54-399: Electric Warrior is the second studio album by English rock band T. Rex and their sixth since their 1968 debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex, released on 24 September 1971. The album marked a turning point in the band's style, moving away from the folk -oriented sound of the group's previous albums and pioneering a more flamboyant, pop -oriented glam rock style. The album reached number one on
108-728: A Fender Stratocaster before feeling the sound was wrong and switching to an acoustic. Once in America for the tour, the group met with producer Visconti for sessions at Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood, with Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of Flo & Eddie participating on backing vocals. On April 18 the band ran through " Get It On ", "Monolith" and a remake of "Planet Queen". Sessions then moved, with Visconti, to Mediasound Studios in New York City on April 27 where working versions of " Jeepster ", "Lean Woman Blues" and "Girl" (with
162-724: A Gong" for the American market, became the group's only top ten hit in that country. Marc Bolan , in a 1971 interview contained on the Rhino Records reissue, said of the album, "I think Electric Warrior , for me, is the first album which is a statement of 1971 for us in England. I mean that's... If anyone ever wanted to know why we were big in the other part of the world, that album says it, for me." In another interview that year responding to charges that his music had "sold out" to commercialism, he stated "We didn't sell out or change
216-422: A child of its psychedelically -inclined time" adding, "It's hard not to be drawn to the actual dynamics of My People Were Fair , the uncanny way Tyrannosaurus Rex take the slightest musical instruments, pixie phones, glockenspiels and a Chinese gong included, to make them sound like the heaviest rock & roll band on the planet". In a five out of five star review, Paul Stewart of Sunday Express wrote that it
270-504: A deaf, dumb and blind man's toy trumpet. The album premiered Bolan's new lyrical style, a mixture of dense Romantic wordplay and Tolkien-esque fantasy imagery which would come to dominate his work through 1970. The non-LP single "Debora" also came out of the sessions and hit the UK top 40 upon release in May. The elaborate cover art painting by George Underwood dealt with the same fantasy themes as
324-412: A few records that are most important for me, which I periodically stick on to remind myself just how good records can be. [...] I have a duty to at least try and make something as sweet and irresistible as this". Morrissey covered "Cosmic Dancer" live in 1991, both solo and for a one-off duet with David Bowie during an encore at a Los Angeles concert; a version was included as a b-side for " Pregnant for
378-423: A lengthy Hare Krishna chant. Elsewhere, the main character in the song "Scenescof" (literally, "to scoff at the scene") was described by Bolan as a villain with "illusions of taking over the minds of the younger generation". "Mustang Ford" would be the first of many future Bolan compositions about cars, while others like "Dwarfish Trumpet Blues" sounded far stranger with lines about solid silver genies emerging from
432-470: A name for themselves on the underground circuit in London, appearing second or third on the bill at hippie clubs like Middle Earth and striking up a friendship with influential DJ John Peel , who put them on his BBC programme Top Gear that fall. The group began looking for a record contract at this time, and were at first briefly courted by Track Records . For Marc Bolan, the album's music represented
486-562: A record contract until producer Tony Visconti discovered them in March 1968 and offered them a contract with the EMI label Regal Zonophone . My People Were Fair was eventually recorded over four days (two days for recording, two days for mixing) at Advision Studios in London, England in early April 1968 on a minuscule budget and produced by Visconti. Preparatory demo sessions for the album took place in late March at Visconti's London flat where
540-608: A rejection of the electric guitar-driven music he had been playing with his previous band, John's Children. Two of its songs, "Mustang Ford" and "Hot Rod Mama" (in a live BBC radio session) had been recorded the year prior in electric versions by John's Children (the former retitled "Go Go Girl" after Bolan's departure). Acoustic demos of both songs appeared on The Beginning of Doves , a collection of early tracks recorded in 1966 and 1967 and released in 1974. An early live Tyrannosaurus Rex set list at Middle Earth on September 23, 1967 also features eight songs which would eventually appear on
594-418: A single from the group's sixth studio album (and second as T. Rex) Electric Warrior . The B-side , "Life's a Gas", is taken from the same album. Several artists have recorded cover versions of it. Both of the single's tracks were written by Marc Bolan and produced by Tony Visconti . The music (and first couple of lines) of "Jeepster" is based on a Howlin' Wolf blues song called "You'll Be Mine," which
