- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- A Beard of Stars is a transitional album to the revamped T. Rex band, with electric guitar and hard rock elements added to their acoustic vibe.
Tyrannosaurus Rex – A Beard of Stars (1970): While Tyrannosaurus Rex is the predecessor band to T. Rex, with both being founded by Marc Bolan, the bands are actually quite different. Bolan first surfaced as a singer and songwriter for the cult psychedelic rock band John’s Children, but only briefly; he wrote their best-known single “Desdemona” (1967). Marc Bolan then formed a psychedelic band called Tyrannosaurus Rex in July 1967 that, after a few false starts and disastrous fumbles, developed into a working partnership with Steve Peregrin Took. Tyrannosaurus Rex plays mostly quirky acoustical music that is often described as psychedelic folk; they were popular in the hippie subculture in England and also had some radio success. The three albums in their initial line-up all performed reasonably well on the U.K. charts, with their third album Unicorn (1969) nearly making the Top Ten.
But the partnership of Marc Bolan and Steve Took began to fray as Took was becoming attracted to the hard psychedelic rock scene and its attendant drug culture; he would later become a founding member of the Pink Fairies that grew out of underground rock star Mick Farren’s band the Deviants. Steve Took was also beginning to write some songs that he wanted the duo to record, but his efforts were rebuffed by Marc Bolan. In response, Took contributed two songs and also performed on portions of Think Pink (1969), the first solo album by Twink, also a founding member of the Pink Fairies. Steve Took was told as they left England that he would be kicked out of Tyrannosaurus Rex following their American tour; the tour was thus doomed from the start. Steve Took was involved in several musical ventures in later years; under the name “Shagrat the Vagrant”, Took is featured prominently in Mick Farren’s first solo album Mona – The Carnivorous Circus that was recorded in December 1969 and released in early 1970. Mick Farren and Steve Took then founded a band called Shagrat that also features Larry Wallis, who was later in the line-up for the third Pink Fairies album Kings of Oblivion (1973). Steve Took later became the bandleader in what is often called Steve Took’s Shagrat that was the springboard for Took’s solo career. Marc Bolan released one more album under the Tyrannosaurus Rex name, A Beard of Stars, with Mickey Finn replacing Steve Took on percussion and bass guitar, though some of the last sessions featuring Took, including “Great Horse” also made it onto the album. A Beard of Stars is a transitional album to the revamped T. Rex band, with electric guitar and hard rock elements added to their acoustic vibe. All but the final song “Elemental Child” are under 3:00. Favorite songs of mine on A Beard of Stars include “A Day Laye”, “Organ Blues”, “By the Light of a Magical Moon”, the instrumental title song “A Beard of Stars”, “Great Horse”, “Lofty Skies”, and “Elemental Child”.