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The Lyrics Futuristic Dragon is, perhaps the great misunderstood Marc Bolan album. Strangely I've always found those hard-core Bolan fans to be fairly indifferent, yet casual listeners who aren't T.Rex fans always like it. Perhaps everyone wants a Slider, but the Slider was only Marc in disguise and by the mid 70's he was no longer the Slider, that chapter had passed. Very different Marc was now in America throwing himself into recording, which by the end of 1974 had seen the near completion of the second album of that year, that album would eventually be released as Futuristic Dragon. It's a complicated album, born out of a complicated time. The finished version has a very typical T.Rex feel, the strings, that guitar sound and often the traditional Bolan Boogie. But go back to the demos and you will hear a very different sound. This is because the songs, which eventually made up Dragon, were excess songs Bolan had recorded during his Zip Gun period, yet they didn't perhaps have a Zip feel so they were shelved. When Marc came back to England in 75 to relight his career, no doubt he thought the best way to do it, would be to complete a very typical sounding T.Rex album. I suspect it was also a good way of Marc finding his feet again after the madness of the previous 3 years, a typical T Rex album would reassure his fans, but more importantly it would reassure himself. Marc would be able to go back to a familiar sound and hopefully give his life some stability. Perhaps one of the strangest things about the album is that it's said Mickey Finn does not play on the album and he's not credited on the sleeve. Yet listening the demos and you can hear bongos on some tracks, and when you go back to the finished article, on some tracks very low in the mix, guess what? That's a right bongo. Given that Mickey Finn left T.Rex in 75, and some of Dragon was ready to go by late 74 early 75, it seems very likely Mickey Finn, does play on some tracks and after his departure his bongos were virtually mixed out Nothing official has ever been said, but on tracks like My Little Baby, even more so on the demo, you can hear those bongos, and who else but Mickey Finn would be playing them? So those American demos were hauled from the vaults and given the T.Rex treatment. This is perhaps where the album falls down, because Marc, was at this point no expert producer. The production on Dragon, doesn't come close to those Slider days, but then again it doesn't come close to Dandy, where March showed finally that the was a talented producer. But then Marc was still learning it was no easy task taken a batch of songs recorded over the previous three years and making them sound like they had all been intended for the same album. Incidentally there are many out takes from this period and it's hard to say what were definite Dragon possibilities, three tracks that I can think of seem likely, two very so. The two that seem very likely candidates are tracks called, Savage Beethoven and I Believe, another possibility is a track called Sparrow. This is a gem of track with Marc singing (and pleading no doubt) "You are the only girl I have ever loved" and "Please never leave me all alone", and with Gloria on the track as well it leaves you in no doubt who this is aimed towards. I Believe, is another interesting track, originally recorded as a lengthy home demo, it features some strong lyrics. These include lines like "When I went to school, it was cruel it was strange it was ugly, my kids got a chance, want to dance make a world of the future". It seems this would refer to Rolan, which affected Marc greatly, Marc always believed children were the future, that we set out the future by the way we treat children. This philosophy was present in his early poetry. I Believe, is a great song that just needed something else. In many respects it's like London boys, it could be a better song with some better production. Unfortunately like most of Arc's songs, which contained an obvious personal message, these tended to be the songs that remained in the vaults. Savage Beethoven is a near completed studio track, sounding like I Believe in terms of sound. It features Gloria on backing vocals. They feature a very 75 feel to them, and I suspect they were recorded during this year. I Believe is perhaps the easiest to date because of the Rolan references! But of course this is speculation, Zip Gun outtakes are easy to spot because of their distinct, fuzz guitar sound, but as the Dragon sound was more of afterthought, Marc could have taken any number of tracks from 74-75 and Dragonised them. It's a good album, Futuristic Dragon, it's easy to listen to and does contain some excellent songs. Remember at this time albums were like Xmas, they were a yearly affair, in this day and age we have to wait much longer, and often be grateful for albums that weren't that great. Dragon is Marc's comeback, but only comeback to sanity, this would be completed with Dandy. If the album had had better production it would have been classed as a great album, as it is I think it is anyway. I can see what Marc is trying to do, and although are tracks which I might skip, there are some of my favourite songs on the album, All Alone, Chrome sitar and Calling all Destroyers for instance. Listening to the demos is strange, in some takes of Casual Agent Marc sounds as if the drugs and drink he had slowly become addicted to were threatening to finish him off. He sounds distant and tired on one particular take of Casual agent, although of course, it could be only a guide vocal. In the demo of Chrome sitar Marc's voice sounds lifeless, the energy that is so present in Marc's music is often missing in the demos. This is a rare glimpse of the pain Marc was no doubt going through at the time, Gloria was keeping him sane, but underneath Marc was no doubt having to cope with a lot of demons. That's not to say all the demos sound down, it's just often they don't sound like Marc had any intention of doing anything with them.
