Disco de T. Rex: “T. Rex [Expanded Edition]”

In a rather ecstatic review for the earlier unremastered Castle

CD of this first T.Rex album from 1970, I declared it Bolan's absolute best, a transitional work that combined prime but far more accessible examples of the earlier acoustic Tyrannosaurus Rex sound ("The Visit", "The Time Of Love Is Now", "Root Of Star") with thrilling embryonic versions of the T.Rex electric pop sound ("Jewel", "Childe", "Beltane Walk", "Is It Love?", "One Inch Rock"), with not a single weak track in sight and capturing Bolan's magical personality at its purest. The last album with the two-man lineup of Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn, it was also the first album to feature strings, drums and Flo & Eddie on backing vocals (albeit on only one song, the gorgeous "Seagull Woman").

My opinion remains unchanged and has only grown with time; what was always frustrating was the thin sound of all previous CD releases, which did not do justice to such an important work. This latest deluxe reissue finally gives the album its due, with a loud and clear remaster that highlights every explosive guitar solo, epic scream and production trick. The lyrics and artwork

are restored, although unfortunately the bonus tracks are the weakest of all the remasters: while the seminal non-LP single "Ride A White Swan"/"Summertime Blues" is included, the outtakes sound almost identical to the released versions despite being labeled "works in progress". Outside of a slight remix, I found nary a difference to the album versions. What's more, the fantastic instrumental outtake "Deep Summer" is not included, one of the few T.Rex cuts to remain in the hands of the bootleggers. Despite this, I would recommend everyone get their hands on a copy of this reissue, if only for the quality of the album itself, combined with the vastly improved sound.

"Electric Warrior" may have surprised a good many people, but only those who had not been paying attention. Through the folky haze of their formative years, before Bolan saw the dinosaur move, Tyrannosaurus Rex had already spun out dozens of great riffs and wonderful, highly stylized songs that struggled to find much of an audience. We could trade pre-electric playlists all day long. The fact remains that until Leo Fender and Les Paul put in their first appearance with the band by the light of the magical moon on "Beard of Stars" -- still a few years prior to the Big Bang -- it seemed that a significant audience might never arrive. But still, with all those years of simple acoustic accompaniment as ballast, this rewired T. Rex produced what might be their most characteristic record. Perhaps, arguably, their best. It's a polarizing thought, "T. Rex" vs. "Electric Warrior", on par with the "Revolver" vs. "Sergeant Pepper" debate. But the question is not without merit. (For the record, my votes go to "Revolver" and "T. Rex".)

The pose here is pre-glam, more candid, less rehearsed. There is a weird, beautiful shimmer and gleam to these songs that still has the innocent waxy glow of the right honorable early days -- a glow that becomes a hard silicon shine on "Electric Warrior." These songs are still sentimental, still strangely strange and still comparatively as eclectic as they are electric. And lurking behind almost every track, just within earshot, is that thing that became so destructively popular. That twitchy hiccup on top of a four-square beat, solid as rock, fluid as folk, light as air and bright as a star.

Since the source material is better to begin with, the sonic improvements here are not as spectacular as the much needed salvation work done to the still earlier Regal Zonophone recordings. That narrow range of acoustic guitar matched so closely to Bolan's voice that is typical of the earlier records is not an easy sound to deal with in the first place. Thanks to Visconti's and Bolan's maturing producing, writing and performing abilities "T. Rex" sounded pretty good when it was first released. The remastering is carefully done with an emphasis on preserving the thin, concise quality of Bolan's pre-Warrior sound. And the bonus tracks -- there are so many now, on so many different releases that it's getting tough to keep up -- are interesting enough and smart enough to include the "Ride a White Swan" single which was on the US album, but not on this, the original UK version.

"T. Rex" is one of those pure and eccentric records that come around now again -- products of those transitional times when a style is fully formed but hasn't quite yet been set in stone. You know, the kind of stone that guarantees vast success in exchange for rigid predictability. From this vantage point we still have "Warrior" and "Slider" to look forward to before things begin to get a little too slick. And, once more, we have the chance to spend another golden moment in Summer Deep.

Beard of stars introduced audiences to the possibilities of marc bolan in an electric setting... T. rex cemented the vision in characteristic good form.. Marc bolan was not quite as well recieved in america as abroad but his star did shine every bit as bright as david bowie or anyone else in the so-called glam genre. Actually, when these first albums were released glam was not even born yet - not even a concept.. Bolan emerged from the same folk-rock, experimental stock that david bowie took root with in the 60's.. Not far from syd barrett his early releases with tyrannausauras rex were eerie, melodic, and quite stirring on a very basic almost mythological level.. Beard of stars, as i mentioned earlier, made a change in a new direction.. With 't-rex' the first album to abreviate the band's name came the first really commerically friendly (and yet very different musically speaking) tunes.. Bolan and mickey fin had developed an infectious boogie style (which became a t. rex trademark throughout the 70's until bolan's death)... Despite these breakthroughs, the album is still not the typical fare you would expect from a big-selling group (or duo).. it opens in a curious fashion with 'the children of rarn' (thank god bolan always was a true original i just love it).. and always retains a sort of curious almost psychodelic and yet modern sounding quality.. In fact it was this kind of music that defied categorization that probably lead to the term glam (which is not really a useful musical term because it says virtually nothing about the music - oh well we must catogorize i guess)... The music really heats up on such tracks as beltane walk and one-inch rock - a song writing technique that would later reach for the stars in 'electric warrior' - yet for me it is the little tracks in between that make the album (as in many t rex albums).. The world really could not see marc bolan coming - but when they did it was almost too late - another shooting star...