T. Rex

T. Rex rocks indeed! This collection of random tracks from Marc Bolan's years with Mercury (1972-1977) proves it. Made up of some of his heaviest moments that flirt with heavy metal ("Buick Mackane," "Midnight"), some of his loosest groovers that both rock and roll ("The Groover," "Baby Strange," "Born to Boogie"), and some late-period work that rocks rather more politely but still effectively ("Sensation Boulevard," "Dandy in the Underworld," "Hang-Ups"), the disc also contains some of the group's best-known songs, like "Telegram Sam," the absolutely stonking "20th Century Boy," "Children of the Revolution," and "Metal Guru," and some real weirdness like "Venus Loon," "Calling All Destroyers," and "Plateau Skull." Scattered in between are plenty of classic T. Rex tracks -- like the choogling "Sunken Rags" and "Jitterbug Love," the shambling "Cadilac," and the rollicking "Mad Donna" -- that sound like no one else on Earth. There's enough prime material to make this a decent initial T. Rex purchase. You miss tracks like "Bang a Gong" and "Jeepster" from Electric Warrior, but if you are really interested in T. Rex at all, you should have that album. So buy that first and then think about getting this for an overview of the Mercury years. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide