Given that the T. Rex/Marc Bolan catalog is cluttered with collections, all recycling much of the same material, it's easy to be suspicious of another hits compilation, such as Hip-0's 2002 release 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection, especially if it's billed as an "ultimate" retrospective. Against all odds, this 23-track disc really is an "ultimate collection," or at least as close as it can possibly get, given the labyrinthine nature of Bolan's catalog. What this gets right is that ...   [ read more ]

CD $13.25

?The bulk of this album consists of a dozen demos that Bolan did in 1966, augmented by plenty of additional full rock instrumentation and backup vocals added in 1981, several years after Bolan's death. In other words, only Bolan's vocal and his acoustic guitar were recorded in 1966; the rest was overdubbed 15 years later. It is very rare indeed that this approach yields satisfactory results, and this is one more in the long line of misbegotten attempts to make material never intended for release suitable f...   [ read more ]

MP3 $8.99

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Marc Bolan recorded a lot -- so much, it seems, that he documented every time he picked up a guitar, whether it was at home or in the studio. Over the years, much of this has come out, most notably in the T. Rex Unchained series, which spans a mind-boggling 16 volumes (and this doesn't even include the rarities and outtakes that appeared on expanded versions of the proper albums). Unchained is a hardcore fan's delight, but it is nearly impossible to navigate for anybody who doesn't have prior know...   [ read more ]

CD $25.63