the slider

Marc Bolan whipped up another serving of mystical grooves and playful glam rock poetry to continue his success with this vision of T. Rextasy. Bolan was flying high after the massive success of 'Electric Warrior' and was eager to repeat it. Initial sessions for 'The Slider' took place at Chateau D’Herouville in France to avoid the massive British taxes, with followup recording at Rosenberg Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. Bolan did the vocals and all of the guitar; Mickey Finn did percussion, conga, vocals, and hand percussion; with Steve Currie on bass; and Bill Legend on drums. The backing vocals by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (AKA Flo & Eddie) were recorded in Elektra Studios in Los Angeles. Bolan said: "I could have done the same thing by overdubbing myself or using other people but I believe they're probably the best singers in the world. I mean for rock back-up musicians, they have so much knowledge about that."

Producer Tony Visconti also did the string arrangements: "Marc was a very innocent guitarist, and sometimes he would play very strange things. In his mind, he might be playing a blues lick, but it might not have the flatted 3rd, or something would be not bluesy about it. If I heard a nice phrase that he played, that was a little unusual, I would amplify it by doubling it on the strings. Suddenly we would have a motif - a motif derived from his playing. I would then write it up, harmonize it, double it in octaves, and have the string players do their parts. I would even notate the bend, if Marc’s playing had a bend in it. The British string players who live in London are some of the best in the world. They would listen carefully to the way Marc played a phrase, and would say, 'Okay, we’ll play that. That’s cute.' In the end it sounds as if we were being extremely clever - like it was the original concept - but the string writing was always an afterthought. It was amplifying something that was raw and gutsy, that I would then turn into a sophisticated sound."

The sessions were tense with Bolan rushing things to save money. The drugs he was taking had made him increasingly paranoid: "I nearly did a Brian Wilson on ‘The Slider’ and not release it. I have been going mad lately, throwing hatchets at pictures of Elvis Presley." He says emotion trumps technique in his playing: "Emotion I think has to be foremost. What you do, you see is… in moments of being… like now if I was sitting her on my own I’d play the guitar, just play about with no emotion at all, I’d be watching television. But I’d keep my fingers together you know, and when I feel emotional I’m equipped to express myself with it, you know. So you’re practiced, you know. " ‘The Slider’ went to number seventeen in the US and number four in the UK.





http://www.marc-bolan.com/

http://www.trextasy.com/










The blurry cover photos were taken by Ringo Starr during the production of the 'Born to Boogie' concert film.








'Metal Guru' Documentary:

part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7DTMpPr2iw



part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I33Ho_V21Dc&feature=relmfu












'The Slider'

"I could never understand
The wind at all
Was like a ball of love
I could never never see
The cosmic sea
Was like a bumblebee
And when I'm sad
I slide"









'Metal Guru' went to number forty-five in Canada, and number one in Ireland and the UK. Bolan called it "a festival of life song. I relate 'Metal Guru' to all Gods around. I believe in a God, but I have no religion. With 'Metal Guru', it's like someone special, it must be a Godhead. I thought how God would be, he'd be all alone without a telephone. I don't answer the phone any more. I have codes where people ring me at certain times...Metal Guru is very much like one of your local deities, be it… I was looking through one of your books… I mean it’s a personal god, in as far as… a superhero if you want, you know, it’s someone who would help you, and I was just trying to get down some… a religious sentiment without it being religious, you know, sort of rock n’ roll god, that sort of thing. Each verse just indicates really how I saw that person, you know. In fact there’s one line, at the time when I wrote it I was being fucked up with telephones. I don’t like telephones, and it was ringing all the time, so my idea of where god would be at would be all alone without a telephone, you know, which you can interpret as sitting in a cave in Tibet if you want, or being down the Biblos, or something. Whatever you want, I mean you know, your choice. For me it was being on my own you know. "












'Telegram Sam' hit number sixty-seven in the US, sixty-six in Canada, and number one in Ireland and the UK.

















 
‘The Slider’
full album:

01. 00:00 Metal guru 

02. 02:30 Mystic Lady 

03. 05:44 Rock On

04. 09:10 The Slider

05. 12:33 Baby Boomerang

06. 14:49 Spaceball Ricochet

07. 18:26 Buick Mackane

08. 22:00 Telegram Sam

09. 25:46 Rabbit Fighter

10. 29:41 Baby Strange

11. 32:48 Ballrooms of Mars

12. 36:56 Chariot Choogle

13. 39:42 Main Man

14. 44:02 Cadillac

15. 47:55 Thunderwing

16. 51:42 Lady