VA - AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex (2020) [CD-Rip]

There's a fitting though sad symmetry to Hal Willner and his final project, the music of Marc Bolan and T. Rex. A rock star for a few years in the '70s, Bolan and his work have steadily achieved more respect and become an ever-larger influence since his death at age 29 in 1977. Revered by music cognoscenti but generally unknown, Willner, a tragic victim of the COVID pandemic's horrendous early toll on NYC, is now on the same path.

A cherubic hippie folkie from London's East End, Bolan took up the electric guitar, donned a top hat, feather boas and glitter and along with friend/rival David Bowie launched glam rock. A trio of records, Electric Warrior (1971) and The Slider (1972) and Tanx (1973) sealed his fame. The longtime music producer of Saturday Night Live, Hal Willner specialized in marshalling massive forces in service of sprawling, prismatic "concept record" projects like his tributes to Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Disney Film music. He also supervised film soundtracks for Short Cuts and Gangs of New York and directed tribute shows to Doc Pomus (2001) Bill Withers (2008) and Nino Rota (2018) among others.

The value of any tribute record depends on the time and effort expended by the artists involved, a potential problem that Willner—who referred to this as his "White Album"— averted by staging recording sessions over a number of years. The bands assembled are often large and filled with distinguished players, especially guitarists like Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot and Wayne Kramer. Five different arrangers headlined by Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) worked on the 26 tracks. This kind of care and attention to detail has raised the batting average of good vs. mediocre tracks. Early on Joan Jett taps right into the spirit of "Jeepster," bouncing along with its iconic final lines, "I said, girl I'm just a vampire for your love/ And I'm going to suck you." Nick Cave turns in a uber respectful, elegiac "Cosmic Dancer." In some cases like Peaches' electro dance pop version of "Solid Gold, Easy Action," (with Banshees drummer Budgie) artists fit Bolan's tunes into their style. In others like Devendra Banhart, who leads a dreamy vibes and chimes take on Bolan's early "Scenescof," the emotional core of Bolan's original is respected. Other tracks like Soft Cell's Marc Almond's tango-ized version of "Teenage Dream," accent Bolan's theatrical tendencies. Bolan's most famous tune, "Get It On (Bang a Gong"), whose title was reversed in the U.S., gets a pair of interpretations with David Johansen adding big band R&B gloss while Sir Elton John plays rowdy piano as U2's Bono whispers and Trombone Shorty leads a brass section. Taking its title from a line in Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl," AngelHeaded Hipster is a multihued tribute to the expansive vision and wizardry of both subject and impresario. © Robert Baird