⭐ Tanx – Album: Mar. 1973

LP — EMI BLN 5002 / 0C 062·94187 (UK)

Released: March 16, 1973 (UK)

Marc Bolan’s glam empire at a crossroads — lush, soulful, and defiantly strange.

🔘 Overview

Released on March 16, 1973, Tanx marked a bold stylistic shift for T. Rex. Still rooted in the glam‑rock swagger of Electric Warrior and The Slider, the album expanded into soul, funk, gospel, and lush orchestration. Marc Bolan, sensing both the height of his fame and the pressure of repetition, pushed the T. Rex sound into new territory with mellotron, saxophone, phasing, and prominent piano textures.

The album was recorded across Strawberry Studios (Château d'Hérouville), AIR Studios, and Toshiba Studios in Tokyo, with Tony Visconti’s production adding depth and cosmic sheen. Female backing vocalists — including Madeline Bell, Lesley Duncan, Vicki Brown, Barry St. John, and Sue & Sunny — brought a gospel‑inflected warmth to tracks like “Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys.”

Commercially, Tanx was a success: #4 UK, #3 Germany, #5 Norway, and #1 on Melody Maker. Yet it failed to match the US impact of earlier albums, peaking at #102 on the Billboard 200. Critics were divided at the time, but modern reassessments hail it as one of Bolan’s most adventurous and musically rich works.

🔘 Track List

Side A

Tenement Lady — 2:55

Rapids — 2:48

Mister Mister — 3:29

Broken Hearted Blues — 2:02

Shock Rock — 1:43

Country Honey — 1:47

Electric Slim and the Factory Hen — 3:03

Side B

Mad Donna — 2:16

Born to Boogie — 2:04

Life Is Strange — 2:30

The Street and Babe Shadow — 2:18

Highway Knees — 2:34

Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys — 5:18

(All tracks written by Marc Bolan.)

(initial copies included a limited edition poster)

UK album cover featured Marc Bolan straddling a toy tank with a confrontational, theatrical pose. Shot in stark black‑and‑white, the back cover includes live and backstage photos by Mike Putland, intercut with neon tank illustrations.

T. Rex — Tanx (1973), cover design by John Kosh; photography by Peter Howe.

🔘 Variants

UK — EMI (1973)

• LP, Stereo — BLN 5002 / 0C 062·94187 ( initial copies included a limited edition poster)

• 8‑Track Cartridge — 8X‑BLN 5002 / 0C 346·94187

• Cassette — TC‑BLN 5002

🔘 Reissues

Label: T. Rex – EMS-50106, Series: Rock Greatest 1800, Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue

Country: Japan, Released: 1983.

Label: Marc On Wax – RAPD 504, Format: Vinyl, LP Album Reissue Picture Disc,

Country: UK, Released: 1987.

Label: Relativity – 88561-8254-1 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue Country: US Released:

1987

🔘 Chart Performance

UK Albums Chart: #4

Melody Maker: #1

Germany: #3

Norway: #5

Sweden: #15

Finland: #20

US Billboard 200: #102

Chart run (UK):

31/03/1973 → 26/05/1973 (9 weeks), re‑entry 09/06/1973, final weeks 30/06/1973 → 07/07/1973.

🔘 Context & Notes

Recording Sessions

• Aug 1–4, 1972 — Strawberry Studios

Early versions of “Life Is Strange,” “Highway Knees,” “Born to Boogie,” “Children of the Revolution,” “Jitterbug Love,” “Free Angel.”

• Oct 21–25, 1972 — Strawberry Studios

“Tenement Lady,” “Rapids,” “Mister Mister,” “Broken Hearted Blues,” “Country Honey,” “Mad Donna,” “The Street and Babe Shadow,” “Left Hand Luke.”

• Dec 3, 1972 — Toshiba Studios, Tokyo

“20th Century Boy,” “Electric Slim,” “Shock Rock.”

(Ultimately removed from the album.)

• AIR Studios — Overdubs & Mixing

Mellotron, strings, phasing, and piano embellishments.

Album Review from Melody Maker, March 10, 1973

Scrapbook Cutting in the UK

Personnel

Marc Bolan — vocals, guitar, slide guitar

Mickey Finn — congas, percussion, vocals

Steve Currie — bass

Bill Legend — drums

With:

Tony Visconti — mellotron, recorder, strings, backing vocals, production

Howard Casey — saxophone

Madeline Bell, Lesley Duncan, Vicki Brown, Barry St. John, Sue & Sunny — uncredited backing vocals

Bernard Arcadio — piano

Anecdotes & Production Quirks

• The French girl’s voice on “Mad Donna” was the daughter of the label head.

• Bolan’s behavior during sessions was described as “uncontrollable” by tour manager Mick Grey.

• “20th Century Boy” was originally the album’s closer before being removed on Jan 8, 1973.

• No singles were released from Tanx, unusual for a T. Rex album.

Legacy Notes

• Considered a precursor to Bowie’s Young Americans soul era.

• Inspired Suede’s Coming Up (1996).

• “Life Is Strange” featured prominently in Dallas Buyers Club (2013).

• Multiple reissues: Marc On Wax (1985), Edsel (1994), Left Hand Luke (1995), The Tanx Recordings (2003).

🔘 Related Material

• The Slider (1972)

• 20th Century Boy (1973 single)

• Left Hand Luke (The Alternative Tanx) Released June 20, 1995, released in the UK and Japan.

Track List:

Studio Rough Mixes

1 Tenement Lady/Darling 2:49

2 Rapids 1:59

3 Mister Mister 2:48

4 Broken Hearted Blues 2:08

5 Country Honey 1:50

6 Mad Donna 2:18

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

Extended Play

12 Children Of The Revolution 1:04

13 Solid Gold Easy Action 2:13

14 Free Angel 2:14

Bonus Acoustic And Bass Demos

15 Mister Mister 3:31

16 Broken Hearted Blues 2:08

17 The Street And Babe Shadow 2:14

18 Tenement Lady 1:35

Bonus Acoustic Demos

19 Tenement Lady 1:53

20 Broken Hearted Blues 1:50

21 Mad Donna 1:44

22 The Street And Babe Shadow 2:35

23 Left Hand Luke 1:58

2003

• Label: Get Back – GET634

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Gatefold.

• Label: Get Back – GET634 P

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Picture Disc, Reissue.

🔘 Discography

• Electric Warrior (1971)

• The Slider (1972)

• Tanx (1973)

• Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow (1974)

🔘 Mini‑Timeline

• Aug 1972 — First sessions at Strawberry Studios

• Oct 1972 — Second session block

• Dec 1972 — Tokyo recordings

• Jan 1973 — Final tracklist compiled

• Mar 16, 1973 — Album released

• 1994–2003 — Major reissue campaigns

🔘 Glam Flashback

A lush, soulful detour at the height of Bolanmania — Tanx captures Marc Bolan stretching his cosmic swagger into new shapes, balancing glitter‑rock bravado with gospel warmth and confessional fragility.

🔘 Closing Notes

Though overshadowed by its predecessors, Tanx stands today as one of Bolan’s most musically adventurous works — a transitional masterpiece that foreshadowed glam’s evolution into soul, funk, and cinematic rock.

🔘 Sources & Copyright

• Album credits and recording history

• Chart data from UK, Germany, Norway, Finland, Billboard

• Session details from Visconti and contemporary interviews

All artwork and recordings remain the property of their respective copyright holders.

#TRex #Tanx #MarcBolan #GlamRock #1973Albums