A Beard Of Stars Album: 1970

A Bolan & Finn Folk-Psych Transition

Released as a vinyl album and cassette in the UK, on Regal Zonophone (catalogue: SLRZ 1013 / 1E 062 ○ 91091), on March 13, 1970 Tyrannosaurus Rex’s A Beard Of Stars — their fourth studio album — was the first as a duo (Bolan & Mickey Finn) after Steve Took’s departure. Produced by Tony Visconti, this 14-track folk-psych gem featured “Elemental Child,” “Pavilions Of Sun,” and “A Beard Of Stars.” Issued in fully laminated sleeve with lyric insert, plus cassette variant. Peaked at No. 21 on the Official Albums Chart for 6 weeks.

Album Overview

Tyrannosaurus Rex's prior album, Unicorn, had seen some success, prompting Bolan to switch to electric. In March 1969, he purchased an electric guitar and used it on both tracks of the July single "King of the Rumbling Spires / Do You Remember". Despite only reaching number 44 on the charts, Bolan was eager to continue his musical evolution but was hindered by worsening relations with his partner, percussionist Steve Peregrin Took, who was heavily involved with drugs and wanted to contribute songs to the group's next album. The initial sessions for the new album in the spring of 1969 were marked by tension. After an American tour in August and September of 1969, Took was quietly dismissed from the group, and Bolan placed an ad in Melody Maker seeking a replacement. By mid-October, he found Mickey Finn through his housemate, Pete Sanders, who also photographed the band's album covers, and sessions for the next album resumed on 31 October.

A Beard of Stars was the act's first album with the new lineup and featured Bolan on vocals, guitar, organ and bass with Finn on percussion and bass. It is notable for being the first album on which Bolan played an electric guitar, although that instrument had first appeared on the band's 1969 single "King of the Rumbling Spires" / "Do You Remember". According to Mark Deming of AllMusic, A Beard of Stars "was the turning point where Marc Bolan began evolving from an unrepentant hippie into the full-on swaggering rock star he would be within a couple of years, though for those not familiar with his previous work, it still sounds like the work of a man with his mind plugged into the age of lysergic enchantment".

Four tracks from this album - two of which were "Great Horse" and "Wind Cheetah"- were salvaged from May 1969 sessions for a fourth album with original percussionist Steve Peregrin Took in the wake of "King of the Rumbling Spires". These tracks were later overdubbed for release by Finn, Bolan and Visconti, with Took's parts mixed out entirely. A further four tracks from the spring sessions – rejected for the final album – subsequently surfaced on various compilations, three ("Once Upon the Seas of Abyssinia", "Blessed Wild Apple Girl," "Demon Queen") in Bolan's lifetime, the fourth ("Ill Starred Man") posthumously.

After a period of rehearsal at Plas Tan Y Bwlch cottage in Wales, sessions resumed at Trident with Mickey Finn on 31 October and finished on 13 November. As with all previous Tyrannosaurus Rex albums, Tony Visconti sat in the producer's chair and later remarked in his autobiography that "The album was made in a really good atmosphere, helped no end by Finn’s positive spirit, which all led to the sessions being very creative and experimental." Marc ended up playing most of the instruments on the record, with Finn contributing minimal additional percussion. The new music was still primarily acoustic based but somewhat simpler and more direct, with more obvious hooks now accentuated by electric guitar and bass. While lyrical content was still heavily grounded in Romantic poetry and Tolkien fantasy imagery, Bolan's enunciation was deliberately easier to understand. During a BBC concert taped on New Year's Day 1970, Bolan introduced "Dove" as his first love song.

A Beard of Stars was released in March 1970 by Regal Zonophone in the UK and Blue Thumb in the US.

The initial session with Finn on 31 October resulted in "A Day Laye", "Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart", "Organ Blues", and the instrumental title track. All songs were completed within two takes, except for "Organ Blues", which required six takes and did not produce a master. Work on "Organ Blues" continued on 3 November, while "Lofty Skies" and "By the Light of a Magical Moon" were recorded on 7 November; the first two takes of "By the Light of a Magical Moon" were fully electric, similar to its live performances.

A session on the 12th produced "Prelude", "Dove", and "Dragon's Ear" (recorded in two parts) as well as the master for "Organ Blues". The final session on 13 November recorded "Pavilions of Sun", "Woodland Bop", "Find A Little Wood", and "Elemental Child". "Find A Little Wood" was not included on the album and was instead used as the B-side of "By the Light of a Magical Moon", released in January 1970. The album's closing track, "Elemental Child", had its main body recorded separately from its extended guitar coda, with the two parts later joined in editing. This track, along with "Woodland Bop", "Pavilions of Sun", and "By The Light of a Magical Moon", reflected Bolan's growing interest in playing electric rock, indicating his future direction. He claimed to have taken informal guitar lessons from Eric Clapton prior to its composition.

Release Details

Label: Regal Zonophone.

Formats: Vinyl LP (laminated sleeve), cassette.

Full Track Listing

Side A

1. Prelude

2. A Day Laye

3. The Woodland Bop

4. Fist Heart Mighty Dawn Dart

5. Pavilions Of Sun

6. Organ Blues

7. By The Light Of A Magical Moon

8. Wind Cheetah

Side B

1. A Beard Of Stars

2. Great Horse

3. Dragon's Ear

4. Lofty Skies

5. Dove

6. Elemental Child

Cassette Album (TC-SLRZ 1013) – UK

Side A/B identical to vinyl.

- LP, Album – Regal Zonophone SLRZ 1013 – UK – 1970

- Cassette, Album – Regal Zonophone TC-SLRZ 1013 – UK – 1970

Singles from A Beard of Stars

"By the Light of a Magical Moon"

Released: 1970

Production and Context

Produced by Tony Visconti for Straight Ahead Productions. Lead Vocals/Guitar/Organ/Bass: Marc Bolan. Backing Vocals/Moroccan Clay Drums/Tabla/Bass/Finger Cymbals: Mickey Finn. First Bolan/Finn album — transition to electric T. Rex.

Official Albums Chart Data

Peak position: 21

6 weeks – March 14, 1970 to May 2, 1970

21 → 48 → 26 → 53 → 51 → 43

Do you have A Beard Of Stars in your vinyl stack? Ready for elemental child? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including Prince Vault, Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia, BBC Official Charts Company, Billboard Chart History and YouTube

Whilst every effort is made to provide accurate information, mistakes do happen. Simply leave a comment and the post will be updated. Thank you.