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#1732787649683648-622: A string of tours, interviews, radio, and TV appearances through late 1971 and early 1972. Besides multiple appearances on Top of the Pops the group also appeared on European shows like Beat-Club , Starparade and Hits A Go-Go . A fall 1971 tour of the UK provoked scenes of fan hysteria unprecedented since the heyday of Beatlemania , causing the press to dub the new craze "T. Rextacy". A short US tour in February 1972 of mid-sized venues proved moderately successful as " Get It On ", redubbed "Bang
702-506: A trio of brilliant albums," stating that "When T.Rex is kicking out the jams, they sound like they're having the most gleeful, absurd good time ever committed to wax," but adding that "the most significant aspect of Electric Warrior isn't its arena rock confidence; it's that Bolan allows his grinning mask to slip [...] On ballads like 'Cosmic Dancer', 'Monolith' and 'Girl', he speaks in the same gibberish as elsewhere, but he's clearly haunted-- by what we can't say." In 1987, Electric Warrior
756-400: Is that rock is ultimately as quaint as wizards and unicorns, and finally, as defunct. Gerson concluded that the album established Bolan as "the heaviest rocker under 5’4″ in the world today." The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau was reserved in his praise: "A freak hit turned [Bolan] into a singer of rhythmic fairy tales for British pre-pubes, exactly what he was always suited for, and
810-531: Is the diet of any child of rock, impress them with his own individual penchant for lyrics and a finely tuned producer's ear, and drag them kicking and screaming into '71". Chris Welch at Melody Maker gushed that "Marc's music is getting better all the time" while Martin Hayman of Sounds claimed it was "all down to the new, dynamic T. Rex of their recent single releases, with a much fuller, stronger sound than before". Val Mabbs of Record Mirror called it by far
864-583: The UK Albums Chart and became the best-selling album of 1971 in that country. Specifically, the single " Get It On " helped to boost the album's sales, reaching the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Retitled "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" by the US record company, it also became the band's only North American hit. Electric Warrior has since received acclaim as a pivotal release in
918-626: The UK Singles Chart , and was controversial in that Fly Records promoted the song to hit status without singer Marc Bolan 's prior permission, Bolan having just left Fly for EMI , which had given him control of his own label T. Rex Wax Co. Records. The song reached No. 28 in Australia and No. 73 in Canada. It was beaten to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart by " Coz I Luv You " by Slade for its first week at No.2 before being blocked from
972-597: The Cure said that they listened to it during their formative years: "We were listening to T.Rex at this time,” [...] “I recall Robert [Smith] had a copy of Electric Warrior ". The Slits 's guitarist Viv Albertine also mentioned a special liking for this album for "the whole sound, the whole cartoony, sexual, and humourous [ sic ] thing, it's very English as well. I think Prince has taken so much from Bolan." PJ Harvey 's main collaborator John Parish included it in his favourites: "when I'm working... I like to have
1026-457: The Last Time ". Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream has cited "Get it On" as one of his all-time favorite pop songs, adding "When I was growing up, singles were an art statement. [...] People like [..] T. Rex were changing all the time. As a fan you wanted to know what they were going to wear and whether you could follow them to that new place". The Pixies recorded a version of "Mambo Sun" for
1080-589: The Pops on March 24, Marc Bolan had appeared in a silver satin suit with glitter under his eyes, sparking the glam rock craze. At the same time, the self-titled debut T. Rex album peaked within the top 10 and demand for the group's concert appearances soared. The group now set its sights on the United States, where a month-long tour was set for April (the first with a new four-man lineup, including newest member Bill Legend on drums) during which they would end up recording much of Electric Warrior . The lyrics on
1134-655: The United States, "Get It On"'s title was originally changed to "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to distinguish it from Chase's song "Get It On", which was also released in late 1971. "Jeepster" managed to reach number 2 in the UK although it was released by Fly without Bolan's permission, making him reluctant to promote it. In a positive 1972 review for Rolling Stone , Ben Gerson noted Bolan's transition from his earlier fairytale lyrics, noting that now "his targets are your common rock & roll cliches, as well as your common pseudo-poetic, pseudo-philosophical rock & roll cliches [...] What Marc seems to be saying on Electric Warrior
