51-860: Sculpture by Arthur Woods For the song by T. Rex, see Electric Warrior . For the compilation album, see Shakespears Sister . Cosmic Dancer is a sculpture by Swiss-American artist Arthur Woods that travelled to the Russian Mir space station in May 1993. See also [ edit ] Space art References [ edit ] ^ Wilson, Stephen (2002). Information Arts: Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology . MIT Press . pp. 269 . ISBN 9780262731584 . ^ "Cosmic Dancer: A space art project by Arthur Woods" . outer-space-art-gallery.com/ . Retrieved 18 November 2014 . External links [ edit ] Cosmic Dancer -
102-507: A Gong (Get It On)" by the US record company, it also became the band's only North American hit. Electric Warrior has since received acclaim as a pivotal release in the glam rock movement. It had a profound influence on later musicians of different genres. As T. Rex re-entered the studio to record its next album in March 1971, the band was riding a wave of sudden success prompted by its first single, " Ride
153-709: A Gong" for the American market, became the group's only top ten hit in that country. Marc Bolan , in a 1971 interview contained on the Rhino Records reissue, said of the album, "I think Electric Warrior , for me, is the first album which is a statement of 1971 for us in England. I mean that's... If anyone ever wanted to know why we were big in the other part of the world, that album says it, for me." In another interview that year responding to charges that his music had "sold out" to commercialism, he stated "We didn't sell out or change
204-516: A White Swan ", hitting number 2 in the UK charts that January, followed by " Hot Love " which topped the charts for six straight weeks through March and April. While promoting "Hot Love" on Top of the Pops on March 24, Marc Bolan had appeared in a silver satin suit with glitter under his eyes, sparking the glam rock craze. At the same time, the self-titled debut T. Rex album peaked within the top 10 and demand for
255-413: A few records that are most important for me, which I periodically stick on to remind myself just how good records can be. [...] I have a duty to at least try and make something as sweet and irresistible as this". Morrissey covered "Cosmic Dancer" live in 1991, both solo and for a one-off duet with David Bowie during an encore at a Los Angeles concert; a version was included as a b-side for " Pregnant for
306-592: A four-piece band with full bass and drums; only three songs retained primarily acoustic arrangements. Sonic tricks employed on the album identified by producer Tony Visconti , which had been gradually developed over the past five albums, included flanging, reverb, backwards guitars, tape loops, and plugging the guitar directly into the console to overload the mike preamplifiers. In addition, session players included Yes maestro Rick Wakeman on piano ("Get It On"), jazz trumpeter Burt Collins on flugelhorn ("Girl") and King Crimson's Ian McDonald on sax ("Rip-Off"), along with
357-543: A space art intervention by Arthur Woods Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cosmic_Dancer&oldid=1181779961 " Categories : Mir 1993 sculptures Dance in art Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Electric Warrior Electric Warrior is the second studio album by English rock band T. Rex and their sixth since their 1968 debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex, released on 24 September 1971. The album marked
408-567: A string of tours, interviews, radio, and TV appearances through late 1971 and early 1972. Besides multiple appearances on Top of the Pops the group also appeared on European shows like Beat-Club , Starparade and Hits A Go-Go . A fall 1971 tour of the UK provoked scenes of fan hysteria unprecedented since the heyday of Beatlemania , causing the press to dub the new craze "T. Rextacy". A short US tour in February 1972 of mid-sized venues proved moderately successful as " Get It On ", redubbed "Bang
459-533: A string section and ex-Turtles Flo & Eddie on androgynous backing vocals, which when fused together created a highly distinctive sound. Initial work on the album began on March 5 at Trident Studios in London, where the previous albums had been recorded, with an early version of "Planet Queen" put to tape. On March 16 similarly rough versions of "Mambo Sun" and "Cosmic Dancer" were laid down with no producer present and no particular plan for an album yet. Remakes of
510-507: A trio of brilliant albums," stating that "When T.Rex is kicking out the jams, they sound like they're having the most gleeful, absurd good time ever committed to wax," but adding that "the most significant aspect of Electric Warrior isn't its arena rock confidence; it's that Bolan allows his grinning mask to slip [...] On ballads like 'Cosmic Dancer', 'Monolith' and 'Girl', he speaks in the same gibberish as elsewhere, but he's clearly haunted-- by what we can't say." In 1987, Electric Warrior
