Always the self promoter, please allow me to point out that I was a regular reader of Melody Maker after the English Invasion took hold. Melody Maker, and to a lesser extent, Rave magazine, were the only places to discover things that were happening under the radar in UK rock/ pop music, which is to say, beyond the charts. That's where I first read about projects like Gong, David Bowie, Fairfield Convention, the Creation, the Incredible String Band, and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
It wasn't every newsstand that carried those publications. You had to search a bit. I had to get off the subway, go upstairs, walk about a block, and then backtrack and pay another fifteen cents to get back on the subway. It was worth it.
I do not approve of the current ambiguation caused by the mixing up of Tyrannosaurus Rex and T. Rex. Predictably, I also totally approve of T. Rex as a band, and I had/ have all of their records. But T. Rex was later on and it was a completely different animal than Tyrannosaurus Rex. As you can hear. This earlier iteration was a lo-fi labor of love and a desperate cry to the rock-gods to "fund me!" Tyrannosaurus Rex really got my attention. This shit is boss, and it was also a bit otherworldly. It was simple, weird, ambitious, catchy, and charismatic.
Anyway, enjoy.
