Electric Warrior (1971)

Conventional wisdom gives this milestone T. Rex album a lot of credit for kicking off glam-rock in the ‘70s, which is a pretty big claim. It seems like overstatement now, but among other things Electric Warrior was the bestselling album of that year in the UK. It also contains the only hit T. Rex ever had in the US, the glorious “Bang a Gong (Get It On).” It’s more a milestone to me because it’s the turning point where main man Marc Bolan and producer Tony Visconti hit on the sound that would be perfected on The Slider. I should say I came to T. Rex late, well after Marc Bolan’s death in 1977. And full disclosure, little that I’ve heard by Tyrannosaurus Rex has ever held a candle to Electric Warrior or The Slider. Those first five (!) albums by the Tyrannosauruses are more like twee J.R.R. Tolkien hippie exercises full of wizards and dragons and such. T. Rex by contrast hits with sinuous, droning grooves, strange off-rhythms, menacing texture, and naïve electric guitar. Strings may be on hand for sweetening. It’s not Bolan’s sensibility that has changed as much as the musical context. The singer is routinely filled with awe by the sights and sounds around him. “Cosmic Dancer,” for one, showcases the still gentle priorities: “I was dancing when I was 12,” “I danced myself right out the womb,” “I danced myself into the tomb,” he warbles in his soft undertone. In a way he is still putting on Midsommar festivals, but the focus on dancing suggests a hedonism that is notably developed in the hit. “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” is a rock ‘n’ roll original, late-arriving, though with the wit to pay homage to a key source of glam, Chuck Berry, quoting “Little Queenie” as the song fades. There is a whole lot of essence of rock ‘n’ roll packed into it and sometimes catching it on the radio can even start to feel like an act of worship somehow. I have to say all my T. Rex favorites are on The Slider—“Metal Guru,” “Spaceball Ricochet,” all the second side in one big gulp—so I would have to recommend it first. But here's your second. Bang a gong. Get it on.