Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow ~ Marc Bolan & T. Rex

Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow is an album by English rock band T. Rex, the ninth since Tyrannosaurus Rex's debut LP. It was released in March 1974 on the T. Rex record label, distributed by EMI. It was the first and only album to be released under the moniker "Marc Bolan & T. Rex".
Unlike many of T. Rex's previous albums, it was not released domestically in North America; instead, the record company released the U.S.-only Light of Love in August of the same year, featuring three tracks from Zinc Alloy while the remaining songs would appear on the band's next album, Bolan's Zip Gun.
Zinc Alloy was met with bemusement by the listening public. It reportedly confused listeners and divided the band's fanbase at the time, while critical reception was universally negative. Critical re-evaluation has been more favourable, but it remains an oddity in the T. Rex canon due to its style incorporating funk and R&B influences. The album peaked at number 12 in the UK Albums chart.
The original title of the album was A Creamed Cage in August with the artist name to be Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow, which at the time he insisted was a send-up of the two Stardusts, Ziggy and Alvin. The record company balked, however, largely because the photo of Bolan to be used on the cover featured him with a dramatically short haircut and nearly unrecognizable. To ensure that record buyers knew who it was, the label insisted that a red banner strip stating "Marc Bolan & T. Rex" appeared on the top left corner with the title Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow at the bottom, now relegating A Creamed Cage in August to a secondary title on the back side.

1. Venus Loon 00:00
2. Sound Pit 03:02
3. Explosive Mouth 05:51
4. Galaxy 08:14
5. Change 10:00
6. Nameless Wildness 12:46
7. Teenage Dream 15:49
8. Liquid Gang 21:34
9. Carsmile Smith & the Old One 24:49
10. You've Got to Jive to Stay Alive – Spanish Midnight 28:04
11. Interstellar Soul 30:38
12. Painless Persuasion v. the Meathawk Immaculate 34:01
13. The Avengers (Superbad) 37:25
14. The Leopards Featuring Gardenia & the Mighty Slug 41:53

Marc had wanted the album package to be an extravagant multi-layered triple gatefold sleeve designed by John Kosh consisting of a latticework image on the front featuring Bolan's face in a pale gold surround with cage bars revealing another facial shot underneath, meant to fold-out into the 'Creamed Cage' of the subtitle. The 1973 oil crisis ended up limiting the design to an initial 1500 pressings, individually numbered like The Beatles' White Album and now very collectible, with the normal edition being a standard gatefold. Kosh's original package design won at the London Art Director's Association awards and was exhibited at the Design Centre.

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