T REX - “Metal Guru”
(#313, 20th May 1972)
“Metal Guru” finds the T Rex sound reaching critical mass: it’s all hook and muscle, a thick platinum noise that brings the band right into line with the emergent glam mainstream: Gary Glitter’s “Rock And Roll Parts 1 and 2″, which just missed number one, uses the same iconic beat, and the rollercoaster backing “whoooooooaaaa”s anticipate the Sweet’s klaxon rush on “Blockbuster”. After this, it was plateau for Bolan - “Children Of The Revolution” and “20th Century Boy” have the same wallop as “Metal Guru” but don’t move the sound forward - and then decline, the density coming to sound clumsy and forced as the hits ran out.
A great deal was lost on the journey from “Hot Love” to here - most obviously a nimbleness Bolan had carried over from the woodland boogie years, but also a giddy way with a groove, a spry sexiness - only the Pied Piper voice and the compacted lyrics really link that record to this. But the simple wham of “Metal Guru” almost makes the sacrifice worth it: like the best glam it has an incredible immediacy, a commitment to style, texture and joy over subtlety, a puppyish eagerness to show itself off that I can’t help falling for. 8
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FT's Tom on March 27th, 2007
Looking at that sleeve his sound wasn’t the only thing that was thickening.
Rosie on March 27th, 2007
The mixture as before, only more tediously repetitive still. I can’t see myself giving it more than a workmanlike 5, and that would be pushing it. 4 would be nearer the mark for me.
Mind you, I’m a bit down on Bolan at the moment. I don’t know what it’s like down in the nesh south, but up here in Granada-land Children of the Revolution is being used ad nauseam to sell sofas!
Lena on March 27th, 2007
Whenever I think of this I always hear The Smiths’ “Panic” in my head at the same time…
Erithian on March 27th, 2007
My favourite T Rex number one, principally because of the primal scream of “WaaaaaaaaaAAAAAaaaaaaah yeahhhhhhh” in the intro. Let’s face it, what pop song wouldn’t benefit from a quick “WaaaaaaaaaAAAAAaaaaaaah yeahhhhhhh” two bars in? Think what it would do for your average Westlife track.
Number 2 Watch – Marc held off David Cassidy’s “Could It Be Forever?” and Elton John’s first Number 2 “Rocket Man”.
FT's Tom on March 27th, 2007
! What an obvious connection Lena - and one I’d never spotted despite “Panic” being an absolute touchstone song for teenage me.
That may be why I liked it so instantly, actually.
jeff w on March 27th, 2007
Was it Chris Roberts or one of the other MM writers of the late 80s / early 90s who wrote so vividly of hearing the news that this had got to #1 and feeling as if part of his identity had fallen into place, that he belonged to something finally?
That bit of prose struck a chord, although I was too young really to be a part of T-Rexstasy. I made do with getting a sense of the phenomenon via my sister (3 yrs older than me at nearly 10), who suddenly made clear her love for Marc at this point. This was the first moment I became aware of fandom, that people who made pop records could be idols, objects of lust.
Billy Smart on March 27th, 2007
Along with “WaaaaaaaaaAAAAAaaaaaaah yeahhhhhhh”, the other moment of heartlifting audacity on this single - that always makes me glad that I’m hearing it - is Bolan’s coining of the phrase “just like a silver-studded sabre-toothed dream”, which is more like Ben Jonson than Gary Glitter in its opulence.
Marcello Carlin on March 28th, 2007
Of course Glitter was all about the minimalist avoidance of words; at the time he was apt to compare himself to Brando in Last Tango in terms of the grunts being all that are needed.
Looking forward to Tom’s view on the double G very eagerly indeed…
intothefireuk on March 29th, 2007
‘Jeepster’ was the first Bolan record that really caught my attention and ‘Metal Guru’ was the icing on the cake. Visconti & Bolan conjure up a ‘Spector-ish’ wall of sound and Marc is still on form and at the top of his game. The opening scream and wailing guitar, killer riff and sheer density of sound clinch the deal for me. A perfect pop 10.
Doctor Casino on May 25th, 2007
Funnily enough, of all these T-Rex songs Popular has made me aware of, this is the one that I find popping into my head. Maybe that’s because it’s become so blunt and walloping, but the hook does its job and I admire that. I also like how the verses, with all their layering and the way the distorted guitar sound picks up the role of a brass ensemble, sound like they’re actually codas from a psychedelic band, cut loose from their original context and made to serve another purpose entirely. I’m not sure I can quite put this into words - but the meat of this song sounds like it’s supposed to be the big singalong finale to something like, I dunno, “Sub Rosa Subway” by Klaatu - or “All Around The World” by Oasis for that matter.
So from the moment the song begins, you’re being cued to signifiers of group identity and belonging - no wonder the unknown individual cited by Jeff could feel like he was on the cusp of a movement! The only probably is, where can a song possibly go when it starts with the repeated chant climax?
Doctor Casino on May 25th, 2007
Comparing the beat to “Rock And Roll 1 & 2″ is a bit generous though. Glitter’s beat pounds this one into the dust.
FT's lonepilgrim on July 2nd, 2008
I’m joining this discussion late in the day - but wanted to add that this was the first single I ever bought, after seeing it performed on TOTP. It cost a weeks pocket money and I carried it home like a radioactive isotope which in some sense it was. I remember raving at Bolan’s ability to throw his guitar up in the air catch it and carry on playing not being familiar with the whole miming thing. I also remember being impressed that there were two tracks on the B-side - bargain!