T. Rex – Electric Warrior 2LP (MoFi) Online Hot Sale

T. Rex s Exotic Landmark Signals the Birth of Glam Rock, Features Bang a Gong (Get It On) : Electric Warrior Swaggers with Libido, Flamboyance, Fantasy, Fun, and Theatricality

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity s State-of-the-Art Mastering System: 180g 45RPM Vinyl 2LP Set Presents the 1971 Record s Reverb, Colors, Tones, and String Arrangements in Full-Tilt Glory

1 4 15 IPS analog copy to analog console to lathe

Bang a gong and get it on. At once sardonic, flamboyant, and trashy, T. Rex s uncommonly unique Electric Warrior catapulted leader Marc Bolan to stardom, triggered an ongoing fascination with glam rock, and launched a movement that soon involved David Bowie, Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, and more. Yet none of those namesake artists ever released a record that out-glammed, out-innuendoed, out-thrusted, or out-camped Electric Warrior – named the 160th Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone and included in the celebrated book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity s state-of-the-art mastering system, pressed on dead-quiet vinyl at RTI, and housed in a gatefold sleeve, the label s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set gives the 1971 landmark the widescreen sound quality it has always deserved. Tony Visconti s warm, reverb-soaked production and Roy Thomas Baker s ace engineering remain two of the work s most famous and revered elements. Here, the production and music can be experienced in all its full-tilt glory, from the subtle albeit elegant classical touches to the instantly identifiable Les Paul guitar licks to Bolan s sensual, wispy, are-they-or-aren t-they-serious vocals.

As Sean Egan wrote in the liner notes of a long-out-of-print reissue: The sound is recognizably rock, yet a previously unheard exotic variant, almost as if concocted by inhabitants of one of the Tolkien-esque worlds common in Bolan s lyrics. The strings are overt but discreet in shape and tone, injecting just the right amount of class. All these aspects and more come to life with a realism, vibrancy, detail, and textural palpability that up the music s fun factor.

At the time of the album s creation, such cosmic-related phenomenon were well within Bolan s orbit. But the differences between Electric Warrior and the singer guitarist s earlier works are as vast as those that divide high art and low-brow culture. Chief among them: Bolan s decision to channel his acoustic hippie-inspired visions into hyper-sexualized, metaphor-rich statements that benefit from amplified foundations. And still, part of the songs charm relates to how they tread a fine line between rock and pop.

Save for the lashing out of Rip Off,  Electric Warrior retains a mellow core underlined by a gauzy tint, gossamer temperament, and crushed-velvet feel. The perception that he record contains blustery heaviness is furthered – and initiated – by the now-iconic album cover, which depicts a giant-sized Bolan standing in front of an equally giant amplifier stack, striking a rock-star pose and giving the impression everything within is designed to go to the proverbial 11 on the volume knob. Akin to a majority of the songs themselves, the visual functions as clever illusion, absurd humor, ostentatious simplicity, and playful pretense.

Bursting with excessive fun and unchecked libido, T. Rex s catchy boogies, shuffles, and vamps scoot by on a seemingly impossible blend of concise hooks, non-sequitur fantasies, and theatrical swagger. From the chart-topping Bang a Gong (Get It On) to the beautiful Life s a Gas, the R&B-stoked hit Jeepster to the pout of Motivator and galactic soul of Planet Queen, Bolan, percussionist Mickey Finn, and boards manipulator Visconti craft a rewardingly strange, parallel universe of sound, style, and sex that still has no equal.

I couldn t resist giving the SACD a top score…. The same now goes for the vinyl version, which is somehow even better across the board, but especially for treble snap, bass richness, and a sense of space…. I can assure you that you ve never heard [the album s hit singles] sound this visceral nor as uncontrollably infectious.
—Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News, Yearbook 2021, Year s Best LPs