20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection
Despite scoring only one sizable American hit ("Bang a Gong") during its lifespan, Marc Bolan's T. Rex was one of the most influential rock acts of the '70s. This 23-track, digitally remastered anthology moves from the band's original, late-'60s roots as Tyrannosaurus Rex to the acoustic neo-folk duo of Bolan and Steve Peregrin Took to its more familiar electrified early-'70s incarnation. While many of his U.K. peers were smitten with prog-rock excesses and album-length ruminations during that period, Bolan obsessed on the pop-single form, stripping his music down to the elemental rock hooks of "Ride a White Swan" and the minimalist cover ofEddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues." Coupled with a glam-era sense of style, his was a pop sensibility that presaged much of the succeeding waves of punk and new wave, hard rock and glam metal. Indeed, "Metal Guru" and "Children of the Revolution" now sound like clarion calls. If, as singles like "Gong," "Telegram Sam," and "Jeepster" indicate, Bolan was working from formula, it was an undeniably infectious one. And what could be more of an ironic tribute that a quarter-century after Bolan's untimely death in a car accident, his ballsy "20th Century Boy" became the soundtrack to a car advertising campaign?--Jerry McCulley