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**T. Rex - Tanx**
★★★☆☆

By 1973, Marc Bolan was caught in the peculiar predicament of being simultaneously at his commercial peak and creative crossroads. The elfin prince of glam had conquered the charts with his cosmic boogie, turned teenage hearts to jelly with his corkscrew curls and glitter, and established T. Rex as the undisputed kings of British pop excess. Yet beneath the sequins and success, something was shifting. *Tanx*, the band's eighth studio album, captures this moment of transition with all its contradictions intact – a record that finds Bolan stretching beyond his established formula while occasionally stumbling over his own ambitions.

The album emerged from a period of intense creativity and mounting pressure. Following the massive success of *Electric Warrior* and *The Slider*, Bolan was acutely aware that the glam bubble might burst at any moment. The musical landscape was evolving rapidly, with prog rock gaining intellectual credibility and harder sounds beginning to emerge from the underground. Bolan, ever the magpie, began incorporating new elements into his sound – funk rhythms, extended guitar solos, and a grittier production aesthetic that would eventually point toward his later, heavier work.

Musically, *Tanx* represents T. Rex at their most adventurous, though not always their most successful. The album opens with "Tenement Lady," a swaggering rocker that immediately signals Bolan's intent to push beyond the sugar-sweet melodies of his earlier hits. His guitar work here is more aggressive, his vocals carrying a newfound snarl that suggests he'd been listening to his contemporaries in the emerging hard rock scene. It's followed by the title track, a hypnotic groove that builds around a simple but effective riff, showcasing Bolan's ability to create something substantial from minimal components.

The album's standout moment comes with "The Street and Babe Shadow," a sprawling, seven-minute epic that finds Bolan at his most experimental. The track unfolds like a fever dream, with layers of guitars weaving in and out of a rhythm section that seems to breathe with its own life. It's here that Bolan's vision feels most fully realized – the song captures the decadent glamour of early-70s London while hinting at darker undercurrents. Mickey Finn's percussion work is particularly noteworthy, adding tribal elements that give the track an almost ritualistic quality.

"Highway Knees" delivers another highlight, its driving rhythm and memorable hook proving that Bolan hadn't lost his pop instincts entirely. The song feels like a bridge between the cosmic boogie of *Electric Warrior* and the harder edge he was developing, with lyrics that blend his trademark mystical imagery with more earthbound concerns. Similarly, "Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys" showcases Bolan's storytelling abilities, painting vivid characters with economical brushstrokes while maintaining the musical momentum.

However, *Tanx* isn't without its missteps. "Rapids" feels undercooked, its promising groove never quite developing into something memorable, while "Broken Hearted Blues" seems to meander without purpose. These weaker moments highlight the album's central problem – in trying to expand his sound, Bolan occasionally lost sight of the focused songwriting that made his earlier work so compelling.

The production, handled by Tony Visconti, deserves special mention. Visconti captures the band's live energy while maintaining the sonic sophistication that had become T. Rex's trademark. The guitar tones are particularly rich, giving Bolan's playing a weight and presence that serves the material well. The rhythm section sounds massive, creating a foundation that supports even the album's more experimental moments.

In the broader context of T. Rex's catalog, *Tanx* occupies a fascinating position. It's neither the band's most accessible work nor their most experimental, but it captures them at a moment of genuine artistic growth. While it didn't achieve the commercial heights of its predecessors, the album has gained appreciation over time, particularly among those who value its more adventurous spirit.

The album's legacy lies primarily in its influence on Bolan's subsequent work and its documentation of glam rock's evolution. Songs like "The Street and Babe Shadow" pointed toward the more complex arrangements Bolan would explore later, while tracks like "Highway Knees" maintained the connection to his hit-making past. *Tanx* may not be essential T. Rex, but it's a compelling