T Rex 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection CD

23 Career Spanning Tracks.

Personnel: Marc Bolan (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonium, organ, bass); Steve Peregrino Took (kazoo, piano, bass, drums, bongos, percussion, gong, background vocals); Ian McDonald (saxophone); Burt Collins (flugelhorn); Dino Dines (keyboards); Mickey Finn (bass, drums, tabla, percussion, background vocals); Steve Currie (bass); Davey Lutton, Willie Legend (drums); Flo & Eddie, Vicky Brown, Barry St. John (background vocals).
Producers: Tony Visconti, Marc Bolan.
Compilation producer: Bill Levenson.
Recorded between 1968 & 1976. Includes liner notes by Dave Thompson.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Given that the T. Rex/Marc Bolan catalog is cluttered with collections, all recycling much of the same material, it's easy to be suspicious of another hits compilation, such as Hip-0's 2002 release 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection, especially if it's billed as an "ultimate" retrospective. Against all odds, this 23-track disc really is an "ultimate collection," or at least as close as it can possibly get, given the labyrinthine nature of Bolan's catalog. What this gets right is that it samples it all, from Tyrannosaurus Rex to Dandy in the Underworld, hitting all the big songs along the way -- "Debora," "One Inch Rock," "Ride a White Swan," "Bang a Gong (Get It On)," "Cosmic Dancer," "Telegram Sam," "The Slider," "Children of the Revolution," "20th Century Boy" -- which is the first time all of these have been on a collection so concise, succinct, and winning. Sure, some may complain about a missing single or album track, but this is a stellar, pitch-perfect compilation, balancing the aforementioned big hits with relatively lesser-known gems like "Raw Ramp" and a cover of "Summertime Blues," resulting in the only single-disc compilation to capture all sides of Marc Bolan and T. Rex. And that means it's not just a necessary introduction, it's also essential for those who already have a bunch of albums, because it puts his career in perspective. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Marc Bolan & T. Rex never troubled the pop culture radar in the US beyond one minor hit single, making them perhaps the biggest UK stars to never leave any significant stateside impression. As a result, their catalogue has rarely been properly served by US labels, with the songs that made Bolan's name remaining out of print for years at a time while UK labels large and small released every tiny scrap of rehearsal tape, often multiple times.
After Mitsubishi Motors used the stomping "20th Century Boy" in an ad campaign (somewhat ghoulishly, considering that Bolan was killed in an auto accident) in 2002, Universal's Hip-O reissue imprint took the opportunity to rectify the poor state of Bolan's catalogue with the solidly impressive 20TH CENTURY BOY: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION. Thoughtfully, the set starts with five tracks from Bolan's lesser-known early psychedelic period as Tyrannosaurus Rex, including the spectacularly weird "King of the Rumbling Spires," before laying out the classic string of '70s glam-rock boogie hits ("Bang a Gong [Get It On]") and a few choice B-sides. For those wanting to stick to a single T. Rex disc, this is the one to choose.

Rolling Stone (9/19/02, p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Bolan's singing, songwriting and stinging guitar prove why his band inspired everyone from Bowie to the Ramones."