Bolan, Marc & T. Rex - 20th Century Boy - The Ultimate Collection

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Hip-O Records
Catalog Number: 3145849482
Format: CD
Total Time: 70:16:00

What a magnificent indulgence it was to hear this music again. To hear it all remastered for the best possible sound makes it much more inviting than ever before. Marc Bolan & T. Rex made a lot of great music in the few short years that they were in existence. For those of you that did not know, Marc lost his life in a freak car accident in 1977. Unfortunately, it was just before he was getting ready to go into an entirely new direction with his music.

20th Century Boy - The Ultimate Collection is the definitive T. Rex found on one CD. There have been countless collections and rarities issued. I know, I bought some of them. Until now, there hasn't been one single CD available that has put together the early acoustic Bolan recordings and the well-known glam rock tracks. The recent car commercial [Mitsubishi Motors ed.] playing the "20th Century Boy" track hasn't hurt renewed interest in Bolan's catalog It certainly turned my head and reminded me of the great music that this man made. It is a rare occasion indeed to listen to a CD with 23 tracks and enjoy every single one. I most certainly did, and it gets better with each listen.

If Bolan had a different twist of fate and lived, I am sure he would have given Mr. Bowie a run for his money. He was the only artist during the seventies that even came close to keeping up with Bowie in glam rock circles.

My favs are "20th Century Boy," "Jeepster," "Children Of The Revolution," "Elemental Child," "Ride A White Swan,"and the incredible "Slider." Collections like this continue to give me further evidence that the 70s provided a cache of great music similar to that of the 60s. The music is so memorable and timeless that I never tire of hearing it. It also helps that I grew up in that period, so my relationship to the music is more personal.

The sound keeps getting better every time an artists' catalog is re-released. Yes, it can become an expensive hobby. It somehow becomes all worth it when you give that CD a spin though. It does it for me every time without fail. If you have been a fan of this music you will be in rock 'n' roll rapture, if this is the first time you have been exposed you will become a fan straight away.

Tracklisting:
Debora (3:08) / One Inch Rock (1:44) / King Of The Rumbling Spires (2:08) / By The Light Of A Magical Moon (2:48) / Elemental Child (5:33) / Ride A White Swan (2:13) / Summertime Blues (2:42) / Jewel (2:49) / Beltane Walk (2:22) / Hot Love (4:56) / Bang A Gong (Get It On) (4:26) / Raw Ramp (5:12) / Cosmic Dancer (4:26) / Jeepster (4:10) / Telegram Sam (3:45) / Metal Guru (2:24) / Mystic Lady (3:14) / The Slider (3:21) / Children Of The Revolution (2:28) / Solid Gold Easy Action (2:25) / Born To Boogie (2:02) / 20th Century Boy (3:38) / I Love To Boogie (2:12)

Musicians:
(overall) Marc Bolan - vocals, guitar
Steve Peregrine Took - bass, percussion, piano, bongos, drums, bong, vocals, pixiephone
Mickey Finn - percussion
Steve Currie - bass
Bill Legend - drums
Jack Green - rhythm guitar
Dino Dins - keyboards

Discography:
My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair...But Now They're Content To Wear Stars (1968/2004)
Prophets, Seer & Sages The Angels Of The Ages (1968/2004*)
Unicorn (1969)
A Beard Of Stars (1970)
T. Rex (1970/2004*)
Electric Warrior (1971)
Best Of T. Rex (1971)
The Slider (1972)
Bolan Boogie (1972)
Ride A White Swan (1972)
Tanx (1973)
Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow (1974)
Light Of Love (1974)
Bolan's Zip Gun (1975)
Futuristic Dragon (1976)
Dandy In The Underworld (1977)
Live 1977 (1977)
Spaceball (1977)
Greatest Hits (1978)
Solid Gold (1979)
20th Century Boy (1981)
Across The Airwaves (1982)
Children Of Rarn Suite (1982)
Dance In The Midnight (1983)
Beyond The Rising Sun (1984)
T. Rextasy: The Best Of T. Rex, 1970-1973 (1985)
The Definitive Tyrannosaurus Rex (1994)
Greatest Hits 1972-1977, Vol 1: The A Sides (1994)
Greatest Hits 1972-1977, Vol 2: The B Sides (1994)
T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings, Vol 1: 1972, Pt 1 (1998)
T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings, Vol 2: 1972, Pt 2 (1998)
T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings, Vol 3: 1973, Pt 1 (1998)
T. Rex Unchained: Unreleased Recordings, Vol 4: 1973, Pt 2 (1998)
Electric Boogie (2000)
Live At The Boston Gliderdome (2002)
T. Rex Wax Co. Singles, Vol. 2 (1975-1978) (2002)
Renaissance (2002)
Born To Boogie (2005)
There Was A Time: Live At Middle Earth September 23, 1967 (2002)
Electric Jewels (2007)

Marc Bolan On Video (VID) (1985)
The T. Rex Collection (VID) (1991)
Born To Boogie (VID/DVD) (1994/2005*)
The Best Of MusikLaden (DVD) (1999)
T. Rex EP (DVD) (2003)
Inside T. Rex: An Independent Critical Review 1970-1973 (DVD) (2005)

plus a ton more (50+ at least) compilations...

* Japanese import, ** expanded or deluxe edition

Genre: Rock

Origin UK

Added: August 25th 2002
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.marc-bolan.com
Hits: 2119
Language: english