Futuristic Dragon
	Produced by Tony Visconti
	Released on February 1976
	UK CHART POSITION #50
	Find it at GEMM
8252-2 cover [high resolution scan]

K ronomyth 14.0: DRAGON ON. The shapes in the glamstand were dwindling now. Bowie was twice removed from it and krafting new werks of sound, leaving Bolan the logical emperor of a dying empire. Futuristic Dragon reached back to the past, to Bowie’s Diamond Dogs, for inspiration, emulating the opening “Future Legend/Rebel Rebel” for his “Futuristic Dragon/Jupiter Liar.” It didn’t pack the same punch, of course, and set the stage for an unspectacular set of beglittered glamrock that occasionally rose above its superficial senses in large part due to Tony Visconti’s still-sympathetic production. Those holding a candle for T.Rex will find it lit by the glitter of “All Alone,” “Dawn Storm,” “Jupiter Liar” and “New York City.” None of them are as serenely strange as a “Ballroom of Mars” or “Metal Guru,” but are nearly interchangeable with the album filler from his vintage work and thus a compelling chapter for completists. With the arrival of Tanx came the realization that the T. Rex machine could (and would) break down, a victim of its operator’s juggernaut lifestyle. Glam was, as Bowie realized, a beautiful butterfly with gilded wings meant to distract children for an hour, not serve as a source of lasting art. Bowie and his butterflies moved on, Bolan remained, mounted a dragon and came crashing down to earth. A halfhearted pursuit of disco and reggae is heard on some of these songs, a less-than-glorias vision of what might have been. The golden hour of distraction belongs to Electric Warrior and The Slider and what followed could easily be seen as gilded outtakes. If you’re intent on arming yourself with Tanx and Zip Gun anyway, then you might as well bring Zinc Alloy and Dragon along for the ride too. On them is the uneven brilliance of a dying star, the last light from a far-out galaxy that had promised a new homeworld to the disenfranchised for one heavenly hour.

TRACK LISTING

1. FUTURISTIC DRAGON (INTRO)    1:51
2. JUPITER LIAR    3:40
3. CHROME SITAR    3:13
4. ALL ALONE    2:48
5. NEW YORK CITY    3:55
6. MY LITTLE BABY    3:06
7. CALLING ALL DESTROYERS    3:52
8. THEME FOR A DRAGON    2:00
9. SENSATION BOULEVARD    3:48
10. RIDE MY WHEELS    2:26
11. DREAMY LADY    2:52
12. DAWN STORM    3:41
13. CASUAL AGENT    2:54
    
    CD reissue bonus tracks
    
14. LONDON BOYS
15. LASER LOVE
16. LIFE'S AN ELEVATOR
    
    All songs composed by Marc Bolan
    

CREDITS

MARC BOLAN -- vocals, guitar, moog
STEVE CURRIE -- bass
DINO DINES -- organ, keyboards
GLORIA JONES -- vocals, clavinet
DAVEY LUTTON -- drums
Paul Fenton -- drums
Jimmy Haskell -- string arrangements
Tyrone Scott -- vocals
Gary Ulmer -- engineer
Ray -- engineer
Mike -- engineer
George Underwood -- cover art work

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