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Electric Warrior

T. Rex
1 disc

1. Mambo Sun
2. Cosmic Dancer
3. Jeepster
4. Monolith
5. Lean Woman Blues
6. Bang a Gong (Get It On)
7. Planet Queen
8. Girl
9. Motivator, The
10. Life's a Gas
11. Rip Off
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 6466
Credits

Producer Tony Visconti
Engineer Malcolm Cecil; Martin Rushent; Rik Pekkonen; Roy Baker
Includes liner notes by Nikki Sudden, Cliff McLenehen & Bill Legend.
Includes liner notes by Nikki Sudden, Cliff McLenehan and Bill Legend.
Personnel: Marc Bolan (vocals, guitar); Mickey Finn (vocals, percussion); Ian McDonald (saxophone); Burt Collins (flugelhorn); Will Legend (drums); Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman (background vocals).
Photographer: Spud Murphy .
Prior to ELECTRIC WARRIOR's release, T. Rex (or, as it had mostly been known, Tyrannosaurus Rex) was a folk-rock duo that played acoustic guitar and bongos augmented by the occasional electric and full drum kit. While some of the hippie-prophet philosophy that dominated Tyrannosaurus Rex's music can still be heard here (especially on the dreamy geneology of "Cosmic Dancer"), ELECTRIC WARRIOR, for the most part, represents a revolution in attitude and approach. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Marc Bolan expanded the band here for a full rock sound, and focused on lean, hook-heavy pop songs that relied on slinky grooves and the riveting energy of early rock & roll. Married to Bolan's cheeky sexuality and theatrical flair, the results were undeniable.
From the mid-tempo thump of "Mambo Sun" to the crashing yowl of "Rip Off," ELECTRIC WARRIOR is fuzzy, nasty, and immediately appealing. Songs like "Jeepster" and "Bang A Gong" pump straight from the elemental heart of rock & roll, yet the songs are fleshed out beautifully with strings, handclaps, backup vocals, and Tony Visconti's expansive production. Bolan's glitzy, sexy aesthetic directly sparked the glam movement (he was a huge influence on David Bowie and the creation of his Ziggy Stardust persona), while his punchy, back-to-basics approach also presaged the stripped-down, three-minute song attack of the Ramones and the punk movement in the later '70s. As a result, ELECTRIC WARRIOR can be seen as one of the most enduring and quietly influential records in the rock canon.
Critic Reviews

Rolling 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..."