Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow

Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow (subtitled A Creamed Cage in August) is a 1974 album by Marc Bolan's band T. Rex, the ninth since the debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968. It was released on 1 February on the T.Rex record label, distributed by EMI. It was the first and only album to be credited to "Marc Bolan & T. Rex".

Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – A Creamed Cage in August
Studio album by
Marc Bolan & T. Rex
Released1 February 1974
Recorded1973
GenreGlam rock
Length46:17
Label
ProducerMarc Bolan
T. Rex chronology
Tanx
(1973)		 Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – A Creamed Cage in August
(1974)		 Light of Love
(1974)
Singles from Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – A Creamed Cage in August
  1. "Teenage Dream"
    Released: 1974

Unlike many of T. Rex's previous albums, it was not released in the United States; instead, the U.S.-only Light of Love was released in August of the same year, featuring three tracks from Zinc Alloy and the remainder songs which would appear on T. Rex's next studio album, Bolan's Zip Gun (1975).

The album was met with bemusement by the listening public. It reportedly confused listeners and divided the band's fanbase at the time, while critical reception was universally negative.[1] While critical re-evaluation has been slightly more favourable, it remains an oddity in the T. Rex canon.

Background and recording

Marc Bolan was one of the first British artists to record at Musicland Studios in Munich; most basic recordings were done here during the second half of 1973. The T.Rex band was expanded for this release, incorporating second guitarist, Jack Green, session player B.J. Cole on pedal steel, and backing vocalists 'The Cosmic Choir', a soul duo comprising Bolan's lover, Gloria Jones and Sister Pat Hall, sometimes augmented by Gloria's brother Richard Jones.

Release

When originally released in the UK, the initial pressings were a multi-layered triple gatefold sleeve, a latticework image of the current cover featuring singer Marc Bolan's face in a pale gold surround, meant to fold-out into the 'Creamed Cage' of the subtitle. Japanese manufacturer Teichiku reinstated this as an elaborate limited edition paper sleeve in 2001.

At the time of the UK release, Bolan's U.S. label Reprise had dropped him and he was struggling to find another U.S. label to sign him. When he finally got a deal with Casablanca Records he had recorded much new material, which the new record company decided to release along with a couple of tracks from Zinc Alloy as the Light of Love album in September 1974; thus, neither Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow nor Bolan's Zip Gun were issued in the U.S. in the 1970s.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Pitchfork5.8/10[3]
Uncut7/10[4]

Zinc Alloy was poorly received upon release, reportedly dividing the band's fanbase.[1] T. Rex would never reclaim their former glory while Marc was alive.

Zinc Alloy marked a downturn in Bolan's fortunes – the contemporaneous album single, "Teenage Dream", made it only to No. 13 in the UK charts. While that would be a success for most groups, Bolan had spent all of 1971–1973 enjoying constant Top Ten and Top Five UK hits, including four number 1s. T. Rex would not enjoy another Top 20 UK hit until "New York City" in the summer of 1975.[5]

Critical reception

The album reportedly received "universally hostile" reviews by music critics at the time of its release.[1]

Contemporary reviews have been more favourable. In a review of the 2014 vinyl box set reissue containing the album, The Guardian described it as "better than its reputation suggests",[6] while The Quietus called it "a fantastic mess".[1]

Reissues

Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow was first reissued on the Marc on Wax label in 1983. The original cover art couldn't be used for legal reasons. At this point, an anomalous ending not on the original album was tacked onto the end of the track "Teenage Dream" and appears on every subsequent reissue (except for Japanese reissues which retain the original track as intended by Marc). The album was also expanded to include a bonus disc (bonus tracks on the 1985 CD issue). The first disc (at 33 1/3 RPM) being the original Zinc album, the second disc (at 45 rpm) included all non-album singles and B-sides from 1974 – "Satisfaction Pony" (features a needle drop sound, as the original stereo master appears to be lost), "Light of Love", "Zip Gun Boogie" and "Space Boss".

A companion release to the later Demon Records resissue, entitled Change (The Alternative Zinc Alloy), was released in 1996 and contained alternative versions, studio rough mixes, and demos of the main album and bonus tracks. The two were combined for a 2CD edition, which was released by Edsel and Rhino Records in 2002.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Marc Bolan.

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Venus Loon"3:01
2."Sound Pit"2:50
3."Explosive Mouth"2:26
4."Galaxy"1:48
5."Change"2:47
6."Nameless Wildness"3:06
7."Teenage Dream"5:45
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Liquid Gang"3:17
2."Carsmile Smith & the Old One"3:16
3."You've Got to Jive to Stay Alive – Spanish Midnight"2:35
4."Interstellar Soul"3:26
5."Painless Persuasion v. the Meathawk Immaculate"3:26
6."The Avengers (Superbad)"4:28
7."The Leopards Featuring Gardenia & the Mighty Slug"3:36
1994 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
15."The Groover"3:24
16."Midnight"2:49
17."Truck On (Tyke)"3:09
18."Sitting Here"2:21
19."Satisfaction Pony"2:49
Change (The Alternative Zinc Alloy)
No.TitleLength
1."Venus Loon"3:05
2."Sound Pit (Parts 1 & 2)"3:01
3."Explosive Mouth"2:33
4."Galaxy"1:03
5."Change (Signs)"1:54
6."Nameless Wildness"5:19
7."Teenage Dream"5:57
8."Liquid Gang"2:56
9."Carsmile Smith & the Old One"2:34
10."Spanish Midnight"0:37
11."Insterstellar Soul"1:55
12."Painless Persuasion v. the Meathawk Immaculate"3:29
13."The Avengers (Superbad)"3:27
14."The Leopards Featuring Gardenia & the Mighty Slug"2:28
15."The Groover"2:50
16."Midnight"2:48
17."Truck On (Tyke)"1:40
18."Sitting There (Sitting Here)"2:01
19."Satisfaction Pony"3:27
20."Nameless Wildness (Acoustic Demo)"1:47
21."Carsmile Smith & the Old One (Solo / Acoustic Demo)"1:45
22."Carsmile Smith & the Old One (Acoustic Demo with Organ)"1:17
23."The Avengers (Superbad) (Acoustic Demo)"2:50
24."The Leopards Featuring Geraldine & the Mighty Slug (Acoustic Demo)"1:08

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 45
UK Albums Chart 12

References
  1. Neil Kulkarni (3 March 2014). "The Quietus | Features | Pop, Fragility & Dissolution: A Marc Bolan Reappraisal". Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  2. Thompson, Dave. "Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – Marc Bolan & T. Rex,T. Rex | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  3. Deusner, Stephen M. "T. Rex: The Slider / Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow / Dandy in the Underworld / The T. Rex Wax Co. Singles: A's and B's 1972–77 | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  4. "Tyrannosaurus Rex / T.Rex – A Beard of Stars / T.Rex / Tanx / Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – Deluxe Editions – Uncut.co.uk". Uncut. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  5. "T Rex | Full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  6. Petridis, Alexis (12 December 2014). "T. Rex: The Vinyl Collection Review – Proof That Bolan's Genius Went Beyond the Hits | Music | The Guardian". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  7. Visconti, Tony. The Autobiography: Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy. pp. 207-209. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. ISBN 978-0-00-722944-4
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 302. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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