The so called Bowie rip off title track? Well that's a bit unfair because Bowie's music was no doubt a strong influence on Marc's music, but then Marc was on Bowies. Marc would have known his limitations, to suggest that the title track was a rip off of Diamond Dogs, is to credit Marc without any sense at all. Marc would have known and respected Bowie's talent and he would never try and be Bowie. I suspect in his thoughts, he thought why should I be, I'm Marc Bolan what else is there to be! I actually prefer the demo, with Gloria singing and the backwards drums. But for 76 T.Rex were slowly losing the Gloria influence (in the sound anyway) and was reverting back to that early T.Rex sound. The whole title "Futuristic Dragon", is actually almost a contradiction. Dragons are beasts of the past not the future. But here Marc was probably stating that our past was the future. In the lyrics a typical piece of Bolanonic poetry, Marc in reality is probably describing himself at the vantage point of 1974.
The Futuristic Dragon into, goes straight into this track. In the 90's, Indie groups often produce very simple guitar based songs, often in the style of T.Rex. And in essence this is what Liar is, it's a very typical guitar based boogie, whose style is the sort, most bands would choose if they wanted to give a song a T Rex feel. Released today, it would make a very credible Indie single! Jupiter is normally seen as the bringer of jollity, or happiness. So to have a Jupiter Liar is to have someone who has let you down; the happiness they should have brought has not come. This like the Futuristic Dragon intro, is a return to the use of mythology, which had so ignited Marc's imagination in the early years. Perhaps Marc believed that things were coming full circle and like the intro suggests, the past was becoming more and more relevant to the future. Again there are no demos for this song, which is a shame. I suspect that this was a studio affair. That the riff was thought up in the studio and the song was built around that, like Solid Gold Easy Action. The riff in the song is so strong that this would seem like the most likely explanation. Also with the simple lyrics this would add further weight to the case. I like the song, again perhaps better production, would have helped, but it has lovely chunky sound. The strings which appear at the end, are quite strange, they appear just before the song fades out. Somehow they don't seem right, yet in some way it seems like a clever touch, I can never make my mind up as to weather I like them or not! CHROME SITAR Chrome Sitar, this was the B side of New York City, I wouldn't have minded seeing it as an A side. It was one of the 1974 recordings and in the original demo, has quite a relaxed laid back feel. The original demo also has different words to the finished song; I suspect the words were one of the last things to be added. Although that's not to say that the words are unimportant. The strangest thing about the finished article is the strange ending, with echoed sound effects trailing off. The final lyric is Love is grand won't take my (pause)hand, tonight. It's an eerie but effective touch. Perhaps the most telling lyric in the song is the first verse Standing
on the corner By 1974, Marc's life was a joke, he had slowly lost touch with reality and probably himself. When Marc sings somebody said life is a joke, there's a tone, which says Marc knows exactly what they mean. I've often seen the song as some kind of blurred vision, it looks almost like it was wrote on some kind oh high. Certainly the first verse could be drug related, but then that's only my opinion. Perhaps the better way to understanding chrome sitar, is to change the chrome sitar lyric for life. If you do that the song seems to open up a little more. Standing
on the corner of life Marc was and still is seen as an individual who was on the fringe, he wasn't considered your everyday person. Marc had said in a radio interview around 1972, that he was not the boy next door, he never had been, and that was why he was successful. In essence this is very true, but perhaps by 1974, despite his relationship with Gloria, he was feeling isolated, and perhaps slightly bitter, as he'd slowly watched the success he'd achieve slowly become a monster (A T.Rex perhaps?) and it had almost consumed him. Perhaps Chrome sitar is analogy for life. Using this idea you can make more sense of the next verse. Princess
Outrage with the deductible grave Change the last 'chrome sitar' for life and you get a verse about an angel trying to take someone's life Princess
