Electric Warrior (1971)

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, by Fly Records in the United Kingdom and Reprise Records in the United States. 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 the UK Albums Chart. The single "Get It On" helped to boost the album's sales and it reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 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 the glam rock movement. It had a profound influence on later musicians of different genres.

Background

As T. Rex re-entered the studio to record their next album in March 1971, the band was riding a wave of sudden success prompted by their 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 the Pops on 24 March, 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 their 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.

Songs and recording

The lyrics on 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. Bolan 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, 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 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 the album began on 5 March at Trident Studios in London, where the previous albums had been recorded, with an early version of "Planet Queen" put to tape. On 16 March, 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 30 March, with early takes of "Cosmic Dancer" featuring Bolan on 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 18 April, 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 27 April where working versions of "Jeepster", "Lean Woman Blues" and "Girl" (with 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.