November 29th, 2023 - The Soul[ful] Tanx of T. Rex

 

Good evening rockers, ravers, and craft brew freaks!  The Meista here with a rockin' pairing for ya tonight... "Tanx", the wonderful 8th album by the indelible T. Rex and a bold, hoppy, and boozy Soulless Rex Triple India Pale Ale from Level Crossing Brewing Company! 

Album Info:

• Artist: T. Rex
• Title: "Tanx" 
• Recorded: August and October 1972 in Château d'Hérouville, France
• Release date: March 16th, 1973 (8th studio album by T. Rex)
• Record company: EMI / Reprise
• Production: Tony Visconti
• Album cover art: Peter Howe (photography) and John Kosh (design) 
• Personnel: Marc Bolan (guitar and lead vocals), Steve Currie (bass guitar), Mickey Finn (percussion and backing vocals), and Bill Legend (drums)
• Additional musicians: Howard Casey (saxophone), Flo & Eddie (backing vocals), and Tony Visconti (mellotron, string arrangements, and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Glam rock, rock and roll, and hard rock with elements of pop, soul, gospel, and folk rock
• Sound: For as simple as some of the songs sound initially, the T. Rex sound is huge, varied and very musical, and it just grooves and grooves from the opening notes of "Tenement Lady" to the final notes of "Left Hand Luke And The Beggar Boys"!
• Major themes: Rock and roll, the counterculture, glam, fashion, women, love, desire, sex, mysticism, dancing, joy, celebration, states of being, rebellion, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Tenement Lady"
2. "Rapids"
3. "Mister Mister"
4. "Broken Hearted Blues"
5. "Shock Rock"
6. "Country Honey"
7. "Electric Slim And The Factory Hen"
8. "Mad Donna"
9. "Born To Boogie"
10. "Life Is Strange"
11. "The Street And Babe Shadow"
12. "Highway Knees"
13. "Left Hand Luke And The Beggar Boys"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Level Crossing Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: https://levelcrossingbrewing.com/
• Brew: Soulless Rex Triple India Pale Ale
• Style: Triple India Pale Ale (TIPA) / Imperial IPA (IIPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 10.4% 
• IBUs: 104
• Ingredients: Great Western Pure Idaho Pilsner, and Great Western Munich malts, and El Dorado, El Dorado Whole Leaf, El Dorado Salvo, Simcoe, Simcoe Cryo, Columbus Lupomax, Ekuanot Cryo, Warrior Extract hops
• Pour: The Soulless Rex pours a very cloudy golden-amber with a 1-finger, off-white foamy head with good sustain and intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, dank, malty, herbal, and floral.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, orange zest, lemon zest, apricot, peach, fresh pineapple, wet pine needles, wildflowers, resinous cannabis, hearty multi-grain bread, black tea, and burnt toffee.
• Taste: The taste of the Soulless Rex follows the nose and is characterized by citrusy, earthy, malty, herbal, boozy, and bitter flavors.  There are notes of pine resin, grapefruit, orange pith, tangerine, dried apricot, pineapple, black tea, bitter herbs, biscuit, and sweet caramel/toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is with a dry, bitter, and boozy finish. 

Overall pairing:  The Level Crossing Soulless Rex is a very complex, punchy, and tasty brew... great for the glammy, funky, bluesy, hard rockin' onslaught that is the mighty T. Rex!!  Those crisp, complex, hoppy notes pair so very well with the soulful, yet hard hitting punch of the truly brilliant and underrated "Shade"!

CHEERS!!  ROCK ON!!