T. Rex (September 24, 1971) – Electric Warrior Album: UK

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Electric Warrior was the second studio album issued under the T. Rex name and the sixth album overall since the group's 1968 debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex. Released by Fly Records in the United Kingdom and Reprise Records in the United States, it marked a major turning point in the band's development. The album moved decisively away from the folk-oriented approach of earlier releases and established a more direct, pop-focused and flamboyant glam rock sound.

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By the time recording began, T. Rex had already experienced a dramatic rise in popularity. "Ride A White Swan" had reached number two in the UK, while "Hot Love" spent six consecutive weeks at number one. Marc Bolan's glitter-adorned appearance on Top Of The Pops during promotion for "Hot Love" became one of the defining visual moments associated with the emergence of glam rock.

The album became T. Rex's first UK number one album, remaining at the top of the chart for eight weeks and spending forty-four weeks in the listings overall. In America it reached number thirty-two on the Billboard 200. The success of "Get It On", retitled "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" in the United States, helped establish the group's profile internationally and became their only North American top-ten hit.

Over time, Electric Warrior has come to be regarded as one of the defining albums of the glam-rock era and one of Marc Bolan's most influential achievements.

RECORDING

Recording commenced on March 5, 1971, at Trident Studios in London, where an early version of "Planet Queen" was taped. Additional early sessions followed during March for "Mambo Sun" and "Cosmic Dancer".

When the group travelled to the United States in April 1971, recording continued at Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood and Mediasound Studios in New York City under producer Tony Visconti. During these sessions, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman joined the project, contributing backing vocals. Material including "Get It On", "Monolith", "Planet Queen", "Jeepster", "Lean Woman Blues" and "Girl" was developed during the American recordings.

Returning to England, Bolan and Visconti began extensive mixing at AIR Studios. The pair realised they had accumulated enough strong material to build a complete album. Additional sessions took place at Advision Studios, where "The Motivator", "Rip Off" and possibly "Life's A Gas" were recorded. The album master was compiled at Trident Studios on July 21, 1971, before the final sequence was assembled for release.

STYLE & THEMES

The songs represented a major shift in Bolan's songwriting approach. Instead of the dense fantasy imagery and romantic symbolism that characterised earlier albums, the material explored more personal, direct and often erotic themes.

Fantasy continued to appear in the lyrics, but it was now blended with rock-and-roll imagery involving cars, women, glamour and boogie. Musically, the album expanded the electric sound introduced on the previous T. Rex album, helped by the presence of Steve Currie on bass and Bill Legend on drums.

Tony Visconti further developed production techniques used on earlier records, including flanging, reverb, backwards guitar effects, tape loops and intentionally overloaded microphone preamps. Additional musicians including Rick Wakeman, Burt Collins, Ian McDonald, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman contributed to the album's distinctive sound.

TRACK-BY-TRACK NOTES

• Mambo Sun — Developed during early 1971 sessions and refined during the album recordings.

• Cosmic Dancer — Initially attempted with Marc Bolan playing a Fender Stratocaster before switching to acoustic guitar.

• Jeepster — Recorded during the United States sessions and later became the album's second single, released against Marc Bolans wishes.

• Monolith — Worked on during American recording sessions with Tony Visconti.

• Lean Woman Blues — Completed during the New York sessions and later received additional overdubs.

• Get It On — Became T. Rex's biggest-selling single and only North American top-ten hit. Rick Wakeman contributed piano.

• Planet Queen — One of the earliest songs recorded for the album and revisited throughout the sessions.

• Girl — Recorded under the working title "Electric Witch" and features Burt Collins on flugelhorn.

• The Motivator — Recorded during May 1971 sessions at Advision Studios.

• Life's A Gas — One of the album's gentler moments and later performed acoustically by Marc Bolan and Cilla Black on television.

• Rip Off — Early versions opened with a guitar riff before the arrangement was revised to begin with drums.

RELEASE HISTORY

Electric Warrior was issued on September 24, 1971, by Fly Records in the United Kingdom and Reprise Records in the United States.

The album reached number one in the UK and remained there for eight weeks. In America it reached number thirty-two on the Billboard 200.

Two singles were released from the album:

• Get It On — July 1971

• Jeepster — November 1971

"Get It On" spent four weeks at number one in the UK. For the American market it was retitled "Bang A Gong (Get It On)".

The album was later reissued by Rhino Records with bonus material, and a 30th Anniversary Special Edition added a further collection of work-in-progress recordings.

