TAG's 'THERE WAS A TIME' TYRANNOSAURUS REX CD


TAG's 'THERE WAS A TIME' TYRANNOSAURUS REX CDThe Very First Ever Concert by Tyrannosaurus Rex at Middle Earth on September 23rd 1967 (16 tracks), plus four bonus songs from the thought to be 'long lost' First John Peel Radio Sessions!

To compliment the historic importance of this release is a full-colour 8-page booklet containing sound recordist Alan's own personal memories of the performance.

This represents the Earliest Known Live Recording of the Group (only two months after the formation of Tyrannosaurus Rex). Despite the limited sound quality the concert is complete and includes a number of pre-John's Children's songs and is a must.

Of fundamental interest is the set list, combining Bolan's solo singles and 'Beginning of Doves' songs with new Tyrannosaurus Rex material. Delightfully, a version of 'The Lilac Hand Of Menthol Dan' - a John's Children-era solo Bolan number is included.

Sorry the CD is Now Out of Print, although TAG do have a couple left in stock which are available. They will be listed on eBay.

STAY TUNED FOR A RELEASE ON HEAVY DUTY VINYL

The sixteen songs include:
1) Hot Rod Mama,
2) Sara Crazy Child,
3) Scenescof,
4) Hippy Gumbo,
5) Graceful Fat Sheba,
6) Misty Mist,
7) The Wizard,
8) Mustang Ford,
9) The Lilac Hand of Menthol Dan,
10) The Beginning of Doves,
11) Child Star,
12) Dwarfish Trumpet Blues,
13) Knight,
14) Chateau In Virginia Waters,
15) Pictures Of Purple People,
16) Lunacy's Back.

'Bonus' BBC 'John Peel' Sessions Tracks:
1) Hot Rod Mamma,
2) Scenescof,
3) Child Star,
4) Dwarfish trumpet blues.

Dwarfish trumpet blues has extremely prominent Steve Took backing.
Hot Rod Mamma is very exciting, not only for the up-tempo beat, but also because Bolan does not sing 'Levis' in 'greased up Levis' This Hot Rod Mama is a different version than we have ever heard before & was the result of the BBC's insistance that the brand 'Levi' must not be promoted on the non-commercial BBC! !!

RADIO INTERVIEW

CURRENTLY NOT ONLINE - IT WILL BE ADDED BACK SOON!
Interesting Radio Interview given in 2000, with Fee & Mick Gillings where they talk about the TAG 'There Was A Time' (Live at Middle Earth 23rd September 1967) CD; TAG work and 'Felt Tip Graffiti' at Marc's Shrine*, plus Steve Took's 'Shagrat' music. Includes tracks from the TAG CD plus the fabulous Tookie track 'Amanda'. Well worth a listen!.
* This is something we have been plagued with from one 'fan'. Details of the last 'episode' in 2005, are given Here, with the 'Clean Off' operation photos and details Here.

REVIEWS

Review - One

Bubbling up from the underground 35 years after the event, the mere existence of this artefact is a small miracle, for this recently unearthed tape contains the earliest known record of Tyrannosaurus Rex live. A mere two months after forming the duo, this Middle Earth set from 23 September 1967 pre-dates any of the studio recordings, and mixes tracks that were to feature on the debut with a selection of earlier Marc Bolan compositions such as 'Hippy Gumbo', 'Sara Crazy Child' and 'The Lilac Hand of Menthol Dan' (the studio version of which has only been released subsequent to Bolan's death). Bolan's inexperience is evident in his overloading of the vocal mic which leads to heavy distortion, particularly during the first half of the set. However, also evident is the imaginative counterpoint provided by Steve Took - a musician whose stature has been the subject of long overdue reappraisal in recent years, and whose legacy is enriched by this release. Whilst decidedly not a recording for the casual listener, long-time fans of the band will be delighted to hear this glimpse of times past, particularly with the added bonus of a previously unreleased four track John Peel session.
RELEASED IN 2002 ON VOICEPRINT RECORDS - NOW OUT OF PRINT

Review - Two - All Music Guide Review

What a find this is! On September 23, 1967, Tyrannosaurus Rex -- a simple acoustic duo of Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrin Took -- made their live debut at Middle Earth, one of London's most legendary psychedelic dungeons. And somebody was there to record it. There Was a Time might be no more than an above-average audience recording; might suffer from some serious distortion around Bolan's vocals; and might offer little hint of the symphonic grandiosity that Tyrannosaurus Rex would achieve on record just a few months later. But still, the 16-song selection captures the duo already in full control of their musical destiny. It's a mixed bag of material. Several of the songs had been road-tested by Bolan during his time with John's Children, but the lack of that band's electric assault is barely noticed. "Sara Crazy Child," "Mustang Ford," and "Menthol Dan," the three songs most familiar from John's Children's repertoire, are equally accomplished in this new format, and one reels from just how powerful and exciting an acoustic guitar and a set of bongoes can sound. Bolan and Took's resurrection of two even older numbers, the 1965 singles "The Wizard" and "Hippy Gumbo," is similarly successful.

But it's the "new" material that most captivates the listener, songs destined either for the duo's eventual debut album, or for the various demo collections that now collect up Tyrannosaurus Rex's earliest rattlings. "Child Star," "Chateau in Virginia Waters," and "Lunacy's Back" are simply majestic, a point that is reiterated when the first-named reappears among four bonus tracks, credited to an unknown venue in late 1967, but most likely hailing from a John Peel session that November.

The sound quality here, incidentally, is all but flawless, but even if it weren't -- a failing that does dog the rest of the disc -- still we'd have nothing to complain about.
All too often, after all, a disc's "historical value" is such that other considerations (listenability among them) are held to be meaningless.
Here the opposite is true.
Forget the history, and just enjoy the show.
Dave Thompson
ALL MUSIC GUIDE on www.AllMusic.com




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