"Solid Gold Easy Action" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1972 and reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included on the 1972 Great Hits compilation album issued by EMI Records.
Lyrical content
Solid Gold Easy Action - The Fratellis - The Fratellis Solid Gold Easy Action, Enjoy!
While the song's musical style lies rooted in the Rock and roll of the 1950s, its lyrics are surrealistic and a typical example of Bolan's nonsense poetry. This song, like many of Bolan's hit singles, uses words such as "satisfaction" and "action", whilst mentioning predators such as foxes and tigers to give the song an undertone of sexuality. Combined with the rhythm and fast guitar strumming pattern on the song, Bolan creates an image of teenage sexual frustration that reflected the trends in contemporary popular culture. The break in the latter half of the song further emphasises this; "I know you're shrewd and she's a dude / But all I want is easy action" implying that the singer wants to have sex with the subject regardless of their gender and what others think about it.
Kerrang! magazine founder Geoff Barton, wrote in an article for Classic Rock magazine that the first two lines of the song, "Life is the same and it always will be / Easy as picking foxes from a tree", appeared to predict Marc Bolan's own death in 1977. The license plate of the car Bolan was in during the fatal collision with a tree was FOX 661L. This is one of many supposed 'prophesies' surrounding Marc Bolan's death.
Other versions
The song was covered by Department S, with backing vocals provided by Bananarama, as the b-side to the single "Is Vic There?" in 1981. It was covered by The Fratellis in 2007 for the soundtrack of the film Hot Fuzz. Kim Wilde performed the song live during the second leg of her Perfect Girl tour in November 2007. In 2015 the song was used in an Asda advert in the UK. A portion of the song was featured in the third episode of "The Good Guys (2010 TV series)".
Track listing
- "Solid Gold Easy Action"
- "Born to Boogie"
Note: There was a 12 second un-credited spoken intro on the b-side, previously known as "Xmas Message", which was entitled "Xmas Riff" when it was included in the Rhino Singles compilation.
Personnel
- Marc Bolan â€" lead vocals, guitar
- Mickey Finn â€" congas, backing vocals
- Steve Currie â€" bass guitar
- Bill Legend â€" drums
- Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman - Backing Vocals
- Tony Visconti â€" producer, string arrangement, backing vocals
Chart performance
See also
- Bolan's Rock Shrine
References
External links
- Solid Gold Easy Action at AllMusic
- "Solid Gold Easy Action" at Discogs (list of releases)
- ASINÂ B000X12KZO, Solid Gold Easy Action
- Lyrics at LyricWiki