Electric Warrior
	Produced by Tony Visconti
	Released on September 1971
	UK CHART POSITION #1 . . . US CHART POSIITON #32
	Find it at GEMM
RS 6466 cover

E lectric Warrior marks the beginning of Marc’s electric phase, and by extension the beginning of his best music. Included here are such sublime slices of music as “Jeepster,” “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” and “Life’s A Gas.” Despite its share of filler, the new sound that Bolan and producer Tony Visconti strike upon here (augmented by backing vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman) renders Electric Warrior an essential listening experience. Simply put, “Jeepster” took us to places that music hadn’t gone before, celebrational in its shallow outlook and yet heavenly. The album also includes one of Bolan’s noisiest and experimental tracks, the closing “Rip Off,” that turns the T. Rex formula on its head and shakes out any loose change. Here the band comes off sounding like Roxy Music, a fascinating glimpse at what might have been. The rest of the record is essentially filler, though among glam rock afficianados even these selections can’t be discounted. “Mambo Sun,” “Cosmic Dancer” (which retraces Bowie’s “Space Oddity” without ill effect) and “Planet Queen” are cases of style over substance, but Bolan fans have obviously wrestled with that demon already. Electric Warrior isn’t the consistent product of The Slider, but it hits the same highs and, more important, hit them first. It’s questionable whether Electric Warrior had any impact beyond what “Jeepster” and “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” achieved as singles, but Bolan’s muse has always been better served by the succinct singles format than albums. At least Bolan strikes different poses on Warrior, trying his hand at blues and experimental rock in addition to his folksy glam. The Slider may be smoother, but Electric Warrior is pretty hard to resist; together, they represent the peak of the T. Rex dynasty.

RS 6466 inner gatefold	RS 6466 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. MAMBO SUN    3:38
2. COSMIC DANCER    4:26
3. JEEPSTER    4:10
4. MONOLITH    3:45
5. LEAN WOMAN BLUES    3:01
6. BANG A GONG (GET IT ON)    4:24
7. PLANET QUEEN    3:11
8. GIRL    2:29
9. THE MOTIVATOR    3:57
10. LIFE'S A GAS    2:23
11. RIP OFF    3:38
    
    Castle CD reissue bonus tracks...
    
12. HOT LOVE
13. DEBORAH
    
    All selections written and composed by Marc Bolan

CREDITS

MARC BOLAN -- vocals, guitars
MICKEY FINN -- percussion, vocals
BURT COLLINS -- flugel horn
STEVE CURRIE -- bass
HOWARD KAYLAN -- backing vocals
WILL LEGEND -- drums
IAN McDONALD -- saxophones
MARK VOLMAN -- backing vocals
Roy T. Baker -- engineer
Malcolm Cecil -- engineer
Rik Pekkonen -- engineer
Martin Rushent -- engineer
Spud Murphy -- photography
George Underwood -- inside sleeve
Hipgnosis -- cover layout
June Child -- conception

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