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#17327876496831188-434: The album began on March 5 at Trident Studios in London, where the previous albums had been recorded, with an early version of "Planet Queen" put to tape. On March 16 similarly rough versions of "Mambo Sun" and "Cosmic Dancer" were laid down with no producer present and no particular plan for an album yet. Remakes of the latter two songs were attempted at Trident on March 30, with early takes of "Cosmic Dancer" featuring Marc on
1242-419: The album continued the electric pop/rock sound of T. Rex , recently expanded to a four-piece band with full bass and drums; only three songs retained primarily acoustic arrangements. Sonic tricks employed on the album identified by producer Tony Visconti , which had been gradually developed over the past five albums, included flanging, reverb, backwards guitars, tape loops, and plugging the guitar directly into
1296-496: The album is months out of date! Which should bode well for the future". Record Mirror stated the lyrics were worth listening to, rightly predicting it would be a big seller. Retrospective reviews have been favourable. AllMusic praised the album saying, it "approaches the listener from a totally unique angle. The Bolan voice [...] blends so perfectly with the bizarre, almost Eastern-sounding instrumentation". Reviewer Dave Thompson called it "an irresistible affair, if absolutely
1350-577: The album recorded by Visconti and exploratory studio sessions with Boyd. Initial reception for the album in Bolan's home country was highly positive, with reviews in Melody Maker , New Musical Express and Disc and Music Echo emphasizing the originality of the duo's sound and its "simplicity, fun and beauty", with Disc and Music Echo noting "the strength of the album lies in its love, beauty, fantasy and nature. And then Marc says that, for him,
1404-635: The album was planned for early May but delayed until 5 July 1968 by record label Regal Zonophone . When singer/songwriter/guitarist Marc Bolan left the mod band John's Children at the end of June 1967, he formed a new group, Tyrannosaurus Rex. After a disastrous debut gig as an electric four-piece at the Electric Garden club on July 22, Bolan stripped the group down to an acoustic duo consisting of himself on vocals and guitar and Steve Peregrin Took on backing vocals and bongos. The group began to make
1458-419: The album. When Track Records was courting the group, two recording sessions with producer Joe Boyd at Sound Techniques studios on November 6 and December 8 resulted in acetate versions of "Highways", "Child Star", "Dwarfish Trumpet Blues" and "Chateau In Virginia Waters", the latter featuring bassist Danny Thompson of the band Pentangle . However, negotiations with Track broke down and the duo did not sign
1512-607: The b-side of one of their singles. "Cosmic Dancer" is featured prominently in the soundtrack of the final segment of the 2019 Netflix documentary Dancing with the Birds , in which a male Carola's parotia successfully woos a female into mating with his courtship display . It was also played in the opening sequence of the 2000 film Billy Elliot . "Jeepster" can be heard playing on a jukebox in Quentin Tarantino 's 2007 film Death Proof . "Planet Queen" and "Get it On"
1566-403: The best album the group had made, also complimenting the cover art, poster, and illustrations in the gatefold sleeve. Retrospectively, Electric Warrior has received critical acclaim and is regarded as one of Marc Bolan's best works. Chris Jones of BBC Music called the album a "slice of pop heaven," and stated that "this was the point at which he and long-term producer Tony Visconti took
1620-417: The console to overload the mike preamplifiers. In addition, session players included Yes maestro Rick Wakeman on piano ("Get It On"), jazz trumpeter Burt Collins on flugelhorn ("Girl") and King Crimson's Ian McDonald on sax ("Rip-Off"), along with a string section and ex-Turtles Flo & Eddie on androgynous backing vocals, which when fused together created a highly distinctive sound. Initial work on
1674-494: The duo to purchase new instruments and PA equipment. The album was paired with Tyrannosaurus Rex's follow-up album Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages (1968) and reissued in 1972 as a double LP, following the success of T. Rex's Electric Warrior (1971) album. T. Rextasy was so pervasive at that point that it effortlessly reached No. 1 in the UK despite not being an electric rock album. The double release remains
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1728-447: The glam rock movement. It had a profound influence on later musicians of different genres. As T. Rex re-entered the studio to record its next album in March 1971, the band was riding a wave of sudden success prompted by its first single, " Ride a White Swan ", hitting number 2 in the UK charts that January, followed by " Hot Love " which topped the charts for six straight weeks through March and April. While promoting "Hot Love" on Top of