561-567: A turning point in the band's style, moving away from the folk -oriented sound of the group's previous albums and pioneering a more flamboyant, pop -oriented glam rock style. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and became the best-selling album of 1971 in that country. Specifically, the single " Get It On " helped to boost the album's sales, reaching the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Retitled "Bang
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#1733085411616612-402: Is that rock is ultimately as quaint as wizards and unicorns, and finally, as defunct. Gerson concluded that the album established Bolan as "the heaviest rocker under 5’4″ in the world today." The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau was reserved in his praise: "A freak hit turned [Bolan] into a singer of rhythmic fairy tales for British pre-pubes, exactly what he was always suited for, and
663-529: Is the diet of any child of rock, impress them with his own individual penchant for lyrics and a finely tuned producer's ear, and drag them kicking and screaming into '71". Chris Welch at Melody Maker gushed that "Marc's music is getting better all the time" while Martin Hayman of Sounds claimed it was "all down to the new, dynamic T. Rex of their recent single releases, with a much fuller, stronger sound than before". Val Mabbs of Record Mirror called it by far
714-636: The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album . Visconti was born in Brooklyn , New York , to parents of Italian descent . He started to play the ukulele when he was five years old and then learned guitar. He attended New Utrecht High School . Throughout his teenage years Visconti was involved with both a classical brass band (playing tuba ) and a traditional orchestra (playing double bass ), as well as playing rock-and-roll-oriented guitar, valuable experience that served him well in later years. By
765-665: The Manic Street Preachers album Lifeblood . In 2005, he collaborated with Copenhagen band Kashmir , whose fifth album, No Balance Palace , featured David Bowie . He has also collaborated as co-writer and producer on an album project by Richard Barone . He worked in Rome and produced the No. 1 UK album by Morrissey Ringleader of the Tormentors . His autobiography, Bowie, Bolan and The Brooklyn Boy , co-written with Richard Havers ,
816-557: The Beatles ' Apple label. He produced the first two albums by influential progressive rock band Gentle Giant . Shortly afterwards, Visconti began to work again with Bowie and, along with guitarist Mick Ronson and drummer John Cambridge, formed and toured with the band The Hype , in which he played bass. Although the band name would be very short-lived, most of the line-up persisted and—with Woody Woodmansey replacing Cambridge—would go on to record Bowie's album and single The Man Who Sold
867-595: The Cure said that they listened to it during their formative years: "We were listening to T.Rex at this time,” [...] “I recall Robert [Smith] had a copy of Electric Warrior ". The Slits 's guitarist Viv Albertine also mentioned a special liking for this album for "the whole sound, the whole cartoony, sexual, and humourous [ sic ] thing, it's very English as well. I think Prince has taken so much from Bolan." PJ Harvey 's main collaborator John Parish included it in his favourites: "when I'm working... I like to have
918-454: The Last Time ". Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream has cited "Get it On" as one of his all-time favorite pop songs, adding "When I was growing up, singles were an art statement. [...] People like [..] T. Rex were changing all the time. As a fan you wanted to know what they were going to wear and whether you could follow them to that new place". The Pixies recorded a version of "Mambo Sun" for
969-855: The Ned Harvey Band and the Speedy Garfin Band, before joining a touring version of The Crew-Cuts , where he met his future wife. As Tony and Siegrid, the pair released two singles; the first, "Long Hair," was a regional hit in New York in 1966, but they could not maintain its success. Visconti then became in-house producer for his publisher, the Richmond Organization . Through this position, in 1968, he met British producer Denny Cordell , who asked him to assist in recordings for successful jazz vocalist Georgie Fame , prompting Visconti to move to London. One of his first production projects in England
1020-713: The United States, "Get It On"'s title was originally changed to "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to distinguish it from Chase's song "Get It On", which was also released in late 1971. "Jeepster" managed to reach number 2 in the UK although it was released by Fly without Bolan's permission, making him reluctant to promote it. In a positive 1972 review for Rolling Stone , Ben Gerson noted Bolan's transition from his earlier fairytale lyrics, noting that now "his targets are your common rock & roll cliches, as well as your common pseudo-poetic, pseudo-philosophical rock & roll cliches [...] What Marc seems to be saying on Electric Warrior
