The T. Rex Wax Co. Singles: A's and B's 1972-77

Performer: T. Rex
Artist: Elton John; Ringo Starr; Flo & Eddie; Gloria Jones; Lonnie Jordan
Producer: Marc Bolan; Tony Visconti
Distributor: City Hall

Notes: Personnel includes: Marc Bolan (vocals, guitar); Gloria Jones (vocals, keyboards); Miller Anderson (slide guitar); Howie Casey (saxophone); Lonnie Jordan (piano); Steve Currie (bass); Davey Lutton, Bill Legend (drums); Sue, Sunny, Vicky Brown, Barry St. John, Flo & Eddie (background vocals); Elton John, Ringo Starr. Engineers include: Marc Stavrou Includes liner notes by Mark Paytress. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Also available on Chronicles as 2 separate CDs: GREAT HITS 1972-1977: THE A-SIDES (534 361) & GREAT HITS 1972-1977: THE B-SIDES (534 362). This 2 CD set contains 44 tracks. Includes liner notes by Mark Paytress. Liner Note Author: Mark Paytress. Recording information: Music Recorders Inc., Hollywood, CA (09/1974). Author: Marc Bolan. Featuring the same songs as the two-disc GREATEST HITS: 1972-1977, this T. Rex collection performs the service of arranging the tracks in chronological order, whereas the former set divides the CDs up into A-sides and B-sides. While it's up to listeners to decide which approach works best, the WAX CO. SINGLES compilation does place British glam icon Marc Bolan's work in a better historical context, fully displaying his artistic progression during these key years in his career. Beginning with the swaggering "Telegram Sam," this offering charts T. Rex's wonderfully decadent glam journey, stopping off at lesser-known tracks such as the metal-tinged "Midnight," which showcases Bolan's blistering lead-guitar lines, and the aptly titled, Eastern-influenced "Chrome Sitar." Though the A-sides are still the main attraction, as revealed by the gleefully sleazy "Solid Gold Easy Action" and the fiercely stomping "20th Century Boy," the B-sides more than than carry their weight, making this one of the finest T. Rex compilations available. If rock stars are, by definition, glamorous, trashy, sexy, outrageous, and capable of creating unbelievable grooves and hooks, then Marc Bolan is one bona fide rock star. Backed by a group of musicians that performed and recorded under the name T. Rex, Bolan helped pioneer and define the glam rock aesthetic. With his heavily amplified guitar riffs, coy voice, and three-minute sing-along pop songs, Bolan quintessentially fit the glitter-strewn bill. GREAT HITS collects every single released by the artist between 1972 and 1977. The A-sides, which include "The Groover," "Solid Gold Easy Action," and chant-able anthems such as "Metal Guru," comprise the first disc, while the second disc collects the B-sides of those same releases. A proponent of the "maxi-single" (a 45 record that contained two, sometimes three strong songs, as opposed to throwaway cuts), Bolan produced B-sides that are surprisingly good (see the shuffle of "Jitterbug Love" or the nasty sludge of "Satisfaction Pony"). For both Bolan fans and the uninitiated, the collection proves to be a decadently superb overview of this genre icon. If rock stars are, by definition, glamorous, trashy, sexy, outrageous, and capable of creating unbelievable grooves and hooks, then Marc Bolan is one bona fide rock star. Backed by a group of musicians that performed and recorded under the name T. Rex, Bolan helped pioneer and define the glam rock aesthetic. With his heavily amplified guitar riffs, coy voice, and three-minute sing-along pop songs, Bolan quintessentially fit the glitter-strewn bill. GREAT HITS collects every A-side released by the artist between 1972 and 1977, include "The Groover," "Solid Gold Easy Action," and chant-able anthems such as "Metal Guru." For both Bolan fans and the uninitiated, the collection proves to be a decadently superb overview of this genre icon.

Q (5/95, p.122) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...the A-SIDES collection is still testament to a unique pop sensibility that stuck to its sound and vision however daft and simplistic it could be..."

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