1782-406: The great 'Bang a Gong' extends his subject matter into the rock myth itself, which has its limits but sure beats unicorns. Now if he'd only recycle a few more pop readymades I could stop complaining about fey." Over in Bolan's home country of the UK, the album was received with near-unanimous acclaim. Nick Logan at NME remarked that Bolan had "drawn upon the range of rock and roll influences that
1836-415: The group ran through their set list twice, once on their own and then again with Visconti accompanying on bass. Advision was one of the first studios in the UK with eight-channel recording equipment . This Advision unit was a model 280 made by Scully Recording Instruments and allowed for far greater recording flexibility than the standard 4-track recorders of the era. However, Bolan later complained that it
1890-693: The hippy-dippy lyrics and Larry the lamb vocal stylings and bolted them on to good old stripped-down, four-to-the-floor rock 'n' roll ." In his retrospective review, Steve Huey of AllMusic called it "the album that essentially kick-started the U.K. glam rock craze" and wrote that "the real reason Electric Warrior stands the test of time so well – despite its intended disposability – is that it revels so freely in its own absurdity and wilful lack of substance [...] Bolan's lack of pomposity, back-to-basics songwriting, and elaborate theatrics went on to influence everything from hard rock to punk to new wave ." Brian James of Pitchfork called it "the first and best of
1944-481: The longest album title of any UK No. 1 album. In the US it was released by A&M Records as Tyrannosaurus Rex: A Beginning . In 1985, it was re-released on Sierra Records. An expanded edition CD was released in 2004, which included the mono mix of the album, one single track and three alternate studio takes. A new mono mix was created for a deluxe edition, released in January 2015, which also included home demos for
1998-468: The lyrics, which would pervade much of the subsequent Tyrannosaurus Rex catalogue. Underwood's artwork was based on Gustave Doré 's illustrations of Dante's Inferno . Journalist Paul Stewart advanced that the extended album title reflected "the faux mysticism of the time, even down to the dedication on the sleeve to Aslan and the Old Narnians" while biographer Mark Paytress wrote that the title and
2052-475: The music; the music's the same. It's just that now it's timed in the cosmos to be successful." Bolan was a guest on the BBC Television show Cilla in January 1973, where he and Cilla Black sang an acoustic version of "Life's a Gas". Electric Warrior was released on 24 September 1971 by record label Fly in the UK and Reprise in the US. It went to number 1 on the UK Albums Chart , staying at
2106-471: The new album marked a dramatic departure from the dense Romantic poeticism and Tolkien fantasy imagery of Bolan's first five albums, including the most recent T. Rex album. Marc explained that he was now writing about himself for the first time, songs he described as personal and "erotic". Fantastic imagery was still present, only now presented with a new stripped-down immediacy that was fused with basic rock'n'roll imagery of cars, women, and boogie. Musically,
2160-417: The sad and scattered leaves of an older summer. During the hard, grey winter they were tended and strengthened by those who love them. They blossomed with the coming of spring, children rejoiced and the earth sang with them. It will be a long and ecstatic summer. My People Were Fair was released on 5 July 1968 by Regal Zonophone. It reached No. 15 in the UK Albums Chart upon initial release, which allowed
2214-562: The slot for 8 weeks. The album remained in the UK chart for a total of 44 weeks. In the US, Electric Warrior reached number 32 in the Billboard 200 chart. Two singles were released from the album: " Get It On " in July and " Jeepster " in November. "Get It On" was T. Rex's biggest selling single, staying four weeks at the top of the UK chart and becoming the band's only top-ten US hit. In
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2268-464: The songs "struck a chord with the whimsy-stricken elements within the British underground". The album was released with a front laminated flipback cover with a sheet insert, over which the lyrics were printed over a drawing of a fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex. On the back cover John Peel told a fanciful story about the group emerging from the ashes of 1967's Summer of Love: Tyrannosaurus Rex rose out of
2322-487: The top place by " Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) " by Benny Hill for the remaining four weeks. "Jeepster" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs. Billboard and Paste ranked the song number three and number one, respectively, on their lists of the top 10 T. Rex songs. Bolan was a guest on the BBC Television show Cilla in January 1973. He and Cilla Black sang an acoustic version of "Life's
