2012 '40th Anniversary' 2CD DELUXE EDITION
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2012 '40th Anniversary' 1CD Standard 'Expanded Edition'
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"...Get It On..."
Losing my lovingly kept vinyl copy of the Rex's iconic "Electric Warrior" with the 'sticker' on the front cover (inner and poster inside too) a few years back has remained one of my big LP regrets over the years (needs must at the time and it had to be done). The British album on Fly Records sold loads (sleeve by Hipgnosis) - but for some reasons copies of an original with the sticker still intact (on the front sleeve) are stupidly rare – more than most fans know.
Fast forward to a '40th Anniversary' Reissue campaign and we get two variants of "Electric Warrior" for UK issue in April 2012 - a Single Expanded Edition CD with Four Bonus Tracks (Universal 533 780-1 - Barcode 600753378014) and a '2CD Deluxe Edition' with a Second Disc of 21 Previously Unreleased Demos and Outtakes from the 1971 sessions (Catalogue number below). Original Producer Tony Visconti has been involved in the Remaster process for the 11-Track 1971 album on CD1 whilst trusted Audio Engineer names like Paschal Byrne and Ben Wiseman handled the 25-track remastered remainder across both CDs. They sound huge - especially the shockingly good CD2.
These 40th Anniversary 2012 reissues have even reached out to fans and knowledgeable types who have provided loads of memorabilia for the lovely 24-page booklet. Both issues have their worth, whilst for me the 2CD DE variant has issues. Time to 'Get It On' and indeed 'Bang A Gong' for the original Jeepsters -
T.REX. Here are the Glam Rock details...
UK released 17 April 2012 (1 May 2012 in the USA) – "Electric Warrior" by T.REX on Universal/A&M/Fly 533 780-0 (Barcode 600753378007) is an 'Deluxe Edition' 2CD Reissue (40th Anniversary) that plays out as follows:
CD1 (55:58 minutes):
The Original Album
1. Mambo Sun (3:36 minutes) [Side 1]
2. Cosmic Dancer (4:26 minutes)
3. Jeepster (4:07 minutes)
4. Monolith (3:45 minutes)
5. Lean Woman Blues (2:59 minutes)
6. Get It On (4:22 minutes) [Side 2]
7. Planet Queen (3:10 minutes)
8. Girl (2:29 minutes)
9. The Motivator (3:56 minutes)
10. Life's A Gas (2:23 minutes)
11. Rip Off (3:39 minutes)
Tracks 1 to 11 are the 2nd album "Electric Warrior" by T. REX (formerly known as Tyrannosaurus Rex for four previous LPs on Regal Zonophone Records) – released 24 September 1971 in the UK on Fly Records HIFLY 6 and in the USA on Reprise RS 6466. It peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 32 in the USA.
T. REX was:
MARC BOLAN – Vocals and Guitars
MICKEY FINN – Vocals and Percussion
IAN McDONALD – Saxophones (of King Crimson)
BURT COLLINS - Flugel Horn
STEVE CURRIE – Bass
WILL LEGEND – Drums
HOWARD KAYLAN & MARK VOLMAN [aka Flo & Eddie] – Backing Vocals
RICK WAKEMAN (of Yes) – Piano on "Get It On" (uncredited)
STRING SECTION – Uncredited
BONUS TRACKS:
Singles 'A' & 'B' Sides
12. There Was A Time/Raw Ramp (B-side of "Get It On" – UK 7" single released 2 July 1971 on Fly Records BUG 10). Although listed as a two-part B-side in the title, it has in fact three distinct musical sections with the uncredited Part 3 sometimes known as "Electric Boogie" because of the lyrics. "Get It On" peaked at No. 1 in the UK charts and was billed as "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" in the USA on Reprise 1032 when it was released December 1971. It entered the US Billboard Singles charts 29 January 1972 and peaked at No. 10 a few weeks later. It was the only chart single in the USA for T.Rex – a stark contrast to his huge chart status in the UK.
