Futuristic Dragon
Futuristic Dragon is the eleventh studio album by English glam rock act T. Rex, released worldwide except North America on 30 January 1976 by EMI Records. The album was preceded by the singles "New York City" and "Dreamy Lady".
| Futuristic Dragon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 30 January 1976 | |||
| Recorded | MRI Studios, Hollywood and Paragon Studios, Chicago, United States; Scorpio Sound, London, England | |||
| Genre | Glam rock, blue-eyed soul | |||
| Length | 40:22 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Producer | Marc Bolan | |||
| T. Rex chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Futuristic Dragon | ||||
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In the US, it wasn't issued domestically before year 1987.
Content, music and sleeve
The album features some unusually dense production from Bolan, especially on "Chrome Sitar" and "Calling All Destroyers", which contained unusual musical embellishments such as the sitar and other sonic sound effects.
The album includes a nod to a new genre disco on the track "Dreamy Lady", which was released as a single under the moniker of "T Rex Disco Party". Futuristic Dragon also contains tracks heavily influenced by American soul music, which Bolan had been experimenting with since 1973. "All Alone", "Ride My Wheels", and "Dawn Storm" all feature predominantly soul-based rhythms and instrumentation.
The sleeve illustration was conceived by artist George Underwood, who had first worked with Bolan on the 1968 Tyrannosaurus Rex album My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows.
Release
Preceded by the release of two UK Top-40-hit singles from the album, "New York City" (No. 15) and "Dreamy Lady" (No. 30),[1] Futuristic Dragon was released on 30 January 1976. It reached No. 50 in the UK Albums Chart; T. Rex's first album to register in the charts since Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow in 1974.[1]
Futuristic Dragon was remastered for CD by Edsel Records in 1994 as part of their extensive T. Rex reissue campaign. A number of bonus tracks were added (see below). A companion release, entitled Dazzling Raiment (The Alternate Futuristic Dragon), was released in 1997 and contained alternative versions, studio rough mixes and solo recordings of the main album and bonus tracks. A combined album digipak was released in 2002.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Pitchfork | 6.7/10[3] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[4] |
In her retrospective review of the album, Whitney Strub of PopMatters wrote "By the time Futuristic Dragon arrived, Bolan was considered a has-been. But the album defies expectation, presenting a surprisingly consistent set of tunes dovetailing with the burgeoning disco scene without entirely partaking of it."[4] Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork wrote "Futuristic Dragon has enough winning moments to suggest an upturn [...] [the album] blows smoke on its second half, with songs like 'Sensation Boulevard' and the schlock-disco 'Ride My Wheels' derailing the first half's chugging momentum. Nevertheless, the album wins your sympathies: It's good enough to make you wish it were better."[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Marc Bolan.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Futuristic Dragon" (Introduction) | 1:52 |
| 2. | "Jupiter Liar" | 3:40 |
| 3. | "Chrome Sitar" | 3:13 |
| 4. | "All Alone" | 2:48 |
| 5. | "New York City" | 3:55 |
| 6. | "My Little Baby" | 3:06 |
| 7. | "Calling All Destroyers" | 3:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Theme for a Dragon" | 2:00 |
| 2. | "Sensation Boulevard" | 3:48 |
| 3. | "Ride My Wheels" | 2:25 |
| 4. | "Dreamy Lady" | 2:51 |
| 5. | "Dawn Storm" | 3:42 |
| 6. | "Casual Agent" | 2:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "London Boys" | 2:19 |
| 15. | "Laser Love" | 3:35 |
| 16. | "Life's an Elevator" | 2:24 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Futuristic Dragon" (Introduction) | 1:46 |
| 2. | "Chrome Sitar" | 3:16 |
| 3. | "All Alone" | 2:50 |
| 4. | "New York City" | 3:57 |
| 5. | "My Little Baby" | 3:51 |
| 6. | "Sensation Boulevard" | 3:48 |
| 7. | "Dreamy Lady" | 2:50 |
| 8. | "Dawn Storm" | 3:31 |
| 9. | "Casual Agent" | 2:54 |
| 10. | "London Boys" | 2:20 |
| 11. | "Life's an Elevator" | 2:25 |
| 12. | "Futuristic Dragon" (Introduction) | 1:52 |
| 13. | "All Alone" | 3:51 |
| 14. | "Dreamy Lady" | 2:31 |
| 15. | "Casual Agent" | 4:05 |
| 16. | "Casual Agent" | 4:04 |
| 17. | "All Alone" (solo recording) | 2:46 |
| 18. | "Dreamy Lady" (solo recording) | 2:19 |
| 19. | "London Boys" (solo recording) | 1:55 |
| 20. | "Life's an Elevator" (solo recording) | 2:01 |
Personnel
- Marc Bolan – vocals, guitars, moog
- Gloria Jones – backing vocals, clavinet
- Steve Currie – bass guitar
- Davy Lutton – drums
- Jimmie Haskell – string instruments
- Technical
- George Underwood – cover artwork
References
- "T. Rex - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- Thompson, Dave. "Futuristic Dragon – T. Rex | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- Deusner, Stephen M. (5 February 2006). "T. Rex: Tanx / Zip Gun / Futuristic Dragon / Work in Progress | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- Strub, Whitney (22 January 2006). "T. Rex: Tanx / Bolan's Zip Gun / Futuristic Dragon / Work in Progress | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
External links
- Futuristic Dragon at Discogs (list of releases)
- Dazzling Raiment (The Alternate Futuristic Dragon) at Discogs