Born To Boogie (Soundtrack Album) - Marc Bolan & T-Rex

...my son gave me the Born to Boogie DVD along with a bottle of Bacardi and some mints, I reckoned it was time for a few drinks and a little nostalgia. If you hear a few sniffles or sobs don't worry I'll be happy.

The DVD comes in a white box with a silhouette of Marc sitting on a tiger in its centre. Above this are the rather large diamond studded letters of T. REX and above this in red letters Marc Bolan. Underneath the silhouette is ...
...DISC ONE

Born to Boogie the movie
T.Rex in concert
Born to Boogie Original Trailer


DISC TWO

T.Rex in concert
Cosmic Rock a documentary
Re-Born to Boogie Info on the rebuilding of the movie


DISC ONE OPINION

My first impressions of the movie were good, I thought perhaps it was a bit weird, but in the seventies what wasn't. Most of ... more

I've been a Marc Bolan fan longer than I care to remember. I first got into Marc whilst in the army and stationed in Germany. It seemed easier to get hold of Albums in Germany than anywhere else, so I counted myself Lucky having had first listen to many a great Album. Reviewing this Legacy from my hero is going to be a pleasure for me and I hope some if not all of this pleasure is passed on to you.

Don McCleans' American Pie always reminds me of Marc Bolan because for me the line "the day the music died" refers to September the 16th 1977. this was the day that Marc was killed in a car accident. I don't know if I'd go as far as to call myself a poet, but if it hadn't been for Marc Bolan I don't think you'd be able to read many of my works here on Ciao. It was his words more than his music that inspired me, such lines as "I want to give every child the chance to dance" and " Deep in my heart there is a house that can hold just about all of you"

So when my son gave me the Born to Boogie DVD along with a bottle of Bacardi and some mints, I reckoned it was time for a few drinks and a little nostalgia. If you hear a few sniffles or sobs don't worry I'll be happy.

The DVD comes in a white box with a silhouette of Marc sitting on a tiger in its centre. Above this are the rather large diamond studded letters of T. REX and above this in red letters Marc Bolan. Underneath the silhouette is the DVD title Born to Boogie. At the very bottom are a few of the stars on the DVD namely, T.Rex, Marc Bolan, Ringo Starr and Elton John. On the back of the box is a list of Scenes and things you can expect to find on the DVD.

Inside is an information booklet and two DVD's.

DISC ONE

Born to Boogie the movie
T.Rex in concert
Born to Boogie Original Trailer

DISC TWO

T.Rex in concert
Cosmic Rock a documentary
Re-Born to Boogie Info on the rebuilding of the movie

DISC ONE OPINION

My first impressions of the movie were good, I thought perhaps it was a bit weird, but in the seventies what wasn't. Most of the film is taken up with sets of Marc doing his most popular songs. I enjoyed this since most of the footage I'd never seen before. The acoustic sets were particular enjoyable. I'm probably a bit thick but I didn't see much of a story or theme to the movie. There we memorable performances form both Ringo Starr and Elton John, but the enigmatic Bolan was obviously in his glory and the star quality shone through. I am not going to be biased and say he was an actor because once you have watched this no matter how big a Bolan fan you could not possibly class him as an actor. As a performer though he is amazing. Watching this the Bolanmania hysteria of my seventies youth came rushing back. At times I thought Mickey Finn who plays bongos and tom toms wished he was elsewhere or he was on something. The latter is probably the answer. If I'm totally honest you really have to be a T.Rex/Bolan fan to get the most out of this. I can easily see non-worshippers turning off after the first few minutes. And that's fair enough if this isn't your bag man. See even the lingo is coming back LOL.

The quality of the DVD is not top notch by far but is good considering the amount of repair necessary to get this project completed. There is a part of the DVD devoted to the restoration of the film.

THE CONCERT

The Concert is that of the 18th may evening performance and is of better quality than the movie, and has you foot-tapping in no time. The scenes of the fans and the outlandish seventies gear had me laughing until I saw some stuff I'd actually worn myself. Once again though this is strictly for seventies freaks or T.Rex fans. Lots of memories came flooding back and I wished if even just for the length of the DVD that I could time travel back and be there just one more time.

The tracks played at the Concert start with I wanna walk you home, followed by Jeepster. Bolan then goes into acoustic mode for Baby Strange, Spaceball Ricochet, Girl and Cosmic Dancer. For me this is the best section of the Concert the lyrics, acoustic guitar and Marc's Cockney tones and pronunciations send me into the world of Mystical Charm. The last 4 tracks of the Concert take us back to the Electric raunchiness of Telegram Sam, Hot Love, Get it on and Sunmertime Blues. The Get it On tracks last for fully 7 minutes and during this time the camera intermingles with the crowd to see the hysteria that was Bolanmania.

BORN TO BOOGIE ORIGINAL TRAILER

This was pretty much like any other trailer the best scenes being used to advertise the movie.

It is at this point the Bacardi begins to kick in and I decide that Disc Two is a job for tomorrow. The Bacardi however shall remain open for the foreseeable future. The mints remain intact at present but an attack upon them is imminent.

DISC TWO OPINION

THE CONCERT

This was the matinee concert of the 18th May 1972. The track sequence is the same as that for the evening, with the only difference being the clothes and Baby Strange not being the acoustic version. Also Get it on is not 7 minutes long.

THE DOCUMENTARY

The documentary is more of a question/answer session with Marc's son Rolan asking Bob Harris ( of old Grey Whistle test fame ) all about his father. There is a lot of info in here that many Bolan fans may not know, I certainly didn't. It is very interesting and again has some additional footage I had never seen.

THE RESTORATION

In this section Rolan Bolan narates and partake in our insight into the renovation of the original Movie. it shows how badly damaged the original was after being kept for years in a damp warm room. As I said before the quality is not great but is most certainly watchable.

T. REXTRAS

This section contains most out-takes with various interviews. Geofrey Blaydon ( Catweazel ) explains how he was drafted in to play the part of the waiter in Born to Boogie.

SUMMING UP

I loved this, but if you're not a Seventies Child or a T. Rex fan you probably are just going to skip through this. It lasts approximately 325 Mins. It's available at most good music stores and costs in the region £15.97.

I met a girl she is a changeless angel she's a city it's a pity that I'm like me. ( Marc Bolan )

So if you are a Bolan fan this is a must,otherwise it a very good glimpse of how crazy life was in the Seventies.

Thanks for reading Don

 

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