Outrage with the deductible grave Perhaps it is his own life that Marc fears he will loose. The line about measuring stars is also strange, especially when you consider that Marc died in he early hours of the morning. Were the stars been measured in the heavens for Marc's entrance? Why chrome sitar though, apart from the sitar sound running through the song, why else would it be chrome sitar? I don't think the sitar is the point, I think it is the chrome. First of all Marc uses a Chrome Guitar reference to describe his loneliness in All Alone. (Marc did own a chrome guitar). Also originally in the demo of All Alone Marc sang of a 'Chrome sky earth', not a 'Dome sky earth' that appears in the final cut. I think the word chrome is important. I think for Marc in the album it represented something, perhaps the future? Personally I think the key to Chrome sitar, is to see is an analogy for life. (Bongos also appear in this track.)
After my reasons behind of the use of the word chrome in Chrome Sitar, and in the All Alone demo, perhaps it is no coincidence that All Alone follows Chrome Sitar . Perhaps the two are more linked that is immediately obvious. All alone is another fabulous track, originally written and recorded for the Zinc Alloy album in 1973 under the title of Saturation Syncopation. I have countless demos of this song, acoustic and studio; it was an incredibly personal song. I suspect Marc was desperate to put this out in the best possible form. Listening to the demos, Marc often tries out different ways of playing it. This suggests that he was simply looking for the best way to record it. All
alone I sit at home This first verse shows just how Marc was feeling, it was the only verse to survive from the original Zinc Alloy version, and you can see why. Marc often saw his life as some kind of fantasy, a cartoon. References are made to this in Mambo Sun and Spaceball Ricochet. And here he says even Michael Mouse (Mickey) has a home. The last three lines are Marc describing himself in a kind of romantic film idol way, theatre and glitz had been key elements of glam, and here Marc treats himself like some faded film matinee idol. Then finally he berates all those fans that loved him, then seemed to leave him, unfair? Maybe, but as he states it's a masquerade, and he has only just realised that, or at least admitting it to himself. In a British radio interview Marc said, that All Alone had been written in his front room with kids screaming his name outside his house. Apparently he was watching himself on Top of the Pops, and suddenly despite all these kids shouting outside his house he suddenly realised how alone he was and he just started crying. And that is where the first verse was born. The singing on the track is superb. Marc almost over pronounces things, like someone would if they were doing a Marc Bolan impression.
I always call this the tongue in cheek track. I've know doubt it was meant with the tongue planted firmly in cheek. Released as a single in 75 long before the arrival of Dragon, Marc described it as a Boogie Mind Poem. After the experimentation of the Zinc alloy period the year before and getting no luck with trying to move T.Rex into other areas, I suspect this simple song was released as a kind of joke. The song is uncomplicated, simple repetitive and not musically challenging; yet it charts! Zinc Alloy stuff got Marc nowhere, yet he was trying to do something different. Well what about it's lyrics? Well it's said the line about a woman with a frog in her hand was written about Gloria, who had a Kermit the Frog puppet, whilst they were in New York. In 1977 at a live concert Marc said New York City the song had a lot to do with the New T.Rex. And when Marc sings "I did don't you know, and don't it show", he probably referring to his love for Gloria and how it has turned his life around, hence the don't it show. Gloria, probably did more for Marc than we will ever realise, and in New York City amid the nonsense of the rest of the song, we do get that message. The only other strange thing about New York City is that instead of singing, "Did you ever see a woman coming out of New York City" About a quarter of the way through he changes the out to from for one verse. This probably has no relevance to the song, but I've always found it strange. More than likely Marc just did it by accident when he was recording the vocal track. Also about three minutes into the song, very faintly in the background someone says "Right" and then there is a tiny bit of laughter. These things seem to happen quite often in Marc's songs. It ties in quite nicely with the slightly joke like nature if the song. I also love those cheesy keyboard sounds at the beginning, they're not on the demo, which has quite a different mix, which in some respects I prefer. Although it's not polished enough for release.