13. Hot Love (Non-Album A-side – UK 7" single released 19 February 1971 on Fly Records BUG 6) – peaked at No. 1 on the UK singles charts
14. Woodland Rock (1 of 2 Non-Album B-sides to "Hot Love" – UK 7" single released 19 February 1971 on Fly Records BUG 6) – peaked at No. 1 on the UK singles charts
15. The King Of The Mountain Cometh (2 of 2 Non-Album B-sides to "Hot Love" – UK 7" single released 19 February 1971 on Fly Records BUG 6) – peaked at No. 1 on the UK singles charts
CD2 (60:32 minutes):
Demos & Out-Takes: Previously Unreleased
1. Electric Warrior Poem (0:21 minutes)
2. Mambo Sun (3:49 minutes, instrumental only)
3. Cosmic Dancer (4:26 minutes)
4. Jeepster (4:18 minutes)
5. Monolith (2:23 minutes)
6. Lean Woman Blues (3:05 minutes, Take 10)
7. Get It On (5:48 minutes, Extended Version with Different Ending)
8. Planet Queen (2:56 minutes)
9. Girl (2:29 minutes)
10. The Motivator (3:57 minutes)
11. Life's A Gas (3:32 minutes, with studio dialogue and false start)
12. Rip Off (3:18 minutes)
13. Raw Ramp (2:21 minutes)
14. Electric Boogie (2:06 minutes)
15. Untitled Instrumental aka A Lot Of Rubbish (1:35 minutes)
16. Honey Don't (3:23 minutes, Carl Perkins cover version)
17. Planet Queen (2:25 minutes)
18. Girl (0:38 minutes)
19. Jeepster (2:34 minutes)
20. Get It On (3:15 minutes, Acoustic Demo)
21. Electric Warrior Poem and Radio Advert (0:58 minutes)
The packaging is a mixed bag for me - great in some ways but infuriating in others and something of a missed opportunity. The original issues by Universal of their 2CD DELUXE EDITION series (as most fans will know) came with outer plastic slipcases that protected and gave shape to the multiple gatefold card digipak contained within. Around the time of the Thin Lizzy 2CD DE Reissues, Universal suddenly decided to ditch those slipcases and just put a 2CD DELUXE EDITION Bandana around the card digipak at the bottom (aping the look of old) and left it at that. What this does essentially is to make them instantly vulnerable to damage and crushing. And as the glossy dark cover of "Electric Warrior" is so stark, it immediately starts creasing and getting finger marks no matter what way you handle it. In short, any genuine visual impact of an event release is lost.
Let’s however deal with what we do have – compare the single with the double too. The first thing you notice about the 2CD DE Variant is that the lyrics are reproduced on the inner flaps as you open the DE seal – they are not in the Single Disc variant. The 24-page booklet however is in both – no differences. Cleverly too, CD1 has the Bolan and Finn photo that graced one side of the original LP label - while CD2 has the Fly Records logo that graced the other vinyl label side. On the inner four-way fold-out flaps is the beautiful pencil drawings done by George Underwood that were the inner bag of the original 1971 vinyl LP. Reproduced beneath the see-through plastic CD trays are two black and whites of Bolan – both are in the booklet too.
The generously outfitted 24-page booklet is a fan's dream – beautifully and smartly laid out. You get updated (new research especially for this 2012 issue) and in-depth liner notes from noted Bolan expert MARK PAYTRESS – as well Melody Maker, NME, Sounds and Beat Instrumental front page repros, snaps of Bolan in the studio, on stage with T.Rex and relaxing (the poster shot). There is the rare sheet music for "Hot Love" and a picture of Bolan by a bus with his girlfriend as well as the George Underwood pencil drawings that were the inner bag (Bolan on one side, Mickey Finn on the other) – they adorn either side of the centre pages. The black and white fold-out 30" x 20" Poster that came with original British LPs is reproduced on Page 4 - and as you turn to Page 2 – you get to see the actual live photo of T.Rex they used to form the front cover artwork. They simply zeroed in on Bolan, his Guitar stance and Stacked Amps behind him, put a Halo Effect around those whilst excluding the rest of the band. It is nice attention to detail to see that photo.
But you would have to say that although the 24-page booklet is chunky for all the right reasons (it is used in both the Single CD Edition and this 2CD Deluxe Edition) – it rather stupidly doesn’t mention anything about the entirety of CD2 and its haul of 21 Previously Unreleased outtakes – not one word – clearly written before they were settled on as extras. For instance when you look at Track 2 on CD2, it simply states "Mambo Sun" and nothing else. You play it and it turns out to be Instrumental Only Version minus any vocals and is a fantastic sounding chug with an extended guitar ending (no Take Numbers either). Back to the booklet - there is discussion of the singles "Hot Love" in February 1971 and "Get It On" in May 1971 – both before the album launch of September 1971 – and their rather good Non-LP B-sides – but naught on CD2. And how cool would it have been that the too-easily-crushed plump card digipak was made instead into a Mini LP Sleeve with a protective case (like those Stones reissues on Virgin) with the Sticker 'Free T.Rex Poster Inside' like the original British LP on the Repro, plus the inner-bag and fold-out poster on the inside. Anything that would have made it look like more than the visual anti-climax this DE is. But alas...let’s get to the audio and songs...
