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Unicorn is a 1969 album by British band Tyrannosaurus Rex, comprising Marc Bolan (vocals, guitar) and Steve "Peregrin" Took (bongos, African drums, kazoo, pixiephone, Chinese gong). It reached number 12 in the UK charts.
The reverse cover of Unicorn follows a convention begun by Bob Dylan with Bringing It All Back Home: the pair are pictured lurking in a Bayswater flat surrounded by their influences: LPs, books and objets d'art. These range from the modish to the obscure – Charles Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, The Bible, works of William Blake, a Muddy Waters LP, table drums and toy cymbals, etc. The photo sums up Bolan's earnest playfulness and the duo's position as both typical within their scene and a unique proposition. The music on Unicorn, with its melancholic grandeur, sets the high water mark for pixie-rock. Along with the poetic quality of many of the lyrics ("Oh, the throat of winter is upon us / The barren barley fields refuse to sway"), the final track includes John Peel's reading of a short story.
[edit] Track listing
(All songs composed by Marc Bolan)
- "Chariots of Silk" – 2:26
- "'Pon a Hill" – 1:14
- "The Seal of Seasons" – 1:49
- "The Throat of Winter" – 1:59
- "Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat)" – 2:55
- "Stones for Avalon" – 1:37
- "She Was Born to Be My Unicorn" – 2:37
- "Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are" – 3:49
- "Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles" – 2:11
- "Evenings of Damask" – 2:26
- "The Sea Beasts" – 2:26
- "Iscariot" – 2:53
- "Nijinsky Hind" – 2:20
- "The Pilgrim's Tale" – 2:07
- "The Misty Coast of Albany" – 1:43
- "Romany Soup" – 5:40
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