2376-646: The working titles "Oh God" and "Electric Witch") were finished. Visconti later remarked that the relaxed pace of recording in America, where there was no definite goal or pressure to make an album, contributed to the unique feel of the songs. Once back in England, extensive mixing of the work done in America proceeded at AIR Studios on May 3. At this point, realizing they had stockpiled a large number of strong tracks, Bolan and Visconti decided to shape it into an album. On May 12 at Advision , "The Motivator", "Rip Off" and possibly "Life's A Gas" were recorded, with early takes of "Rip Off" opening with its guitar riff until it
2430-454: Was "varied and vibrant. The textures grab your attention but not in a hard rock, slap you round the face kind of way. This is chill out music from a time before people called it chilling out". All tracks are written by Marc Bolan Note: There is a short, unlisted title track at the end of side B. Jeepster (song) " Jeepster " is a song by English glam rock act T. Rex . It was released on 5 November 1971 by record label Fly as
2484-508: Was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . It was voted number 873 in the third edition of Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). The album is credited as the first glam rock album, pioneering the development of the glam scene. The Jam 's Paul Weller cited it as one of his all-time favourite records, hailing Bolan's guitar playing as "really unique. You know his sound instantly." Lol Tolhurst of
2538-433: Was decided on take 3 to open with drums. The next day at Advision was devoted to overdubs on "Jeepster" and "Lean Woman Blues", with final overdubs to "Rip Off" and the taping of two new songs destined for B-side release, "There Was A Time" and "Raw Ramp/Electric Boogie", in early June. On July 21 a master tape of the album was compiled back at Trident, although it featured a different running order of songs. The cover artwork
2592-514: Was designed by English art design group Hipgnosis , based on a photo taken by Kieron "Spud" Murphy of Marc Bolan at a T. Rex concert in Nottingham on May 14, 1971. The image is printed in metallic gold on a matte black background, at least for the original UK issue on Fly Records and the first German issue on Ariola. In early July Murphy also took the photo of the band relaxing in Marc's flat that
2646-609: Was drawn by artist George Underwood , who had drawn the artwork for the first Tyrannosaurus Rex album in 1968, My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows . The first German Ariola issue used the inner sleeve artwork for the gatefold. The artwork served as the inspiration for the French electronic duo Justice , who paid homage in the design of their debut studio album, † . T. Rex heavily promoted Electric Warrior through
2700-490: Was included in the soundtrack of the 2024 film Longlegs . All tracks are written by Marc Bolan . Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They%27re Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows is the debut album by psychedelic folk band Tyrannosaurus Rex (later known as T. Rex ). The release of
2754-524: Was ranked number 100 in Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of the Last 20 Years" list. In 2003, the album was ranked number 160 by the same magazine in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time , maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and dropping to number 188 in a 2020 revised list. In 2004, Pitchfork ranked Electric Warrior as the 20th best album of the 1970s. The album
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#17327876496832808-464: Was so new that no-one knew how to use it properly, resulting in an awful stereo mix that sounded "thin and nasty". The all-acoustic record featured Bolan on vocals and acoustic guitar with Steve Peregrin Took on backing vocals, bongos, Chinese gong, pixiphone and percussion. It also featured disc jockey John Peel , who read a children's story written by Bolan for the album's closing track, "Frowning Atahuallpa (My Inca Love)", which also included
2862-443: Was used for the poster that was included with the first issue in the UK and Germany. A hype sticker ("free T. Rex poster inside") advertised the poster in the UK. Some hype stickers for modern "remastering" campaigns are designed in a similar style as the original hype sticker. The poster picture was used for the gatefold of the US issue on Reprise Records. The inner sleeve artwork of the UK issue, portraits of Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn,
2916-428: Was written by Willie Dixon. In interviews, T. Rex leader Marc Bolan acknowledged that he "lifted it from a Howlin' Wolf song." Originally, "Jeepster" and "Life's a Gas" were pressed up together on 7-inch vinyl as a limited edition promotional disc for Electric Warrior . The disc was upgraded to a fully promoted single with "Jeepster" as the A side on 5 November 1971 by record label Fly . The single peaked at No. 2 in
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