There was a time in the early to mid-’70s when Glam was the hottest trend in music. Also referred to as Glitter rock, it had been brewing for a while and often encompassed groups or artists from other musical genres.
The dominant artists, who were all British, were David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, and T. Rex. By the time Glam was at the red-hot center of pop, T. Rex was, for the most part, the primary musical vehicle for Marc Bolan. Bolan had been on the scene for years before he hit big, starting with the short-lived John’s Children in the late 1960s.
Initially called Tyrannosaurus Rex, the group was, in their early days, primarily a duo comprised of Bolan and Steve Peregrin for their first three albums, with Mickey Finn replacing Peregrin for the fourth. The group played a distinctively trippy and heady brand of folk-inspired psychedelia on their first four albums. Two were released in 1968, one in 1969, and one in 1970.
The group became T. Rex in 1970 (thanks to some studio log-sheet shorthand by producer Tony Visconti) with their self-titled debut, which showed a funkier, flashier, more rock-oriented style, although Bolan and Finn were still the two main members. It wasn’t until 1971 with Electric Warrior that the group exploded and became truly a group with the addition of Steve Currie on bass and Bill Legend on drums, and with guests including Ian McDonald on sax, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman on backing vocals, and Rick Wakeman supplying the keyboards on “Get in On.”
The album, along with The Slider in 1972, was the group’s peak. Electric Warrior was filled with Bolan’s leering swagger and boasted such hits as “Get It On” and “Jeepster,” along with the classic album opener “Mambo Sun.” Produced by Tony Visconti, who was also David Bowie’s producer, the album is a true rock classic, with no Glam equal except for David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.
The album holds up surprisingly well, and the more stripped-down songs that primarily feature just acoustic guitar and percussion as the musical base show Bolan to be a more thoughtful and introspective songwriter than he’s given credit for. The album’s influence on ’70s rock, punk, new wave, and countless groups and artists is incalculable, oddly underrated, and nearly forgotten by many. Maybe, thanks to this superb reissue, their legacy will be up for some serious reconsideration.
As is the case with these Rhino High Fidelity series releases, the album was mastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal Media. There is a four-page, 12-inch booklet with photos of the original master tape boxes, liner notes by Visconti, and additional color photos of Bolan and Finn. The album is released in a limited, numbered edition of 5,000, with a heavyweight, glossy gatefold jacket that replicates the original packaging, a poly-lined sleeve, and an OBI strip.
This reissue can also be purchased as a “singles” bundle that includes a seven-track EP. The EP set includes two 33 1/3 singles in a gatefold, with poly-lined sleeves. The first one is the single “Hot Love,” backed with “Woodland Rock” and “The King Of The Mountain Cometh,” like the original UK release, and the other is the single “Get It On,” backed by “There Was a Time” and “Raw Ramp,” like the original UK single, along with “Electric Boogie.” The EP cover duplicates the iconic Electric Warrior album cover art.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
