T.Rex Greatest Hits : Album Review

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Those who were teenagers in the 1970s remember the glam rock revolution. Rock artists wore feathered boas and mascara, tight pants and flowing sequined jackets. T-Rex, headed by the enigmatic Marc Bolan, were basically unknown to American audiences until “Get it On” hit the charts and everyone rushed out to buy the album “Electric Warrior, released in 1971.

T.Rex Greatest Hits is a must-have for any serious collector of classic rock. Containing all of their hits, the album is upbeat with screaming guitar riffs underscored by bongos as well as Bolan’s smooth vocals, punctuated with sensuous sighs and yelps. Although Bolan was the undisputed attraction, the other members Bill Legend, Mickey Finn, Steve Currie and Steve Perigen Took expertly brought the cosmic fairy tale lyrics with a postmodern beat to life.

First up on the T.Rex Greatest Hits album is “20th Century Boy”. Viewers of him performing that tune in concert or on TV will never forget Marc strutting across the stage. pouting and smiling as if making love to the world. When listening to the audio track of that single, that combination of mirth and sexuality the band oozed, comes through as fresh as it did when it was first released. The album continues with “Get it On” and the ethereally beautiful “Ride a White Swan.” The listener is then presented with the romantic “Hot Love.” The joyful “I Love to Boogie” brings back memories of the dance boogie times of the 1970’s. The versatile tracks switch to “Children of the Revolution”, which delivers a more sober message accompanying the slam/bang marching time rhythm of the guitars and drums. That is why many tracks on this album were chosen for the movie “Billy Elliot”, a film about a boy from a tough working class world bucking gender stereotypes to become a dancer.

Photo: By ABC Television (eBay front back) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Overall, T.Rex Greatest Hits can be categorized as a feel good classic rock compilation that captures the best of the glam rock era in one fascinating phenomenon that was lightning in a bottle and magic on the turntable.

The lyrics of the band’s poetic songs contained references as innocent as hand holding in “Hot Love” and as provocative as “ball like a hound” in “Jeepster”. Marc Bolan was a mystical poet whose talents included playing kickass guitar and infusing timeless energy into his performances that ring clear and true nearly thirty years after his untimely death.