01	Metal Guru						02:29
	02	Mystic Lady						03:14
	03	Rock On						03:26
	04	The Slider						03:22
	05	Baby Boomerang						02:16
	06	Spaceball Ricochet						03:36
	07	Buick Mackane						03:34
	08	Telegram Sam						03:45
	09	Rabbit Fighter						03:55
	10	Baby Strange						03:06
	11	Ballrooms Of Mars						04:07
	12	Chariot Choogle						02:45
	13	Main Man						04:20
	14	Cadillac						03:53
	15	Thunderwing						03:46
	16	Lady						02:12

The Slider
Date of Release Jul 21, 1972

Buoyed by two U.K. number one singles in "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru," The Slider became T. Rex's most popular record on both sides of the Atlantic, despite the fact that it produced no hits in the U.S. The Slider essentially replicates all the virtues of Electric Warrior, crammed with effortless hooks and trashy fun. All of Bolan's signatures are here - mystical folk-tinged ballads, overt sexual come-ons crooned over sleazy, bopping boogies, loopy nonsense poetry, and a mastery of the three-minute pop song form. The main difference is that the trippy mix of Electric Warrior is replaced by a fuller, more immediate-sounding production. Bolan's guitar has a harder bite, the backing choruses are more up-front, and the arrangements are thicker-sounding, even introducing a string section on some cuts (both ballads and rockers). Even with the beefier production, T. Rex still doesn't sound nearly as heavy as many of the bands it influenced (and even a few of its glam contemporaries), but that's partly intentional - Bolan's love of a good groove takes precedence over fast tempos or high-volume crunch. Lyrically, Bolan's flair for the sublimely ridiculous is fully intact, but he has way too much style for The Slider to sound truly stupid, especially given the playful, knowing wink in his delivery. It's nearly impossible not to get caught up in the irresistible rush of melodies and cheery good times. Even if it treads largely the same ground as Electric Warrior, The Slider is flawlessly executed, and every bit the classic that its predecessor is. - Steve Huey

1. Metal Guru (Bolan) - 2:25
2. Mystic Lady (Bolan) - 3:09
3. Rock On (Bolan) - 3:26
4. The Slider (Bolan) - 3:22
5. Baby Boomerang (Bolan) - 2:17
6. Spaceball Ricochet (Bolan) - 3:37
7. Buick Mackane (Bolan) - 3:31
8. Telegram Sam (Bolan) - 3:42
9. Rabbit Fighter (Bolan) - 3:55
10. Baby Strange (Bolan) - 3:03
11. Ballrooms of Mars (Bolan) - 4:09
12. Chariot Choogle (Bolan) - 2:45
13. Main Man (Bolan) - 4:14
14. Cadillac [*] (Bolan) - 3:51
15. Thunderwing [*] (Bolan) - 3:46
16. Lady [*] (Bolan) - 2:12


Ringo Starr - Photography
Mickey Finn - Percussion, Conga, Vocals, Hand Percussion
Marc Bolan - Guitar, Composer, Vocals
Steve Currie - Bass
David Katz - Orchestra Contractor
Freddy Hansson - Engineer
Howard Kaylan - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Tony Visconti - Producer, String Arrangements
Mark Volman - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Chris Welch - Liner Notes
Bill Legend - Drums
Dominique - Engineer
Mark Paytress - Liner Notes
Micky Marmalade - Roadie
Mick OHalloran - Roadie

CD Relativity 88561-8253-2
LP Reprise MS-2095
CS Reprise M5-2095
CD Relativity 8253
1972 LP EMI 5001
1991 CD Relativity 8253
1992 CD Castle MAR503
1992 CS Relativity 8253
1995 CD Edsel 390
1997 CD Mercury 534355
2002 CD Repertoire 4891
2002 CD Repertoire 4891
2003 LP Get Back 633




Metal Guru
Composed By Marc Bolan

AMG REVIEW: Arguably T. Rex's most eternal single, and certainly among their most triumphantly flamboyant. Though it did nothing in the U.S., "Metal Guru" brought T. Rex their fourth U.K. chart-topper in a year at the same time as it ushered in the majesty of The Slider; it opened the album with a yell of pure joy before slamming into a lyric whose buoyant nursery rhyme quality seriously belied its content. "It's a festival of life song," Bolan explained. "I relate "Metal Guru" to all gods around...someone special, a godhead. I thought how god would be, he'd be all alone without a telephone." - Dave Thompson



