(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . IVH: T. Rex - Electric Warrior [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-09 T. Rex Tonight’s selections from T. Rex’s second full length, Electric Warrior. "It really doesn't matter at all Life's a gas I hope it's gonna last" --Marc Bolan, "Life's a Gas" Just before Marc Bolan was killed in a car crash in 1977, he seemed on the cusp of an artistic and commercial resurgence. His death marked one more lost opportunity in a career studded with them. He was the decade's first superstar in Britain, but he never hit it off with America, due in part to a stateside inability to comprehend camp, and in part to Bolan's own carelessness. Just as the support of his native audience was wavering, his ego burst from the pressures of fame and increasing drug abuse. He had missed his chance, and never got another. His few Yankee fans worried that the man unfairly derided as bubblegum by prog-leaning audiences and DJs would have his vital contributions reduced to his lone U.S. hit, filed next to Wild Cherry in the stacks. And with the exception of a devoted cult, that's exactly how the States still see him. — Pitchfork . Jeepster [1971] . A self-proclaimed “cosmic dancer”, who DJ John Peel nicknamed the “flower child with a knife up his sleeve”, Marc Bolan never suffered from a deficit of self-belief. “You play a C major chord and I hear 25 melodies and symphonies… it gushes out of me,” he once boasted of what he deemed super-human songwriting abilities. With his second album as T.Rex, the androgynous glitter-flecked pixie superstar could lay claim to inventing glam rock. Electric Warrior was certainly the first glam album to top the UK charts, spending eight weeks at No.1 after its release in September 1971. Despite the unrefined 50s rock’n’roll fundamentals of Bolan’s riffing and the occasionally nonsensical mysticism of his lyrics, here was a revolutionary record that altered the course of rock history, unleashing a glam wave that would be surfed by David Bowie, Slade, Mott The Hoople et al deep into the 70s. — Guitar . Bang a Gong (Get it On) [1971] . Without Electric Warrior, it’s quite possible T. Rex would have faded into obscurity. Bolan had spent the last few years attempting to make a name for himself with his boho-folk duo Tyrannosaurus Rex. But, beyond the support of John Peel and some decent airplay, there wasn’t much to be excited about. An unsuccessful American tour that was doomed before it even began would foreshadow the country’s ultimate rejection of Electric Warrior. At home, thing’s didn’t seem much better. It became painfully apparent to Bolan that his whimsical lyrics and hippy-chic leanings just could not compete with the sheer power of stadium-rock of bands like Led Zeppelin, The Who, and The Rolling Stones. This realization would lead to a dramatic overhaul in the band’s style towards the end of the 1960s. By the time the band headlined the first Glastonbury Festival in 1970, Bolan had ditched the elaborate song titles and expansive psychedelia of Tyrannosaurus Rex and replaced it with the rock-driven riffs and accessible songwriting that would come to define T. Rex’s next two albums. When it was released on September 24th, 1971, Electric Warrior went straight to number one on the UK Albums Chart and remained there for eight weeks. It subsequently remained in the UK charts for a whopping 44 weeks, thanks to the enormous success of tracks like ‘Hot Love’ and ‘Get It On.’ In the US, however, the picture was slightly different. Although Electric Warrior earned T. Rex their only US number one with ‘Get It On’ and charted at number 32 in the Billboard 200, American audiences didn’t respond to Bolan’s embrace of camp in the same way as those in the UK did. As a result, it earned some scathing reviews. The overall sentiment seemed to be that Electric Warrior represented the dying breath of rock ‘n’ roll, a genre that was gradually becoming regarded as quaint and old-fashioned. Although they were skirted over at the time, tracks like ‘Cosmic Dancer’ and ‘Life’s A Gas’ provide some of the most poignant moments on the record. When Bolan sings. “Life’s a gas/ I hope it’s gonna last”, it’s as though he’s crooning his way through a comedown, surveying some long burnt-out party. It is in these moments that we see the real Bolan. There is such vulnerability in ‘Cosmic Dancer’, for example, that it sometimes feels as though he’s decided to unstitch himself thread by thread. — Far Out Magazine . Life's a Gas [1971] . For those hunting down the singles, Electric Warrior does contain the immortal "Bang a Gong (Get it On)", but that's neither the only nor the best reason to pick it up. What makes this record so enduring is its almost accidental emotional depth: When T.Rex is kicking out the jams, they sound like they're having the most gleeful, absurd good time ever committed to wax. There's nothing so glorious in rock and roll as hearing Bolan croon, "Just like a car, you're pleasing to behold/ I'll call you Jaguar if I may be so bold," over his namesake boogie. The most significant aspect of Electric Warrior isn't its arena rock confidence; it's that Bolan allows his grinning mask to slip. With the incomparable aid of producer Tony Visconti, Bolan sketches a vast, empty room, where, after the party's over, he resides alone, wide-eyed and desperate. On ballads like "Cosmic Dancer", "Monolith" and "Girl", he speaks in the same gibberish as elsewhere, but he's clearly haunted-- by what we can't say. But the gaping, searing question mark that comes at the conclusion of the album-- guitar feedback paired with a string section, holding a shivering and very ambivalent cluster of notes-- is just one of many clues that there's more to Electric Warrior than its surface lets on. This is not simply a man who plays party songs because he wants to: This is a man who plays party songs to fend off darkness. — Pitchfork . Mambo Sun [1971] . The infectious grooves of Electric Warrior make everything better, it’s true. Your car drives better, your kids are better behaved, your dog comes when it’s called anytime T. Rex is playing. But sometimes, just sometimes, whenever Bolan is laying down those sweet, sweet grooves, I find myself wishing he would ratchet it up just a notch or two. I always get the feeling that this ex-folky is singing softly into the microphone while staring into my wife’s eyes and that makes me uncomfortable. That kind of crooning is perfectly acceptable on “Cosmic Dancer” and “Girl”, but whenever I drop the needle on this record, I just wanted a little screaming out of “Mambo Sun” and “The Motivator”. I don’t get a much more animated Bolan until we hit “The Rip Off” and then the album ends and I’m left wanting more. The great thing about this album, though, is between the opening track and the closing track you get a great tour of the possibilities of rock ‘n’ roll. Electric Warrior is a like a guided bus ride with Bolan giving commentary. You get to drive through all these areas of rock without ever staying very long. There are the early years, with nods to [Chuck] Berry and Bo Diddley, there’s a quick stop when rock is on the uptick thanks to the Beatles and the Velvet Underground, before moving through the re-imagined blues of the Rolling Stones and then nodding to what would be become Bowie’s signature contribution to rock. And all the while, Bolan is upfront on the microphone, strumming his guitar providing the perfect rock music soundtrack for rock ‘n’ roll. — Pop Matters . Cosmic Dancer [1971] . WHO’S TALKING TO WHO? Jimmy Kimmel: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale (R 1/24/23) Jimmy Fallon: Matthew McConaughey, Evangeline Lilly, Lang Lang Stephen Colbert: Nathan Lane, Sam Jay (R 1/23/23) Seth Meyers: Penn Badgley James Corden: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Meagan Good Daily Show: Lea Michele, guest host Chelsea Handler SPOILER WARNING A late night gathering for non serious palaver that does not speak of that night’s show. Posting a spoiler will get you brollywhacked. You don’t want that to happen to you. It's a fate worse than a fate worse than death. . Another glam rock classic. Produced by Bowie. . Mott the Hoople :: All the Young Dudes [1972] . One more — a modern take on a glam rock classic (original by the Sweet). . The Regrettes :: Fox on the Run [2017] . 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