Search - Marc Bolan, T-Rex :: Electric Warrior Sessions

More electric warfare

running_man | Chesterfield Twp., MI | 03/12/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The 'Electric Warrior Sessions' from Marc Bolan and T-Rex offers over fifty minutes of raw nuggets from the studio work that produced the glam-rocker's most heralded album. Bolan was noted for not spending much time in the studio polishing his compositions, prefering instead to seek the intensity only fresh performances can claim. So there probably wasn't a lot of editing floor material available, and a glance at the set list for this disc would seem to support that notion. Only five of the eleven songs from the finished, 1971 vinyl release are featured in out-takes or alternates here, so there is a significant departure between the two bodies of work.



Among the tracks from 'Electric Warrior' are two alternate versions of Bolan's biggest hit, 'Get It On', which soared to number ten nationally when it was marketed as 'Bang a Gong' in January of 1972. The first version is a finished version, featuring all the bells and whistles (and the tasty sax solo, rumored to be performed by David Bowie, as well as background vocals, rumored to be performed by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, the Flo & Eddie who founded The Turtles), while the closing track is completely stripped down to Marc's vocals and the rhythm section. It's 'Get It On' as it would sound if Bolan were in a four-piece teen garage band! Two extremes to be sure, but I believe any version of this remarkable track would be entertaining in its own right, and these two certainly are. Got any more laying around? Among the other covers of 'Electric Warrior' tracks are versions of the airy and beautiful 'Cosmic Dancer' and 'Life's a Gas'. 'Monolith' shows up twice, but both versions are weaker tracks. The song itself is a bit of a drag, and since it shows up twice it's dragging both feet. While the second version is more vibrant, Bolan cuts it off after three minutes, saying, "That's enough to listen to...". 'Jeepster' gets rolling nicely, while managing to be ragged at the same moment.



The best tracks among the non-'Electric Warrior' selections are a trippy, not bludgeoning version of 'Summertime Blues', nicely adapted to Bolan's vocal sound via a pair of dueling wah-pedal guitars. T-Rex attempts a cover of 'Honey Don't', but Bolan is hardly a country-rocker, but after three false starts take up half of the seven minutes this track eats up, the band finally gets balanced and kicking. Might be more enjoyable without all the clutter, but I guess that's part of what session albums are about. Two other notable non-'EW' tracks show up at the end of the disc, the raunchy, and a bit bawdy 'Baby Strange', which borrows a page from Bolan's 'Unicorn' melodies and adapts it to electric guitars and relationships, and 'Jewel', which comes closest to the popular heavy metal Led Zeppelin sound of the era. A nicely pulsing bass guitar riff drives the song along while Bolan's psychedelic electric guitar leads meander on top of it. Less appealing is 'Woodland Rock', a throwaway@2minutes.com that scarily approaches bubblegum music.



The fourteen page booklet that accompanies this disc features notes from Nikki Sudden, Cliff McLenehan, and Bill Legend, as well as twenty photographs of Bolan from the era. Whether you're a fan of Marc or not, the music from this, the epitome of his most commercially successful era, clamors for a listen. And if you don't mind the studio chatter and miscues (a primary reason for the disc being demoted from four stars), the disc is a worthy addition to the legacy of 'Electric Warrior'."