Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow is a 1974 album by Marc Bolan's band T. Rex, the ninth since the debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968. It was released on 1 February on the T.Rex record label, distributed by EMI. It was the first and only album to be credited to "Marc Bolan & T. Rex". Unlike many of T. Rex's previous albums, it was not released in the United States; instead, the U.S.-only Light of Love was released in August of the same year, featuring three tracks from Zinc Alloy and the remainder songs which would appear on T. Rex's next studio album, Bolan's Zip Gun. The album was met with bemusement by the listening public. It reportedly confused listeners and divided the band's fanbase at the time, while critical reception was universally negative. While critical re-evaluation has been slightly more favourable, it remains an oddity in the T. Rex canon.
Background and recording
was one of the first British artists to record at Musicland Studios in Munich; most basic recordings were done here during the second half of 1973. The T.Rex band was expanded for this release, incorporating second guitarist, Jack Green, session player B.J. Cole on pedal steel, and backing vocalists 'The Cosmic Choir', a soul duo comprising Bolan's lover, Gloria Jones and Sister Pat Hall, sometimes augmented by Gloria's brother Richard Jones.
Release
When originally released in the UK, the initial pressings were a multi-layered triple gatefold sleeve, a latticework image of the current cover featuring singer Marc Bolan's face in a pale gold surround, meant to fold-out into the 'Creamed Cage' of the subtitle. Japanese manufacturer Teichiku reinstated this as an elaborate limited edition paper sleeve in 2001. At the time of the UK release, Bolan's U.S. label Reprise had dropped him and he was struggling to find another U.S. label to sign him. When he finally got a deal with Casablanca Records he had recorded lots of new material, which the new record company decided to release along with a couple of tracks from Zinc Alloy as the Light of Love album in September 1974; thus, neither Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow nor Bolan's Zip Gun were issued in the U.S. in the '70s.
Reception
Zinc Alloy was poorly received upon release, reportedly dividing the band's fanbase. T. Rex would never reclaim their former glory while Marc was alive. Zinc Alloy marked a downturn in Bolan's fortunes – the contemporaneous album single, "Teenage Dream", made it only to No. 13 in the UK charts. While that would be a success for most groups, Bolan had spent all of 1971–1973 enjoying constant Top Ten and Top Five UK hits, including four number 1s. T. Rex would not enjoy another Top 20 UK hit until "New York City" in the summer of 1975.
Critical reception
The album reportedly received "universally hostile" reviews by music critics at the time of its release. Contemporary reviews have been more favourable. In a review of the 2014 vinyl box set reissue containing the album, The Guardian described it as "better than its reputation suggests", while The Quietus called it "a fantastic mess".
Reissues
Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow was first reissued on the Marc on Wax label in 1983. The original cover art couldn't be used for legal reasons. At this point, an anomalous ending not on the original album was tacked onto the end of the track "Teenage Dream" and appears on every subsequent reissue. The album was also expanded to include a bonus disc. The first disc being the original Zinc album, the second disc included all non-album singles and B-sides from 1974 – "Satisfaction Pony", "Light of Love", "Zip Gun Boogie" and "Space Boss". A companion release to the later Demon Records resissue, entitled Change , was released in 1996 and contained alternative versions, studio rough mixes, and demos of the main album and bonus tracks. The two were combined for a 2CD edition, which was released by Edsel and Rhino Records in 2002.