This is a track a lot of people seem to like, it's catchy, and some great nonsense lyrics. The demo features those bongos and rather different lyrics. In the finished version we are treated to the excellent verse of Deception
dissolves like a mind rainbow What more could you ask for! I guess when you're at home on your own, you can't deceive yourself. The track could have made an interesting single. In the demo form you get hear a very Zip Gun like guitar sound, that is very loud in the mix, I don't expect this was ever considered for Zip Gun, but it shows that this track recorded at the end of 74, was still subject to Zip gun influences. And further to this like many Zip Gun outtakes it tends to ramble on for quite some time. You can still hear the original Zip gun sounding guitar in the finished, version but it's quite low in the mix.
Well this should have been a single, a very typical Bolan song and better for it. It was an anthem song, released in 1972 it might have been seen as the follow up to Children of the Revolution. The lyrics never seem to delve deep, but perhaps the title 'Calling all Destroyers' was a reference to how Marc saw himself. If Marc what was he a destroyer of, his life, his career? Probably both at this point in his life. Put the headphones on, listen loud and you will hear bongos, very low in the mix, but never the less bongos. The song in affect is little more than about sex, something that was never far from Marc's lyrics, but around this period seems to be even more present, especially with tracks like, Casual Agent and Ride My Wheels and Dawn Storm. The clever bit in Calling All Destroyers, is the klaxon like siren that wails like a warning during the chorus. It should be higher in the mix. It's an excellent touch, it adds the idea that is Marc as the Futuristic Dragon calling all his followers! Things like this, all though not ground breaking or new, were often looked over in Marc's Music, as a so called teeny bop artist the level of respect granted to Marc by the music press, was almost nil. Yet the cleverness in the music was the simple touches, touches like the klaxon sound. Unfortunately there are no demos of this song, which is a shame. It would have been nice to see how this song was built up. When you hear demos you often get the chance to ascertain if the song was built round like the lyrics, like All Alone, or the lyrics came afterwards. Bongo's can be heard playing in this track, again they are very low in the mix. THEME FOR A DRAGON Well this wasn't really Theme For a Dragon, more of a Theme for Zip Gun; it was the aborted title track form Zip Gun with its lyrics stripped away. Those cheers and screams are overdubbed afterwards, on a loop they provide an odd touch to the instrumental. I suspect that some would say that in the mid 70's Marc would have to dub on screams, as the day of T Rexasty seemed to have passed. I'm sure Marc knew this and may even well have done as an ironic touch. In the original lyrics, Marc sings (and excuse any mistakes I make!) 1,2 Have
no fear, hanging queer I,
I want to show you yeah, yeah Bolan
wind is a mystic friend I,
I want to show you, yeah Bolan
wind is a mystic friend I,
I want to show you, yeah, yeah , yeah Now as Marc's phrasing was so unique, it's often difficult to work out lyrics. My interpretation of Teenage Dream before I read the lyrics was unique to say the least. I read somewhere that Marc sings "We aint queer", I'm almost certain it's "Hanging queer". The sexual nature of the song is pretty evident. Then the very phrase Zip Gun, could be a sexual metaphor. Never the less with the lyrics I really like the song, it's a very sexual song. It doesn't have a Zip Gun sound despite it being mooted as the title track. Again it's almost a call to arms like Calling All Destroyers, with the screams added on for good effect. It would have made a very interesting single! SENSATION BOULEVARD More sexual references and more admitting to the loneliness that had crept across his life. On Zinc alloy Marc had sang "You've got to jive to stay alive" and in the first verse of Sensation Boulevard Marc sings In
