Is a kingly thing
From whence, you know,
We all do begin
And dressed as you are girl
In your fashions of fate,
Of the children, of men.
Fogged was their vision
Since the ages began
And lost like a lion
In the canyons of smoke,
that turntable scratch in the intro rules.
supremely cool song, amazing production. You can really hear Bowie's "Ziggy" sound on this, especially the background vocal bits.
<i>And dressed as you are girl
In your fashions of fate</i>
is a great line.
"The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars" was released in 1972, whereas "Electric Warrior" was released in 1971, when Bowie was releasing "Hunky Dory".
"The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars" was released in 1972, whereas "Electric Warrior" was released in 1971, when Bowie was releasing "Hunky Dory".
I am an ENORMOUS Bowie fan, don't get me wrong, and I have only recently turned on to (and thoroughly enjoyed) T. Rex. But dare I say, considering timelines, I'm going to have to agree with Child-Star, and suggest that maybe the background vocal influence was the other way around, perhaps? Bowie didn't use that background vocal style on Hunky Dory or his previous three albums.
I am an ENORMOUS Bowie fan, don't get me wrong, and I have only recently turned on to (and thoroughly enjoyed) T. Rex. But dare I say, considering timelines, I'm going to have to agree with Child-Star, and suggest that maybe the background vocal influence was the other way around, perhaps? Bowie didn't use that background vocal style on Hunky Dory or his previous three albums.
the backround vocals are go go singers, marc started glam, not bowie..marc started it all, he was a pop icon and took music too a new level, he was a man before his time, and thats not a turntable scratch in the into you goof its his guitar..marc wasent about his homies scratchin up the joint givin him what whats, he was an electric god, and an acoustic wonder. marc bolan will live on in my heart forever.
The "backround vocals" are Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (AKA Flo and Eddie, AKA The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie) They were previously 'The Turtles' and then were with Zappa as backing vocalists in 'The Mothers of Invention'. They were good friends with Bolan and helped him get started. They did the backing vocals and hand-claps on 'Summertime Blues'. Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr were also big supporters of Bolan and helped him immensely. His schtick wasn't really so much Glam as it was LOTR.
The "backround vocals" are Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (AKA Flo and Eddie, AKA The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie) They were previously 'The Turtles' and then were with Zappa as backing vocalists in 'The Mothers of Invention'. They were good friends with Bolan and helped him get started. They did the backing vocals and hand-claps on 'Summertime Blues'. Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr were also big supporters of Bolan and helped him immensely. His schtick wasn't really so much Glam as it was LOTR.
yeah, what next? Bolan Raps?
The "turntable scratch" is actually a guitar with a wah effect (same as the leads in the song). And yeah, Marc started glam. Monolith/Electric Warrior was a year before Ziggy Stardust, and Marc had started glam nearly a year earlier with his TotP performance of Ride a White Swan (nearly 2 years before Bowie released Ziggy, his first glam outing).
But, to the song... beautiful song. I remember (I think?), ages ago, hearing an interview with Marc where he describes the song as being about star/time-crossed lovers. To me, that's what the song is about... two lovers, or soulmates of some sort, desperate to be born in the same time and place (or at least trying to find each other but never aware enough to know where or how to begin) but it never happening. Kind of a continuation of Cosmic Dancer, which Marc often stated was about reincarnation. "From whence you know we all do begin/and dressed as you are, girl, in your fashions of fate/and baby, it's too late" and all that.
The beauty of these lyrics is they mean nothing and everything at the same time. The guitar solo adds another intangible that takes you away from the cares of daily life. This song is darn near perfect.