seasons cannot possibly connect to such beautiful, haunting music such as this. Unicorn is the best T. Rex album, better than Electric Warrior, because of it's rich musical tapestries and provocative lyrics, better than Tanx, because here, the brevity of the songs adds to it's eternal mystique. I can listen to this album a thousand more times and never stop being swept away by the opening song cycle, from the simple guitar on Chariots of Silk, to the drone at the end of the Throat of Winter which breaks into the piano of Catblack. Every note bears listening to, here Bolan wrote beautiful melodies never again matched in his career, Nijinsky Hind, the Sea Beasts, the list goes on. My favorite piece is Like a White Star, with lines like "channels churning the grime, inky dreams of our time, into the sun where the white one, poems them into a rhyme." After thirty years of owning this masterpiece, after uncounted listenings, I STILL don't know what Bolan was trying to say....and yet it means so much to me. Took left soon after this album was released, and as we all know Bolan met Mickey Finn and went glam, but Unicorn remains his most fascinating and intricate work. A shame he isn't more recognized because of it.

Marc Bolan's UNICORN Lp stands the test of time and is without question a true magical masterpiece. This is unlike any other record ever recorded. Bolan's Tolkien influenced lyrics and beautiful acoustic guitar melodies flow ever so sweetly together. The recording transports you into a mystical land where Chariots Of Silk ride by and there's Sea Beasts to see and Romany Soup to feast upon. Once you have heard this aural odyssey, you will want to travel back to hear the UNICORN tale - again and again!

Patanjali, Shakespeare, Mozart, Marc Bolan. Every once in a while the cosmos bless us with a magician who transcends all normal forms of artistic expression and can pierce the very heart of the soul.

Like most of us, I was first exposed to Marc Bolan the pop star and at first didn't quite understand Tyrannosaurus Rex. But - it grows on you quickly. As many others describe here, this is no ordinary music. This is enchantment. It never gets old.

All four Tyrannosaurus Rex albums and the first T. Rex album all share this quality. To a lesser extent, Marc's later work too. Do not deprive yourself of this any longer.