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Born to Boogie: The Songwriting of Marc Bolan
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Product Description
Marc Bolan's mind was unusual in the extreme and the sound of his music was equally unique and extraordinary.What was the inspiration behind the peculiar musical avenues Bolan explored with first his far-out hippy folk-duo Tyrannosaurus Rex, and later the irresistible boogie-machine known as T.Rex? What were the antecedents of Marc's sound, and the arcane influences on his fantastical lyrics? This book explores the early beatnik attitudes of Marc's first musical experiments, the increasing sound-palette with which he explored the eastern mystical worldview of his Tyrannosaurus Rex albums, and the motivations behind his rise to superstardom in the seventies, his ascension to the throne left vacant by the Beatles, and his eventual flirtation with fashion, drugs and alienation. Author Carl Ewens also attempts to re-evaluate the later T.Rex albums, especially 1974's Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow, the point at which Bolan tried to reclaim the lost legacy of his early lyrical adventures. With his star waning and the critics out for his blood, Marc attempted to re-create T.Rex as first a soul-funk band, and eventually as mutant punk rock.No other British songwriter has ever been so original or so isolated in style, so simultaneously decried and worshipped. No other artist is so quintessentially English and yet so obviously obsessed with Americana. There is no doubt that Marc Bolan was truly born to boogie.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #76821 in Books
- Published on: 2007-03-19
- Original language: English
- Binding: Hardcover
- 224 pages
Customer Reviews
This is really very good indeed!
It is a very difficult task indeed to analyze Bolan's songwriting. To be honest his music was so unique and magical that (prior to reading this book) i wouldn't have thought analysis could enhance the listening experience at all.
Bolan's lyrics were quite abstract, generally surreal/bizzare and more than a little fantastical.When coupled with the beautiful melodies or chugging power chords he crafted the end results were often sublime and always interesting. So do we really need a 'nuts and bolts' interpretation of his songbook to help us appreciate his work?
I believe that this book, hopefuly the first of many, can only enhance Bolan's critical reputation. It has certainly made me revisit the T.Rex back catalogue with fresh and astute ears. Whilst i do not always agree with Ewans views (in my opinion 'Zinc Alloy' was way over produced, too many layered cod-Hendrix guitar solos and, most unforgivably, suffered very badly from the wailing backing singers who were too high in the mix) he does raise a lot of highly interesting ideas and more than plausible interpretations of the songs.
To his credit the author has attempted to cover all of Marc's official releases. Unsuprisingly, some tracks are covered in more depth and detail than others, but most are descriptive gems and many contain clever analysis. Unlike the recent Tony Stringfellow book 'From beneath the wizzard's gown', which tackled Bolan's unpublished poetry, 'Born to Boogie' is not an academic read requiring taxed concentration. This is not to imply that Ewans book is badly written, it is not, it's just more accessible and 'difficult to put down'in the grand tradition of a 'good read'.
'Born to Boogie' is not for the casual reader and you do need a good working knowledge of the Bolan back catalogue if it is going to mean anything at all to you. For those that have the knowledge however this is a rich and rewarding read. I highly recommend it!
Analytical & absorbing
As the previous reviewer points out, to analyse Marc Bolan's song writing is a task & a half but Ewens makes a really good fist of a difficult job.
You do need to know your Bolan to get the most from this book but the author analyses each track from each official album & adds anecdotes & snippets of Bolan history into a well written narrative.
This kind of in depth analysis has been well over due & is well done indeed.
Fans of Marc & his music may disagree with some of the authors views on his reading of some of the songs, Bolan's lyrics in many ways are like any poem, each reader (or in this case listener) will draw different meanings & get different things from the lyrics (but that doesn't detract in any way from the quality in this book - enjoyment of music in general but of Marc's music in particular is often a very personal thing & no one can legislate for that - & how could they ?? )
What the book does & does very well is construct & present a well argued critique of the widely held "wisdom" that Marc's writing was nonsensical.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book & Carl deserves a great deal of credit for this excellent piece of work about one of Britain's most shamefully underrated singer / songwriters.
I bet Marc would have loved it.
A must for any Bolan fan
This book is excellent - well written and the author's knowledge is incredible. It's one of those music books that are a real page turner, and while T Rex fans will think it's fantastic, it's also of interest to those of us who aren't Bolan completists but still like the man's songs. Great stuff.
