For anyone interested in the history of glam rock, the best place to start is with T. Rex’s Electric Warrior. Led by the flamboyant Marc Bolan, T. Rex wasn’t so much of a band as it was a figment of the singer’s imagination. Along with percussionist Mickey Finn, Bolan had been spinning out his cosmic tales with marginal progress. Once he added the edge and disregarded the consequences, he shortened the name from Tyrannosaurus Rex and started trimming away at the excess as well. Along with The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust, T. Rex’s sixth album gets down and dirty, guided by nonsensical lyrics and Bolan’s mercurial guitar boogie. At the end of the day, Electric Warrior is like soft putty in your hand — elastic, rubbery and fun to play with.
Once T. Rex the album dented the charts, Bolan was inspired to assemble a full band, adding bassist Steve Currie and drummer Bill Legend. After hitting number one with “Hot Love,” Bolan and company strutted out their second single of 1971. Alternately known as “Bang A Gong” and “Get It On,” the song would top the charts in England and creep into the Top Ten stateside. Considered an anthem of the glam rock movement, “Bang A Gong” recently appeared as the soundtrack of a SpaghettiOs commercial. Somehow it seems as if Bolan would have appreciated the gesture. Of course, it wasn’t the only thing that rocked Electric Warrior. The lead-off “Mambo Sun” is an invigorating funk n’ shuffle with Bolan declaring, “Beneath the bebop moon/I wanna croon with you”… On a grander scale, Bolan and producer Tony Visconti produced a second anthem in the form of “Cosmic Dancer,” a smooth, orchestrated epic of sorts that has enjoyed its own renaissance of late.
Add the rockabilly cyclone known as “Jeepster,” the bounce of “The Motivator,” the neo-positivistic vibe of “Life’s A Gas” — and Electric Warrior as a whole is an exhilarating ride from start to finish. With additional help from Flo and Eddie (Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman), Rick Wakeman, Ian McDonald, and a cast of dozens, T. Rex was able to further develop the magic of Electric Warrior by delivering two more brilliant albums, The Slider and Tanx. By 1974, the T. Rex personnel had been radically realigned and Bolan was veering off the scope into less accessible territory. Tragically, he was killed in an auto accident in 1977, attaining a mystical / mythical status in subsequent hard rock, alternative and punk circles. Electric Warrior remains a timeless joy and a testament to the potential of Marc Bolan — another rock and roll casualty who, given the opportunity, probably had another great album in him.
~ Shawn Perry