1071-643: The World in 1970. He would further go on to work on Bowie's albums Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Low (1977), "Heroes" (1977), Lodger (1979), Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (1980), Heathen (2002), Reality (2003), The Next Day (2013), and his final album, Blackstar (2016). In late 1970 and early 1971 Visconti produced both the debut and second albums by UK Afrorock pioneers Osibisa. These were 1971’s self titled debut and its follow up Woyaya. Both albums also featured early examples of Roger Dean’s artwork. Visconti scored
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#17330854116161122-488: The World . Since 2015 he has toured the UK, Japan , and the US with the Bowie cover band Holy Holy , playing the album in its entirety and other early Bowie classics, along with the album's original drummer Mick Woodmansey and other well-known musicians, including singer Glenn Gregory and guitarist James Stevenson . The band have followed this up with later shows in which they perform The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and
1173-528: The age of 15 he had focused his efforts on playing in local Brooklyn bands. After leaving school he played guitar in a band called Ricardo & the Latineers in the Catskills ; the band also included Artie Butler , later a leading arranger . In 1960 he played his first recording session and over the next few years became one of the leading guitarists in New York nightclubs . He played in lounge acts , including
1224-565: The album and performed live in concert with Barone on numerous occasions. Visconti produced the 2013 David Bowie album The Next Day and remixed and remastered both The Slider anniversary box set and Electric Warrior 40th-anniversary box set by T. Rex. In 2013, he produced Solar Secrets by Capsula . In 2014 Visconti produced and arranged several tracks on Marc Almond 's album The Dancing Marquis . Almond had wanted to work with Visconti since hearing some of Visconti's earliest production work with T-Rex and David Bowie, stating, "It
1275-597: The b-side of one of their singles. "Cosmic Dancer" is featured prominently in the soundtrack of the final segment of the 2019 Netflix documentary Dancing with the Birds , in which a male Carola's parotia successfully woos a female into mating with his courtship display . It was also played in the opening sequence of the 2000 film Billy Elliot . "Jeepster" can be heard playing on a jukebox in Quentin Tarantino 's 2007 film Death Proof . "Planet Queen" and "Get it On"
1326-564: The band ran through " Get It On ", "Monolith" and a remake of "Planet Queen". Sessions then moved, with Visconti, to Mediasound Studios in New York City on April 27 where working versions of " Jeepster ", "Lean Woman Blues" and "Girl" (with the working titles "Oh God" and "Electric Witch") were finished. Visconti later remarked that the relaxed pace of recording in America, where there was no definite goal or pressure to make an album, contributed to
1377-403: The best album the group had made, also complimenting the cover art, poster, and illustrations in the gatefold sleeve. Retrospectively, Electric Warrior has received critical acclaim and is regarded as one of Marc Bolan's best works. Chris Jones of BBC Music called the album a "slice of pop heaven," and stated that "this was the point at which he and long-term producer Tony Visconti took
1428-574: The debut album of The Stone Roses member John Squire 's new band, The Seahorses , entitled Do It Yourself . He produced and played bass on a handful of tracks from The Dandy Warhols ' 2003 album, Welcome to the Monkey House . In 2003 he teamed up with the Finn Brothers (Neil and Tim of Crowded House and Split Enz ) to record and produce their second collaborative album, eventually released in 2004. That same year, he produced three songs on
1479-667: The first of many hits in collaboration with Marc Bolan . Visconti's lengthiest involvement was with David Bowie : intermittently from the production and arrangement of Bowie's 1968 single "In the Heat of the Morning" / "London Bye Ta-Ta" to his final album Blackstar in 2016, Visconti produced and occasionally performed on many of Bowie's albums. Visconti's work on Blackstar was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and his production of Angelique Kidjo 's Djin Djin received
1530-455: The great 'Bang a Gong' extends his subject matter into the rock myth itself, which has its limits but sure beats unicorns. Now if he'd only recycle a few more pop readymades I could stop complaining about fey." Over in Bolan's home country of the UK, the album was received with near-unanimous acclaim. Nick Logan at NME remarked that Bolan had "drawn upon the range of rock and roll influences that