this crazy world For Marc Music was everything, it was the game he had played to be become famous but it had left him lonely and isolated. Perhaps he felt that he had made an impression but in the success starved days of 1974-75 he knew the whole thing was crazy and he knew it had almost destroyed him. Marc was living in L A at the around this time and the title Sensation Boulevard seems very American influenced. Sensation Boulevard could be imagined as one of those places in Hollywood where you can loose yourself, a place full of theatres, clubs and so forth. Later on Marc also sings, Lady
Luck I want you The reference to sex is obvious, like Casual Agent later on this seems almost like a prostitute reference. The demo is strange; it has virtually the same backing track to the finished version, yet Marc mumbles some almost unidentifiable lyrics over the top. I've always thought the finished version wasn't sung that well, and the fact it seems to speed up for the final verse doesn't help this. Marc's voice didn't always seem that strong during the low period of the mid 70's, whether this the affect of drinking or drugs, or whether the reported nervous breakdown Marc had suffered was the cause who knows? Sensation Boulevard is no doubt about the loneliness he feels and when at the end Marc sings repeatedly Take me down to Sensation Boulevard You can see the escapism Marc was searching for, in reality it is a plea, I guess he just wanted a change in his luck!
A song no one seems to like apart me and a group of friends, it's a bit of a messy mix, but I still think it's an excellent song.. It holds the title of most unfortunate B side ever released, it was Marc's last B-side, backing Celebrate Summer. Yes it's a sex song, but memorable for the first verse and the use of the word punk, I've
got some punk Marc had been using the word punk for sometime, it probably come from gangster movies, which Marc must have liked, because they featured on the Bolan Zip gun cover! But here's Marc saying I've got some punk to on you, yet it would be another couple of months before the rest of Britain would have punk laid on them. Love the line I about oiling your engines all night! On this track the bongos are quite audible in comparison to the rest of the tracks.
Dreamy Lady along with New York City were the only two singles to feature on the album. I'm not a huge fan of the song in it's released form, its disco feel seems to be Marc chasing the pack rather then leading it. If you listen at the end it you can hear the actual ending just as it fades out. It also has a very similar backing track to Dock of the Bay, which was probably recorded in the same sessions. There is something that confuses me about Dreamy Lady, when I was listening to other tracks for bongos, I'm sure that I could hear them on Dreamy Lady. Yet Dreamy Lady was meant to have been recorded around late 75, not long before it was released and some time after Mickey Finn had left. I can't explain this mystery, perhaps there are no bongos on the track. Perhaps the song was recorded before the general sources say so. Whatever the reason I'll say for now that I can hear bongos, but I wouldn't say they were there for sure. It started as a song called I Could Have Loved you, a simple fragmented home demo it eventually matured into Dreamy Lady as a full two minute acoustic home demo. It's likely that the 'I could have loved you' lyric stemmed from the great Tanx outtake Everyday (Delanie). This acoustic version of 'Dreamy Lady' is beautiful, I bought a bootleg CD of outtakes on the strength of it, it's so right. The voice the melody, it was all there, for me once it got that disco feel plastered on it lost something. There is also an interesting pusedo reggae version recorded in the studio, this has great potential and again brings the strong melody of the song to the forefront, Gloria Jones toured with Bob Marley so it's no surprise to hear this version. If Marc could have pursued this avenue or even left it acoustic in the mould of Life's An Elevator, it would have been a sure classic then. But then again I know lots of people who love the song and regard it as a classic, who am I to say? The double sexual meaning behind, Night
is the right time This has always amazed me, why did the record not get a ban, when the word Horny seems to be deliberately disguised at the beginning of 'Groover', and the phrase "Serves all the good stuff" (as in drugs), as almost totally mixed out of 'Telegram Sam'. Probably because at this point Marc was no longer seem as a huge influence. Then again Marc could have meant his head as in, well his head, but for someone who loved to tilt at windmills I'm not so sure.
