Electric Warrior 1971 Album

T. Rex

It's a prime bit of dramatic irony that glam rock's first defining statement came from one of the former biggest hippie weirdos there ever was - Marc Bolan. In the beginning, it was Tyrannosaurus Rex with Steve Peregrin Took, and the material was roughly a bargain-basement turn on busker-hippie folk centered on Bolan's mystical Tolkien-inspired tales and Took's appropriately bizarre presence. At the dawn of the 70's Bolan's thoughts pivoted from communes and the Classics to tried and true stripped down rock 'n' roll, but filtered through his oh-so-bizarre lens, and the end result was a great run of flash-and-dash records that continue to either thrill or confuse listeners to this very day. Somehow, Bowie, Lou Reed, and even Iggy Pop ended up with the lion's share of the spoils, while Bolan's legacy has been downgraded in comparison….Which is a shame, because if there's any pop album in existence that successfully put style over substance it's Electric Warrior. Furthermore, the vibe is extremely heavy - not like on a metal or punk record, but in the sense that this is pop music being played and sung by people larger than life. Pretty much like Bolan pictured on the cover! Of course, more irony here as a contemporary review called him "the heaviest rocker in the world under 5'4" in the world today." Talk about a corny line, but as with all legends there's a kernel of truth. From a strict track-by-track standpoint the record has flaws but that is not its' strength, either. It's that awesome light-and-heavy vibe - which has never really been replicated - and Bolan's strength of will which makes it an all-time classic.