Unicorn (Tyrannosaurus Rex album)

Unicorn
Studio album by Tyrannosaurus Rex
Released 16 May 1969
Recorded November 1968 – February 1969 at Trident Studios, London, England
Genre Psychedelic folk
Length 39:46
Label Regal Zonophone (UK), Blue Thumb (US)
Producer Tony Visconti
Tyrannosaurus Rex chronology

Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages
(1968)
Unicorn
(1969)
A Beard of Stars
(1970)

Unicorn is the third studio album by English psychedelic folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex (later known as T. Rex). It was released on 16 May 1969 by record labels Regal Zonophone and Blue Thumb, and was the last Tyrannosaurus Rex album to feature Steve Peregrin Took.

Content

Unicorn featured Marc Bolan on vocals and guitar and Took on bongos, African drums, kazoo, pixiphone and Chinese gong. The back cover depicted Bolan and Took surrounded by books that were relevant to the subject matter of the songs. The lyrics namechecked William Blake as well as the Cottingley Fairies, a famous case of two children's photographs of alleged fairies taken near their Yorkshire home.

The final song on the album, "Romany Soup", featured John Peel (an early supporter of the band) reciting a short story written by Bolan.

Release

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]

Unicorn was released on 16 May 1969 by Regal Zonophone in the UK and Blue Thumb in the US; it was their first album to be released in the US. It reached No. 12 in the UK Albums Chart.[2]

Unicorn was the last of Tyrannosaurus Rex's albums to feature Took; Bolan fired him after refusing to include Took's songs for the next album.

In 2004, the album was remastered and reissued by A&M Records.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Marc Bolan. 

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "Chariots of Silk"   2:26
2. "Pon a Hill"   1:14
3. "The Seal of Seasons"   1:49
4. "The Throat of Winter"   1:59
5. "Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat)"   2:55
6. "Stones for Avalon"   1:37
7. "She Was Born to Be My Unicorn"   2:37
8. "Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are"   3:49
Side B
No. Title Length
1. "Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles"   2:11
2. "Evenings of Damask"   2:26
3. "The Sea Beasts"   2:26
4. "Iscariot"   2:53
5. "Nijinsky Hind"   2:20
6. "The Pilgrim's Tale"   2:07
7. "The Misty Coast of Albany"   1:43
8. "Romany Soup"   5:40

References

External links