T Rex Electric Warrior CD

Includes liner notes by Nikki Sudden, Cliff McLenehen & Bill Legend.
Includes liner notes by Nikki Sudden, Cliff McLenehan and Bill Legend.
Marc Bolan/Marc Bolan & T. Rex/T. Rex: Marc Bolan (vocals, guitar); Mickey Finn (vocals, percussion).
Additional personnel: Ian McDonald (saxophone); Burt Collins (flugelhorn); Steve Currie (bass instrument); Will Legend (drums); Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman (background vocals).
Liner Note Author: Seamus Egan.
Marc Bolan's detractors never understood how he seemed in such total command of his game, not even after Electric Warrior's September 1971 release. This outtakes album shows why: Bolan's ability to meld garage smarts and a glam pop beat, which holds true for the two versions of his big American hit, "Get It On." The opening version is fairly identical to the finished article, but its pre-sweetened, six-minute companion is raw, rowdy, and untamed listening. Drummer Bill Legend and bassist Steve Currie had only just joined in the spring of 1971. To tighten things up, Bolan ran them through the feverish '50s-era paces of "Honey Don't" and an edgy "Summertime Blues," which rumbles under clattering Mickey Finn percussion, then explodes into an entirely different place after Bolan's feverish "1-2-3-4!" count-off. Two versions of "Monolith" further impressions of T. Rex locked in a garage, as do thunderous broadcast takes of "Jeepster" and "Baby Strange." (The sound is surprisingly crisp and coherent, a commodity not readily associated with unofficial T. Rex releases.) A scruffy bedroom acoustic demo of "Life's a Gas," on the other hand, could probably have stayed in the "completists only" filing cabinet. Anyone writing off Bolan as just another jaded teen-beat merchant will be in for a rude surprise: he's totally in command and always looking for a new angle -- such as on the electric "Cosmic Dancer." When that idea didn't pan out, Bolan recut it with a heavily orchestrated arrangement. But that's the mark of a creative mindset -- use what works and toss the discards. This is an essential snapshot behind the scenes of a classic rock album, and a great deal of fun, too. ~ Ralph Heibutzki
An extraordinary two-CD set that's as much a tribute to an album as it is to an artist, reprising the Electric Warrior sessions and the way in the songs evolved and developed. Included are three versions of "Get It On," including one with just Bolan's original basic rhythm guitar track, and working versions of much of the rest of the album. The opening uncut version of "Get It On" running more than six minutes is worth the price of admission, and it gets better from there are we hear the album get pieced together. In contrast to some bootlegs that give take after take, the editing here is judicious and worthwhile, giving a succinct audio documentary style account of the creation of this landmark album. And the sound, from the original raw session tapes in mid-1990's transfers, is a lot crisper than the Warner Bros. standard CD of the album--the guitars have a sharp, slashing attack, the drums are close, and the bass is very hard and heavy, like being at the session, and you haven't lived until you've heard Bolan's raw version of "Honey Don't." As a bonus, there's also an interview with Bolan about the album, done at the time of its recording, on Disc Two. ~ Bruce Eder
The album that essentially kick-started the U.K. glam rock craze, Electric Warrior completes T. Rex's transformation from hippie folk-rockers into flamboyant avatars of trashy rock & roll. There are a few vestiges of those early days remaining in the acoustic-driven ballads, but Electric Warrior spends most of its time in a swinging, hip-shaking groove powered by Marc Bolan's warm electric guitar. The music recalls not just the catchy simplicity of early rock & roll, but also the implicit sexuality -- except that here, Bolan gleefully hauls it to the surface, singing out loud what was once only communicated through the shimmRolling Stone (1/6/72, pp.64-66) - "...he plays to the post-J.F.K. set, yet with enough decadence and sarcasm for any war baby to hum along....Marc is one of the eternally precocious, fated to live outside the world of adults forever..."
Q (9/01, pp.137-8) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Glistening, seemingly extra-terrestrial prettiness....bewitching stuff..."
Mojo (Publisher) (10/01, p.133) - "...This music may even sound better than it did at the time: stripped of baggage, it's the kind of pop-rock deluxe which is, these days, in short supply..."