Dandy in the Underworld

Released

11 March 1977

Recorded

May 1976 at Decibel Studios London, August 1976 MRI Studios, Los Angeles, United States; Decibel Studios, AIR Studios and Trident Studios, London, England

Genre

Glam rock

Length

37:52

T. Rex chronology

Futuristic Dragon
(1976)

Dandy in the Underworld
(1977)

You Scare Me to Death
(1981)

Singles from Dandy in the Underworld

"Dandy in the Underworld"
Released: 1977
"Crimson Moon"
Released: 1977

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
NME	favourable
Pitchfork	7.9/10

Dandy in the Underworld is the twelfth and final studio album by English glam rock rock act T. Rex. It was released on 11 March 1977 by record label EMI. It reached No. 26 in the UK charts, the band's highest-charting album since 1974's Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow. The title track was released as a single but failed to chart, though "I Love to Boogie" and "The Soul of My Suit" achieved chart placings in the UK.

After three commercially weak albums, Dandy in the Underworld was regarded by many T. Rex fans as a comeback for the band. However, it would prove to be the band's final album, as Marc Bolan died in a car crash in September 1977. The album was praised for the strength of the songwriting and Bolan's vocal performances.

An album of unreleased tracks and alternate versions of songs from the sessions that produced the album was released in 2006 called "Final Cuts". Most of these tracks were recorded at AIR Studios Oxford Street, with the addition of four tracks recorded at Decibel Studios in Stamford Hill in April 1977 after the release of Dandy in the Underworld . Seven of the twelve songs on "Final Cuts" were not released during Bolan's lifetime. It includes an alternate cut of the final T.Rex single 'Celebrate Summer' as well as 'Mellow Love', 'Write Me A Song', 'Hot George', 'Shy Boy'.

At the time of the album's release, Marc Bolan and T. Rex were on a UK tour, supported by The Damned. The album and tour were notable for marking a return to form for the band.

The sessions had started in May 1976 at Decibel Studios London, with the recording of "I Love To Boogie'", with Steve Currie (bass), Davey Lutton (drums) and Dino Dines (piano) .Later recordings took place at MRI Studios, Los Angeles, United States and continued at Decibel Studios, AIR Studios and Trident Studios in London, England.

According to engineer Jennifer Maidman (then Ian Maidman):

I worked on two tracks on this album, along with a number of other songs including a later single "Laser Love". The track "I Love to Boogie" was recorded and mixed in a single day at Decibel Studios in Stoke Newington, London N16. The studio was very small and funky; Marc liked it because it reminded him of the old Sun Studio in Memphis where a lot of early rock and roll records were made. The single was mastered from what was originally intended to be a rough mix which Marc took home. It was mixed in about fifteen minutes by myself and Marc. I just threw up the faders; there were no computers in those days, and we went "OK that'll do". We got Dino's Fender Rhodes piano to distort a bit by cranking up the input on the desk, crude but quick and effective. Try doing that on a modern digital desk! Anyway, Marc liked the mix so much that it was released just as it was, much to my surprise, but it still sounds good thirty years later. The master mix was also done at 7.5 inches per second as I recall, rather than the usual 15 ips. This was so that Marc could play it on his reel-to-reel at home that night. This, along with the fact that the multitrack was an Ampex two-inch 16-track machine rather than the 24-track which was more common by then, helps to give the track its beefy sound. The other song on the album we did at Decibel was "Universe", which was subsequently overdubbed and mixed at Air studios by Mike Stavrou, I think. These were also the last tracks that Marc did with the old rhythm section of Steve Currie and Davy Lutton before Tony Newman and Herbie Flowers came on board.

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Wikipedia