T Rex – Electric Warrior LP (180g) Online now

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.

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. 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 Tony Visconti craft a rewardingly strange, parallel universe of sound, style, and sex that still has no equal.