Disco de T. Rex: “20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection”

As the title indicates, this set seems to have been released to cash in on the renewed interest in T-Rex after "20th Century Boy" was "rediscovered" for that Mitsubishi ad a couple of years back.

You have to give the Hip-O label credit for including five tracks from Bolan's earlier acoustic incarnation known by the full moniker of Tyrannosaurus Rex. There is a reason most compilations of this kind leave that work out, though. For the neophytes picking this collection up expecting to hear Marc Bolan strap on the stratocaster and proceed to Bang a Gong, the acoustic stuff is going to sound downright quirky.

There are some nice early electric B-sides like "Summertime Blues" and "Raw Ramp" that don't usually show up on single-dics T-Rex compilations. But once you roll past "Telegram Sam" there's no time left on the disc for any surprises or rare gems. As a result the first half of the cd feels a little like an odds & sods collection and the latter feels like a rehash of other best-of sets. Some of that trashy rush of T-Rextasy gets lost.

For those coming to Bolan's work for the first time, I would recommend starting instead with the budget-priced (but well-programmed) Very Best of Marc Bolan and T-Rex. It's the one with "T-Rex" in hot pink letters over a b&w photo of Bolan wagging his finger. Starting with "Hot Love" and ending with "I Love to Boogie", it 's as solid a single-disc, twenty-song overview as you're going to find of Bolan's glam idol phase. Moreover, it seems to follow the arc of his (electric) career quite nicely, even including the somewhat overlooked late-career gem "Laser Love".

For most fans, a T-Rex best-of is just the starting point. His three classic albums (Electric Warrior, The Slider & Tanx) are a must-have for any serious fan of 70's era. And they're all available in newly remasterd and expanded formats.

Hip-O's "Ultimate Collection" will be of interst mostly to those who don't already have a couple of the rare early b-sides or just want to sample what Bolan was doing before he evolved into Britain's breifly reigning king of glam.

From Tyrannosaurus Rex first releases in 1968 to T.Rex's last recordings in 1976 this is a great compilation of Marc Bolan and gang's glam/punk offerings. Up-to-date liner notes. Great sound. A Discography of the band's albums. Musician credits on all songs. And release date and album info for each song make this a must not only for T.Rex newcomers but a handy sampler for T. Rex fans the world alike.

I picked this up on a whim, because I was a big Bowie fan, especially of his early 70s period, and I heard he owed a lot to Marc Bolan. And ever since then, I've been a huge Bolan fan. What can I say, the remastering job is excellent, and it does a great job following the development of the T. Rex sound- with the tracks in chronological order, it almost tells a story. So, why not five stars? I just couldn't give it five stars after I heard some of the songs it left out. As another reviewer said, this album would have you believe that T. Rex sucked between '73 and '75- and they did turn out mediocre albums- but those albums had a few great and forgotten songs. (the liner notes doesn't even mention his "funk" phase)It would have been nice for Hip-O to put these songs on here, especially since the albums they came from aren't that good. Instead, what we have are too many songs from Electric Warrior and Slider- not that those songs aren't great, it's that every song on those albums is great, so it's a little unnecessary to collect their "highlights" on to a best of disc. They could have eliminated a few of those, and maybe included "Truck On," "Dreamy Lady," "New York City" and "Celebrate Summer"- not because "Celebrate" comes from an especially bad album, but because being his last ever single, and one of his best, (though not very popular)deserves to be on the "ultimate" collection. Aside from that, it definitely does deserve props for the non-album songs on there, especially "Ride A White Swan." Despite my complaining, it was a good introduction to T. Rex, and it's still nice to have all those songs on one disc.

As with all greatest hits discs- you can only please some of the people some of the time, there will always be one or two songs left out that should have been included.

The main reason I bought the album was to update an old greatest hits disc- definitely worth it (even considering shipping and the exchange rate). The remastered disc sounds fantastic given the age of the material and the limitations of the cd format.

Marc Bolan was a brilliant, but limited, artist. Problem is, like most genius artists, he had to mature into his greatness. To that extent, "20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection" functions better as a history lesson than as a listening collection. It took Bolan and T. Rex three years and four really silly hippy-dippy albums to get to his ultimate "sound." Drowning in annoying bohemian bongo slapping and twee lyrics, "Debora" and "By the Light of a Magical Moon" are extremely dated.

It took an abbreviated name and electric guitars to push Bolan onto his target, and you can hear it in "Ride A White Swan." This may be the first song that clearly defined glitter, along with Bowie and Ziggy Stardust. Then "Electric Warrior," produced by soon to be Bowie production honcho Tony Visconti, codified it. "Bang A Gong" and "Hot Love" have been templates for 1,000's of bands since, but Bolan had it down pat. The juiciest and most listenable songs on "The Ultimate Collection" come from a hot streak of three albums, "

," "

" and "

." (Tracks 10 through 18.)

The remaining albums were VERY hit or miss, but the best songs from them maintain their luster as singles. (Even making "20th Century Boy" a candidate for a car commercial!) Unfortunately for "The Ultimate Collection," the skipable moments run neck and neck with the essential stuff. If you are looking for an album because T.Rex piques your interest, I'd actually recommend Rhino's remastered and expanded "Electric Warrior" above this set. And maybe someday, "The Slider" will get a deluxe treatment for us non-UK folks.