Dawn Storm is a song I want to like more than I do. I see it as Marc truing to do something interesting, yet it never quite hits the spot. The song is about Marc's love for Gloria and how it will remain strong despite what has happened to him and to the world around him. Times
they are strange The strangest verse is when Marc sings Baby
I'm not crazy This verse probably sums up how he felt, in the first two lines he says his love is not a fling, it's more than that. Than in the last two he says how hard it is to learn and change, how its easy just sit back and enjoy the good life. The sunset strip being an American influence again, you can imagine the wild parties and the like! In essence the song is commenting on all the changes in Marc's life at this time and how things are constantly changing, and his one constant is his love for Gloria. No matter what he believes nothing will change that. The demo seems like some debauched jam that has got our of control, lyrically bearing little resemble to the finished version, it seems to be a song set on going nowhere. CASUAL AGENT Marc in an interview described this song as being lyrically complex, which to a degree it is. The clue to the song is the title. It's probable that Casual Agent is another term for a prostitute, this becomes clearer on demos when you here Marc sings Casual Agents, as opposed to agent. Some of the lyrics are probably plain nonsense, some though give you an idea of the songs origins. It also becomes clear that to be a Casual agent, is also to indulge in one night stands. Wind
of illusion came darkly down my street This verse leaves little to the imagination, the oral sex reference is plain, especially as in some demos after the last line Marc sings, She sucked and it was good! The final verse gives you another prostitute clue. All
night worker for the missionary stand I To seldom drip glue is to never come unstuck and to remain cool. The old queens some of the more colourful characters that Marc probably saw or knew in L A in the mid 70's. The last two lines describe dressed as women. The tiger tongued tinsel line looks to mean some one who talks either in a very camp way or someone who uses gay slang. Bongos are present in this track, but again remain very quiet in the mix. In the first line Marc sings, Casual
agent, moving by the sand The first line is a undoubted nod towards L A's Malibu beach, mentioned later in the song, and the various people that hang out there. Marc always said that he often wrote about friends or people he knew and disguised in his rich lyrical imagery. A good example of this is "Telegram Sam". So as to the last three lines in the verse it is anyone's guess. I've often wondered if the Madonna dollar reference wasn't a knock towards the church. I don't know because Marc was always quite religious or at least seemed proud to be Jewish. Cosmetic Betty, is probably describing a bimbo, a woman who is all make up. In 1977's Mellow Love Marc sings, I don't want no cosmetic stick.. Stealing from the skull could be another oral sex reference, as in the 70's phrase of Robin Hood.
So there you are my opinions and views on what is behind Futuristic Dragon. An album that is rich in sexual fantasy. It is also rich in American influenced imagery, punctuated by honest feelings of love towards Gloria. It has been said that Marc's time in America was a low point that his fading star image coupled with insults regarding his increased weight and his on going diet of drink and cocaine were on the verge of destroying him. Yet out of this, two good albums were born, 'Zip Gun' and 'Futuristic Dragon'. And with his love for Gloria, Marc showed that an artist proves himself the most when the chips are down and people aren't buying anything with your name and your face on it. Marc passed this test with flying colours. Modern bands might like to a note of how Marc never gave up, even though every album he put out after Tanx just got him a kick in the teeth from the press ready to pick over the bones of T Rexasty. And then of course so suddenly he was gone, as ever you miss something the most when it is no longer there. The heavy lyrical escapism on Dragon probably shows that Marc was probably more relaxed by the time it came to Dragon some of which was recorded in the same year as 'Zip gun', yet crucially a few months later. The cuts on Dragon may not have been intended for an album, so Marc could have been more relaxed. Remember Marc recorded none stop right until his death, many great songs were never released in his lifetime. It's not a perfect album. But when you look into the influences behind it, Marc's state of mind and the changes happening in his life you can appreciate it for what it is and perhaps understand it a little better. Marc's music was always close to his heart. As Captain Sensible of the Dammed so excellently put it "Marc wasn't a bread head, he was out on a limb, doing something he firmly believed in" It's
a neglected album, but remember Dragons guard their treasure and
often sleep for many years before coming to life.
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