Prophets, Seers and Sages: The Angels of the Ages

Recording

Prophets, Seers & Sages was recorded from April to August 1968 at Trident Studios in London, England and was produced by Tony Visconti.

Music

Prophets, Seers & Sages featured Marc Bolan on vocals and guitar and Steve Peregrin Took on bongos, African drums, kazoo, pixiephone and Chinese gong.

The album opened with a revisiting of Tyrannosaurus Rex's first single "Debora", altered by a reversed-tape effect, as indicated by its new title "Deboraarobed".

Release

Prophets, Seers & Sages was released on 14 October 1968 by record label Regal Zonophone, but failed to chart upon first release.

The album was paired with the first Tyrannosaurus Rex album, My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows (1968), and re-released by Fly Records as the double album Tyrannosaurus Rex: A Beginning on 14 April 1972, following the success of the T. Rex albums Electric Warrior (1971) and The Slider (1972). This re-released edition of the album reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. This double LP set was released in the United States on A&M Records, and was the first time the album was available there.

Reception

In his retrospective review, Dave Thompson, writing for AllMusic, called it "the most underrated of Tyrannosaurus Rex's four albums". Tiny Mix Tapes wrote, "Prophets, nearly four decades after its initial release, remains a timeless album for everyone".

Track listing

All tracks written by Marc Bolan.