46. T. Rex: Born to Boogie (1972) - Dir. Ringo Starr
In 1972, during the heighth of “T. Rextasy,” (Marc Bolan's version of Beatlemania), when T. Rex albums were selling as many as 100,000 units a day, the band played two sold out shows at the Empire Pool, Wembley. This was to be the biggest event of the band's career, and Ringo Starr was on hand to direct what would surely become one of the all time great rock 'n roll films. With Tony Visconti on hand to over see the audio production, Born to Boogie is an all time rock 'n roll classic deftly capturing T. Rex's signature glam-rock sound, as well as offering up an endearing snapshot of an altogether wild era.
A well-produced concert film should accomplish a variety of things in addition to showcasing a great performance. A concert film should work as a reflection of the performer's personality, and, in Born to Boogie, Starr and Bolan do this in expert fashion. In between footage of the actual concert are a small handful of esoteric skits bordering on drugged-out, hallucinatory, masturbation: in other words, an essence of rock 'n roll itself. One of these skits features Ringo Starr, dressed as a mouse, and Marc Bolan, dressed as the Mad Hatter, parked in a car being eaten by a midget Dracula. Another one of these skits features the same trio, along with a table of nuns, scarfing down some chow at a BBQ. During this surreal picnic, Marc Bolan, playing an acoutsitc guitar, joins a string quartet for an impromptu jam session featuring a five-song T. Rex medley. Taken on their own, out of context, the skits don't amount to much at all, however, in context to Bolan's jester-like persona and the band's signature brand of boogie-infused glam-rock, the skits are a direct reflection of T. Rex's identity.
A well-made concert film should also capture the era in which the performance occurred, and make the viewers jealous for not being a part of the experience. Born to Boogie extracts the essence of the early 1970's glam-rock scene, and amplifies the experience in all of its outlandish fashion. It also makes me curse the fact that I wasn't born in England, 10-15 years earlier. The concert showcased is amazing, and the footage of the crowd, dancing around like a bunch of goofy looking kids all hopped up on goofballs, high on the ecstasy of pure rock, perfectly captures the milieu of the scene. Born to Boogie stands as a time capsule, both in a macro and micro sense. It exudes the style and attitude of an entire genre and era, while it is also an intimate reflection of a particular band and their unique style of music.
However, the most important aspect of a concert film should be the music, and the music on display here is incredible. It's groovy, loud, rambunctious, and screams out to be danced to - it's boogie, baby, let's get up and rock! The concert itself is competently filmed; the cameramen capture great footage of the entire band, and the footage is edited to keep the energy tense. The highlights of the performance are a surprisingly quiet, acoustic rendition of Cosmic Dancer, and a nearly ten-minute long, freak-out, jam-session, better known as Bang a Gong. It is during this song that band members Mickey Finn (percussion), Bill Legend (drums), and Steve Currie (bass), really get to shine and take their instrumentation into the stratosphere. There is also an amazing in-studio performance of Children of the Revolution which features the entire band along with Ringo Starr on a second drum set and Elton John on the keys. This particular performance is one of my favorite all time musical moments; it rocks so hard it hurts.
As good as everything else is, at the end of the day, Marc Bolan is the real star of the show. His afro-like mop of brown curly hair, bobbing up and down as he bangs his head in perfect unison to the groove-infused, infectious rock, is an iconic symbol: the visage of all guitar-playing man-gods. Bolan always looked as if he was having a blast playing the guitar, his constant smile accompanied by guttural growls, hollers, and snarls, are all constant reminders that he was doing exactly what he was put on this earth to do: to rock his freaking soul out. It's hard to imagine a more perfect representation of all things rock 'n roll, and Marc Bolan had the skill to back up his outrageous personality.
Glam rock died on September 16, 1977. Perhaps, more importantly, a part of rock 'n roll itself died on this day, the day that the guitar-playing man-god, Marc Bolan, took his place on stage for the great gig in the sky. Nobody made rockin' out look more fun and effortless than Marc Bolan, and his band, T. Rex, was one of rock 'n roll's great influences. Although they were around for less than ten years, their legacy continues in force, while their sound, even today, remains fresh, infections, and immensely enjoyable. It's almost impossible to hear tunes such as Jeepster, Bang a Gong, and Cosmic Dancer, and not feel like busting out the air-guitar and grooving around, where ever you are, modesty be damned; watch out, make some room, T. Rex is on the hi-fi and nothin' else matters - YEAH!