CHARTS & CERTIFICATIONS

AMERICA

USA Billboard 200 — Peak: 32

EUROPE

UK Albums Chart — Peak: 1

Germany — Peak: 14

Norway — Peak: 12

PACIFIC

Australia — Peak: 15

CERTIFICATIONS

BPI (United Kingdom) — Gold — 100,000 units

RIAA (United States) — Gold — 500,000 units

AWARDS

• Ranked No. 100 in Rolling Stone's 1987 "100 Greatest Albums of the Last 20 Years"

• Ranked No. 160 in Rolling Stone's 2003 and 2012 editions of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

• Ranked No. 188 in the 2020 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

• Included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

• Ranked No. 20 in Pitchfork's list of the best albums of the 1970s

PERSONNEL

T. Rex

Marc Bolan — vocals, guitar

Mickey Finn — congas, bongos, vocals

Steve Currie — bass

Bill Legend — drums, tambourine

Additional Personnel

Howard Kaylan — backing vocals

Mark Volman — backing vocals

Rick Wakeman — piano on "Get It On"

Ian McDonald — saxophone

Burt Collins — flugelhorn on "Girl"

PRODUCTION

Produced by Tony Visconti

String arrangements: Tony Visconti

Engineer: Roy Thomas Baker

Tape operator: Martin Rushent

Artwork and photography: George Underwood

Mastering: George Marino

Cover design: Hipgnosis

Cover photography: Kieron "Spud" Murphy

Label: Fly Records (UK); Reprise Records (US)

The album was also release on TC (cassette) and 8-Track (cassette)

A1 Mambo Sun

A2 Monolith

A3 Life's A Gas

B1 Planet Queen

B2 Girl

B3 The Motivator

C1 Cosmic Dancer

C2 Jeepster

C3 Lean Woman Blues (Beg)

D1 Lean Woman Blues (Concl)

D2 Bang A Gong (Get It On)

D3 Rip Off

RELEASE VARIANTS TABLE (SELECTIVE FORMATS)

Artist	Album	Label	Country	Catalogue	Date	Format
T. Rex	Electric Warrior	Fly Records	UK	HIFLY 6	September 24, 1971	LP
T. Rex	Electric Warrior	Reprise Records	USA	RS 6466	September 24, 1971	LP Gatefold
T. Rex	Electric Warrior	SMS Records	Japan	MD32-5016	September 30, 1985	CD First Pressing
T. Rex	Electric Warrior (30th Anniversary Edition)	A&M Records	UK/EU	493 113-2	2001	Special Edition CD

TRACKLIST TABLE (SELECTIVE FORMATS)

Format	Catalogue	Tracklisting
Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo	Label: Fly Records – HIFLY 6 Country: UK Released: September 24, 1971	A1. Mambo Sun (3:40) A2. Cosmic Dancer (4:30) A3. Jeepster (4:12) A4. Monolith (3:49) A5. Lean Woman Blues (3:02) B1. Get It On (4:27) B2. Planet Queen (3:13) B3. Girl (2:32) B4. The Motivator (4:00) B5. Life's A Gas (2:24) B6. Rip Off (3:40)
Rhino CD Reissue, Remastered	Label: Reprise Records – R2 76111, Rhino Records– R2 76111 Country: US Released: February 25, 2003	Original Album Bonus Tracks: There Was A Time (1:00) Raw Ramp (4:16) Planet Queen (Acoustic Version) (3:00) Hot Love (4:59) Woodland Rock (2:24) King Of The Mountain Cometh (3:57) The T. Rex Electric Warrior Interview (19:35)
30th Anniversary CD Reissue, Remastered, Special Edition,	Label: A&M Records – 493 113-2 Country: UK & Europe Released: 2001	Original Album Bonus Tracks: Rip Off (Work In Progress) (2:30) Mambo Sun (Work In Progress) (3:57) Cosmic Dancer (Work In Progress) (5:15) Monolith (Work In Progress) (4:47) Bang A Gong (Get It On) (4:43) Planet Queen (Work In Progress) (0:56) The Motivator (Work In Progress) (4:19) Life's A Gas (Work In Progress) (3:14)

NOTES

• The album artwork was designed by Hipgnosis using a photograph taken by Kieron "Spud" Murphy at a T. Rex concert in Nottingham on May 14, 1971.

• The original UK sleeve featured a metallic gold silhouette of Marc Bolan against a matte-black background.

• A poster was included with the first UK and German pressings, while the American edition incorporated the poster image into its gatefold design.

• The cover later inspired the artwork for Justice's debut album

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SOURCES Discogs, 45 World, Wikipedia, Official Charts, T. Rex Archives

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