1581-448: The group's concert appearances soared. The group now set its sights on the United States, where a month-long tour was set for April (the first with a new four-man lineup, including newest member Bill Legend on drums) during which they would end up recording much of Electric Warrior . The lyrics on the new album marked a dramatic departure from the dense Romantic poeticism and Tolkien fantasy imagery of Bolan's first five albums, including
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1632-695: The hippy-dippy lyrics and Larry the lamb vocal stylings and bolted them on to good old stripped-down, four-to-the-floor rock 'n' roll ." In his retrospective review, Steve Huey of AllMusic called it "the album that essentially kick-started the U.K. glam rock craze" and wrote that "the real reason Electric Warrior stands the test of time so well – despite its intended disposability – is that it revels so freely in its own absurdity and wilful lack of substance [...] Bolan's lack of pomposity, back-to-basics songwriting, and elaborate theatrics went on to influence everything from hard rock to punk to new wave ." Brian James of Pitchfork called it "the first and best of
1683-476: The latter two songs were attempted at Trident on March 30, with early takes of "Cosmic Dancer" featuring Marc on a Fender Stratocaster before feeling the sound was wrong and switching to an acoustic. Once in America for the tour, the group met with producer Visconti for sessions at Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood, with Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of Flo & Eddie participating on backing vocals. On April 18
1734-412: The most recent T. Rex album. Marc explained that he was now writing about himself for the first time, songs he described as personal and "erotic". Fantastic imagery was still present, only now presented with a new stripped-down immediacy that was fused with basic rock'n'roll imagery of cars, women, and boogie. Musically, the album continued the electric pop/rock sound of T. Rex , recently expanded to
1785-520: The music; the music's the same. It's just that now it's timed in the cosmos to be successful." Bolan was a guest on the BBC Television show Cilla in January 1973, where he and Cilla Black sang an acoustic version of "Life's a Gas". Electric Warrior was released on 24 September 1971 by record label Fly in the UK and Reprise in the US. It went to number 1 on the UK Albums Chart , staying at
1836-743: The new No. 1 album (in France) by French artist Raphael in Paris and New York. He produced and mixed the Kristeen Young album Music for Strippers, Hookers, and the Odd On-Looker , released in 2009, and arranged the Fall Out Boy album Folie à Deux . 2010 marked the release of Richard Barone 's Visconti-produced Glow album, which includes five songs co-written with Barone and a remake of T. Rex's "Girl"; he also played bass, guitar, synth, and Stylophone on
1887-637: The orchestral arrangements for Paul McCartney and Wings ' 1973 album Band on the Run . He later produced two albums for the Moody Blues , The Other Side of Life (1986) and Sur La Mer (1988). In 1990 he produced several tracks on the Moody Blues' Keys of the Kingdom album (1991), Luscious Jackson 's Electric Honey , Leisure Noise by Gay Dad , Soul Caddy for Cherry Poppin' Daddies , and Dawn of Ananda for Annie Haslam . In 1997, Visconti produced
1938-551: The slot for 8 weeks. The album remained in the UK chart for a total of 44 weeks. In the US, Electric Warrior reached number 32 in the Billboard 200 chart. Two singles were released from the album: " Get It On " in July and " Jeepster " in November. "Get It On" was T. Rex's biggest selling single, staying four weeks at the top of the UK chart and becoming the band's only top-ten US hit. In
1989-434: The unique feel of the songs. Once back in England, extensive mixing of the work done in America proceeded at AIR Studios on May 3. At this point, realizing they had stockpiled a large number of strong tracks, Bolan and Visconti decided to shape it into an album. On May 12 at Advision , "The Motivator", "Rip Off" and possibly "Life's A Gas" were recorded, with early takes of "Rip Off" opening with its guitar riff until it
2040-499: Was Electric Warrior (1971), the album that made T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan a superstar and cemented Visconti's producing prowess. More early production work included David Bowie's second album (1969) and for the Welsh group The Iveys (later known as Badfinger ). He produced several tracks for the Iveys' first LP, Maybe Tomorrow (1969), and Magic Christian Music (1970), released on