Original Producer TONY VISCONTI has remastered the album for this issue while the hugely experienced Audio Engineers PASCHAL BYRNE and BEN WISEMAN handled the Bonus Tracks on CD1 and the whole of CD2. All of it sounds renewed and incredibly alive. There are hissy passages for sure but no tampering with the original sound has taken place to my ears - it's just breathing better now. A job sensitively done...
Right from the opening guitar chug of "Mambo Sun" – the vocals, the strings and backing singers and those cool swinging guitars – all of it sleeks out of your speakers with the swagger of a man on the up. There is a lot of hiss as "Cosmic Dancer" opens with the Acoustic and Strings – but there's no denying the loveliness of the song. The whack off "Jeepster" is shocking – that foot-stomping guitar boogie still gets me too (another effortless No. 1 single dashed off in his sleep). That lone guitar rip at the beginning of "Monolith" threatens to punch a hole in your speaker cones on this ballsy remaster – the lurching slugger beat somehow now even more epic than I remember it ("...shallow are the actions of the children of the men...oh yeah!") Side 1 ends with "Lean Woman Blues" – a one two and buckle my shoe set of Bolan Blues where he bemoans his lady's 'lean love' while those guitars riff and groan ("...you're the love of my life...then you gorge me with a knife...")
What can you say about "Get It On" - a winner to this day. I was a kid in Dublin 1971 and we'd gone with the scouts to Todd Vale Camp Site near Liverpool in England for a summer outing. On the site someone had a portable singles deck and the rare picture sleeve of "Get It On". Sun shining down – campfires nearby cooking dinner - bopping to that infectious beat - man we must played that sucker nine times in a row (the memory still sends chills up my arms). And here it is again with that fabulous Visconti production only better – bang a gong baby! Many peoples other fave is the slinky Acoustic Rock of "Planet Queen" – a great Bolan groove. Burt Collins provides the Flugel Horn for the pretty "Girl" – a song where Marc sounds most like Bowie - who would of course release "Hunky Dory" in December of that great year (1971). More cool Bolan riffage with the "...love the way you walk..." groove of "The Motivator" – while both 'Life's A Gas" and the angry live-in-the-studio "Rip Off" have healthy amounts of hiss for sure but still sound like they've been given a right old dust off - unleashed even.
What I also love about this reissue is that the Bonus Tracks provide you with four truly great non-album single sides – “Woodland Rock” and "The King of The Woodland Cometh" like some Tyrannosaurus Rex boogie outtakes, the so sexy sway of "Hot Love" and that amazing 3-part B-side to "Get It On". I’ve even isolated "Electric Boogie" as a track by itself (begins at 3:23 minutes) – what a blast. But those are blow out of the water by two truly fantastic additions to the album’s legend – a raucous dirty-dirty "Lean Woman Blues" and an extended 5:48 minute version of "Get It On". Much of the stunning hubcap diamond star halo version of "Get It On" that we know and love is all here - but there are other bits – guitars and vocals that amaze – yelps and those strings – and we finally get to hear where the fade-out ending guitar notes goes – so damn cool. And again – the Audio is fabulous.
CD2 offers up a fabulous and at times shockingly good/cool insight into the whole song-building process – Bolan dancing himself into the tomb on the early version of "Cosmic Dancer" – all acoustic guitars and drums – alive like early Bowie circa Hunky Dory. "Jeepster" has a slightly rougher vocal and you can really hear those foot stamps (upon your frozen cheeks) and a sexy breakdown ending full of raw power. When you hear the rough and ready guitar wallop of "Rip Off" in its instrumental form – you realize that the album was perhaps going to be more Bowie goes Rock than Bolan goes Beltane (love that guitar ending where he just feeds back the notes). Take 2 of "Electric Boogie" (third part of single B-side, see CD1) is preceded by some studio vocals but isn't as good as the final single mix. Speaking of "Electric Boogie" - the version here soon descends into that fantastic riffage which only makes me think that "Electric Boogie" would have ended a great album even better. The unreleased instrumental is a kind of meaningless ramble (disappointing) and the cover of the Carl Perkins classic "Honey Don't" feels like a Stray Cats outtake with someone sounding like Ringo Starr giving it some backing vocals. And again to hear an early acoustic demo of "Get It On" – you can hear the hit it would become already there with its sexy sway and great lyrics. Bang a gong indeed...
Marc Bolan would go on to "The Slider" and "Tanx" albums in 1972 and 1973 in the height of Seventies Bolanmania (and so much more) until his sad loss in London in 1977 in a car accident. But "Electric Warrior" is the one in the hearts of his original fans – that otherworld creature with his wild hair, beautiful face, affected vocals and fabulous guitar hooks.
As Bolan sang in the irrepressible Jeepster - "...I'll call you a jaguar if I may be so bold..." Amen to that you slinky mother...
