Marc Bolan & T. Rex - BBC Recordings 1970-1976 (CD)

All Music Guide

This collection of BBC recordings chronicles Marc Bolan's rise from underground cult figure to international stardom as a teen idol and features incredible historical recordings from numerous BBC dates from 1970 through 1976. An expansive and thorough collection, though their first time at the Beeb was with Steve Peregrine Took when the early T. Rex incarnation, Tyrannosaurus Rex, was invited by legendary DJ John Peel to appear on his Top Gear show in 1967 before even having an album released. The second incarnation of the abbreviated name and expanded lineup debuted on John Peel's show in the summer of 1970, with the group performing the "Ride a White Swan" single, which was concurrently storming the mainstream charts. This version and equally mind-boggling takes of "Jewel," "Suneye," and "Elemental Child" comprise the first section of the compilation. Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn finished the session with a rave-up on "Summertime Blues" which is utterly brilliant. Evidently, a second s...ession was recorded in November of 1970, yet the tape went AWOL from the BBC vaults. The next session saw a reduced group playing on a Sunday morning in December, again performing "Jewel" and an early incarnation of "Hot Love," and yet another session in December 1971 yielded "Deborah" and a better version of "Elemental Child." The remainder of the collection follows a formula of BBC sessions that Marc Bolan adapted which was simply reworking existing studio and LP versions of the songs with additional vocals or guitar overdubs. T. Rex fans will be delighted by these variations of the hits "Jeepster," "Electric Boogie," "Get It On," and the sublime "Girl." Although all the BBC sessions were recorded between 1970 and 1972, they continued to make their way slowly on-air up until mid-1976. The latter half of the collection includes the quintessential T. Rex hits "Telegram Sam," "The Slider," and "Children of a Revolution," all in all making BBC Recordings 1970-1976 a mammoth serving of T. Rex's greatest hits. - Skip Jansen, All Music Guide Read more Less