2091-694: Was a dream to work with Tony". From 2016 to 2023 Visconti was a jury member of the ANCHOR-Award, linked to the Reeperbahn Festival. In 2018 Visconti produced Evil Spirits for The Damned , their first album in ten years. He also produced, sang, and played recorder on Merrie Land , the second album by The Good, the Bad & the Queen (2018). In 2019 Visconti produced the song "The Dragon Cries" with Band-Maid vocalists Miku Kobato and Saiki Atsumi. The track
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2142-508: Was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . It was voted number 873 in the third edition of Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). The album is credited as the first glam rock album, pioneering the development of the glam scene. The Jam 's Paul Weller cited it as one of his all-time favourite records, hailing Bolan's guitar playing as "really unique. You know his sound instantly." Lol Tolhurst of
2193-435: Was decided on take 3 to open with drums. The next day at Advision was devoted to overdubs on "Jeepster" and "Lean Woman Blues", with final overdubs to "Rip Off" and the taping of two new songs destined for B-side release, "There Was A Time" and "Raw Ramp/Electric Boogie", in early June. On July 21 a master tape of the album was compiled back at Trident, although it featured a different running order of songs. The cover artwork
2244-506: Was designed by English art design group Hipgnosis , based on a photo taken by Kieron "Spud" Murphy of Marc Bolan at a T. Rex concert in Nottingham on May 14, 1971. The image is printed in metallic gold on a matte black background, at least for the original UK issue on Fly Records and the first German issue on Ariola. In early July Murphy also took the photo of the band relaxing in Marc's flat that
2295-600: Was drawn by artist George Underwood , who had drawn the artwork for the first Tyrannosaurus Rex album in 1968, My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows . The first German Ariola issue used the inner sleeve artwork for the gatefold. The artwork served as the inspiration for the French electronic duo Justice , who paid homage in the design of their debut studio album, † . T. Rex heavily promoted Electric Warrior through
2346-422: Was included in the soundtrack of the 2024 film Longlegs . All tracks are written by Marc Bolan . Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex 's " Ride a White Swan " in 1970,
2397-786: Was published in February 2007 by HarperCollins UK . The book has been translated into French by Jérôme Soligny as Bowie, Bolan et le Gamin de Brooklyn , published by Tournon. In 2007 and 2008 Visconti was very active in the studio with Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo , producing her Grammy -winning album Djin Djin , which included guest artists Alicia Keys , Peter Gabriel , Joss Stone , Josh Groban , and Carlos Santana . He has also produced two albums at Saint Claire Recording Studio in Lexington, Kentucky : The Bright Lights of America by Pittsburgh punk band Anti-Flag and Alejandro Escovedo 's album Real Animal , released in June 2008. He produced
2448-516: Was ranked number 100 in Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of the Last 20 Years" list. In 2003, the album was ranked number 160 by the same magazine in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time , maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and dropping to number 188 in a 2020 revised list. In 2004, Pitchfork ranked Electric Warrior as the 20th best album of the 1970s. The album
2499-680: Was released on Band-Maid's 2019 release Conqueror . Visconti served as music producer on the 2022 film Moonage Daydream , a documentary about Bowie written, produced, directed, and edited by Brett Morgen . After divorcing his first wife, Siegrid, Visconti married Welsh folk singer Mary Hopkin in 1971; they divorced in 1981. The pair have two children, musicians Jessica Lee Morgan and Morgan Visconti. In 1989 he married his third wife, May Pang ; they had two children before they divorced in 2000. Visconti currently lives with his girlfriend of 20 years, musician Kristeen Young . Visconti played bass on David Bowie's 1970 album The Man Who Sold
2550-443: Was used for the poster that was included with the first issue in the UK and Germany. A hype sticker ("free T. Rex poster inside") advertised the poster in the UK. Some hype stickers for modern "remastering" campaigns are designed in a similar style as the original hype sticker. The poster picture was used for the gatefold of the US issue on Reprise Records. The inner sleeve artwork of the UK issue, portraits of Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn,
2601-462: Was with the British outfit Tyrannosaurus Rex (later to become T. Rex) on their debut album My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows (1968). This began a relationship with T. Rex that would last for their next eight albums and eleven UK Top Ten singles in a row, commencing with " Ride a White Swan " (1970). One of Visconti's greatest successes
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