Slider
Composed By Marc Bolan

AMG REVIEW: The title track to the brilliant T. Rex album from 1972, "The Slider" succeeded note for note at capturing a more fragile side to Marc Bolan's persona while losing none of his patented sense of steamy, purring sexuality. Similarly, the music balanced out tenderness and bite, making the song one of the fans' most favored over the years, though it never appeared as a single. Tony Visconti's skill at production was rarely clearer than here, his deft, abbreviated orchestrations filling out the main track just enough while the warm blend of voice and music sounded just lush and right enough. Starting with a great intro courtesy of Bill Legend's drums, the whole band hits a slow, slinky groove from the start and never lets up, and even though Bolan may sing lines like "I could never see that the cosmic sea was like a bumblebee," somehow it all works. When the chorus hits, Bolan sings, then sighs, "When I'm sad, I slide!," with Flo and Eddie's wordless backing vocals and a layer of flange to boot, the final touch. Bolan's riff here was one of his best, adding a touch of snarl and feedback for effect - all that was needed. - Ned Raggett



Buick Mackane
Composed By Marc Bolan

AMG REVIEW: Marc Bolan tried, bless him, but the next Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton he wasn't. Which might have been all for the best in the case of the latter, avoiding studious, snoozy guitar "mastery" for infectious pop classics as T. Rex generally did. Every so often he let himself go, and in the case of The Slider's "Buick Mackane," it was actually all for the good. Bolan described it as his "Zep Rex" effort, and though self-consciously serious music fans dismissed all of T. Rex as pop trash, it's not too hard to imagine that side of the early-'70s rock audience getting down to this one as much as Bolan's core audience. Starting with a strong opening riff, matched by Tony Visconti's string arrangement before the full band kicks in, "Buick Mackane" is T. Rex in bold and brassy mode, sassy strut in full effect. The Steve Currie/ Bill Legend rhythm section was on fire here, at once metal stomp and funky stuff, while the string section and guitar mania carried the rest with ease. Visconti's production perfectly balances noise and groove, letting Bolan's riffing lead but not overpower the pace as the song hits the extended instrumental close. - Ned Raggett



Telegram Sam
Composed By Marc Bolan

AMG REVIEW: Marc Bolan's first single of 1972 was also the first release on his own T Rex Wax Co label, and was devoted, fittingly, to the manager who landed him the label (and an awful lot of money) in the first place, former Moody Blues/ Move overseer Tony Secunda. "Telegram Sam" was Bolan's affectionate nickname for his "main man" Secunda; in another verse, "Jungle-face Jake" was named for Sid Walker, Secunda's black assistant. Among the other characters peopling the song, Bobby is - no surprise - Bob Dylan, a "natural born poet who's just outta sight." Ever willing to muddy the waters, however, Bolan once added that the song was also "written about someone I met in New York who used to do little services for me." A taut rocker bristling with power and excitement and nailed by one of Bolan's most insistent riffs, "Telegram Sam" was recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the public's first glimpse into what would become T. Rex's next album, the masterful The Slider. Of course it topped the U.K. chart with effortless ease, while it became the band's fourth (and final) U.S. hit, reaching number 67 that spring. A radically tougher working version of the song appeared on the Bump'n'Grind rarities collection, but adds little to the familiar take. - Dave Thompson



Baby Strange
Composed By Marc Bolan

AMG REVIEW: One couplet runs "I wanna call ya/I wanna ball ya," which gives away the fact that it's not quite 1956 in terms of this being the product of a number one English singer. But the genius of "Baby Strange," a track from T. Rex's excellent album The Slider, is that it is the sound of that decade upgraded for a newer time, right from the "And a one and a two and a boppely doppely do!" start. Admittedly, Marc Bolan's playing had often won comparisons to the birth of rock & roll - his guitar work in particular had any number of references to that time, especially the work of Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson. But far from being a simple revivalist, Bolan spiked his punch with not merely his self-conscious star imagery but his sly, sweet whisper, seemingly at odds with the electric bite the songs so often provided. Bill Legend's drum hits come through loud and clean, further tribute to Tony Visconti's genius production work of the time, while his addition of strings throughout, descending notes matching the guitar work in the chorus, adds to the combination of upfront sass and gentle moodiness. Top it off with Bolan's own brand of pixie dust, and it's another unfailing success from his best period - it's no wonder Big Star chose to cover this on its live reunion album from 1992. - Ned Raggett



Ballrooms of Mars
Composed By Marc Bolan

AMG REVIEW: Of the many delights on T. Rex's glam triumph The Slider, "Ballrooms of Mars" is one of the most atypical, miles away from the usual strutting cool of that band at its best. While Marc Bolan's songs in the early Tyrannosaurus Rex days could be weirdly weepy in their own right, it was a strange, aggressive sort of emotion, rather unlike the slow, unsettled aura here. The overdubbed combination of acoustic and electric guitars that Bolan made his unsurprisingly is the heart of the song, but Tony Visconti's production is just alien enough, with the echo cranked up heavy on both the drums and Bolan's own not-quite-there singing. With the descending chords typical of Bolan's work to the fore throughout as the song's stately pace unfolds, his cryptic lyrics about "dancing our lives away" in the title locale are what give the song its mystery. Then there are the trademark references to rock history via mentions of Bob Dylan, Alan Freed, and, in one great moment, this sly line: " John Lennon knows your name/And I've seen his." - Ned Raggett