Futuristic City

T. Rex - Futuristic Dragon (1976) {2CD Set Rhino Deluxe Edition R2 73288 rel 2002}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 736 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 250 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 211 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2002 Demon / Edsel / Rhino | R2 73288
Rock / Glam Rock

By the mid-'70s, Marc Bolan's T. Rex had fallen on hard times. Bolan, who remained the essential element in the band, began experimenting with soul/funk sounds and collaborating with his wife, singer Gloria Jones, with mixed results. While 1976's FUTURISTIC DRAGON didn't hit the charts as hard as T. Rex's earlier classics ELECTRIC WARRIOR, SLIDER, and TANX had, it finds Bolan back on track. "New York City" turned out to be one of Bolan's final U.K. hits before his untimely death one year later. Other highlights include the orchestrated instrumental "Theme for a Dragon," and the upbeat power pop of "Chrome Sitar."

The most blatantly, and brilliantly, portentous of Marc Bolan's albums since the transitional blurring of boundaries that was Beard of Stars, almost seven years prior, Futuristic Dragon opens on a wave of unrelenting feedback, guitars and bombast, setting an apocalyptic mood for the record which persists long after that brief (two minutes) overture is over. Indeed, even the quintessential bop of the succeeding "Jupiter Liar" is irrevocably flavored by what came before, dirty guitars churning beneath a classic Bolan melody, and the lyrics a spiteful masterpiece. While the oddly Barry White-influenced "Ride My Wheels" continues flirting with the neo-funk basics of 1975's Bolan's Zip Gun, the widescreen sonic majesty of Futuristic Dragon was, if anything, even more gratuitously ambitious than its predecessor.

The return of the Memphis soul/funk/jazz trio The City Champs. Members, Al Gamble (St. Paul & The Broken Bones), George Sluppick (Chris Robinson Brotherhood) and Joe Restivo (Don Bryant) have been secretly concocting these tasty, solar expansing nuggets since their last output in 2010.