Electric Warrior

Mojo - "...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..." Q - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Glistening, seemingly extra-terrestrial prettiness....bewitching stuff..." Rolling Stone - "...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..." 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 (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..." Classic Rock (04/06, p.58) - "...every bit as influential as ZIGGY STARDUST." Mojo - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Bolan suited the careerist '70s, and rarely sounded better than he did on the second T.Rex album....The album's fey charm and power is undeniable." Uncut - "ELECTRIC WARRIOR captures the group at a time when there was still a trace of innocent pleasure left..."

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.|