Vinyl Reports

Many music fans consider Electric Warrior, the classic September 1971 Reprise LP by Marc Bolan’s T. Rex, to be ground zero for the music genre known as glam rock. Indeed, popular music’s trajectory at that time would likely be very different if not for the success of Electric Warrior. Imagine a world without all those recordings released in its wake from the likes of David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, and The Sweet, right on down to more modern offspring such as John Cameron Mitchell’s remarkable Hedwig & The Angry Inch. All of them owe much to T. Rex’s pioneering trajectory.

Electric Warrior — which reached the No. 1 spot on the UK charts and the Top 10 in the U.S., largely due to the mega hit “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” — has long been an in-demand fan-favorite LP, so a new, audiophile-worthy remastered 180g 1LP version of it courtesy Rhino’s excellent High Fidelity Series that came out on December 12, 2025, was very much in order.

Produced by the legendary Tony Visconti — who discovered Bolan, and was soon enough renowned for his work with Bowie — Electric Warrior very much became the pop music template for the times: riff-rich chugging rock ’n’ boogie, soaring overdriven Les Paul-flavored guitar tones, rich falsetto harmonies, and infectious singalong choruses, along with periodically baroque-flavored string arrangements adding a touch of sophistication and class.

Before we venture further down into the album and the music itself, as well as share a brief history lesson about Bolan’s indelible impact on the glam movement, let’s first recap what we know about the all-important DNA that underlies this latest Rhino High Fidelity (a.k.a. Hi-Fi) Series release. Perhaps most importantly, we know that this new Electric Warrior reissue LP was pressed from new lacquers that were cut from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearant Audio. The albums were pressed on 180g dark black vinyl at Optimal in Germany, and the LP itself comes housed in the Hi-Fi Series’ now-custom audiophile-grade, black paper, plastic-lined inner sleeve.

The cover art for the Hi-Fi Electric Warrior LP is arguably much finer than the original editions on Reprise in 1971. Employing original art elements, the dramatic — and, frankly, iconic — black-and-gold design featuring an outline of Bolan rocking out on his Les Paul in front of an amp stack is now presented in a glossy, laminated form akin to the finest Blue Note Tone Poet style reissues instead of the simple matte finish of the original. The gatefold style cover has been preserved, but it now includes an extra pocket to house a four-page, full-color, album-sized insert with great new photos and a fabulous fresh essay on the inner spread by Visconti.

The Hi-Fi Series edition of Electric Warrior — a limited edition of 5,000 individually numbered copies — sports an SRP of $39.98, and it is available exclusively at the official Rhino.com site store here. It is also available in an expanded deluxe package subtitled (Singles Edition) that adds two 7-inch 33⅓rpm singles (EPs, really) featuring the non-LP hit “Hot Love” as well as “Bang A Gong (Get It On).” That edition has an SRP of $79.98, and is also available at Rhino.com here. If you’re a reel-to-reel fan, a very limited edition (500 copies!) in that re-emerging format goes for $299.98, and you can get it at the Rhino shop here.

Some glam history now before I get into the sound details of the Electric Warrior Hi-Fi LP. Guitarist/vocalist Marc Bolan and T. Rex became Britain’s biggest superstar phenomenon after The Beatles, reportedly selling (at one point) upwards of 12,000 singles per day, and they also charted 11 Top 10 hits between 1970 and 1973.

The year that Electric Warrior was released, 1971, was such a watershed, transitional time for music. Following the late-’60s’ psychedelic, heavy metal, and singer/songwriter movements, over in a corner of England emerged a fun, new hybrid music experience — part hard rock, part bubblegum pop, part post-Donovan mystical whimsy, part post-Tommy hard-rocking teen idolatry — that was eventually and lovingly dubbed glam. The trigger for this movement appears to have been Bolan and T. Rex’s February 1971 appearance on Top of the Pops — in silvery satin stage wear — performing their first No. 1 single, the above-noted “Hot Love.”

Such was the response to that moment that it effectively set the stage for the blow-up success of Electric Warrior later that year. In effect, Bolan and his outfit had transformed a lighthearted, surrealist, bongo-infused acoustic-leaning duo fully named Tyrannosaurus Rex into the heavier, metal-aspirant, raw-rocking, glittering, shining star-making hit machine known more abbreviatedly as T. Rex.

When it comes to the concept of glam, many people tend to immediately think of David Bowie’s June 1972 breakthrough LP on RCA, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, but Bolan came first. True, Bowie’s glam-baked sound was indeed brewing on his two prior, albeit poor-selling but critically acclaimed RCA releases — November 1970’s The Man Who Sold the World and December 1971’s Hunky Dory — but neither had quite the punch that Electric Warrior delivered in September 1971. By the time Bowie morphed into Ziggy, his sound was duly amped up to 11, due in no small part to the full-time presence of remarkable guitarist Mick Ronson, and then his image took center stage as 100 percent glam royalty. However, the reality is that the glam movement began with Electric Warrior — so, to better appreciate all that came in its wake, it behooves new and old listeners alike to drop the needle on this Hi-Fi Series entry to experience the original template for this sound.

The new pressing of this landmark release is excellent. While it sounds very much in keeping with my original, 1971-era U.S. pressing of Electric Warrior on Reprise, in back-to-back listening sessions, I realized that the new Kevin Gray remaster is markedly less compressed, ultimately presenting the music in a more widescreen manner. (Footnote 1)

I noticed this at the start of “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” (Side 2, Track 1). On the new Hi-Fi edition, “Gong” opens with a great sense of studio air that was not apparent on my 1970s original. Also on that track, you can better hear Rick Wakeman’s (uncredited) piano — and, of course, the amazing backing vocals by Mark Volman & Howard Kaylan, a.k.a. Flo & Eddie of The Turtles and Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention fame.

That cinemascopic feel is also super-apparent from the opening slap of “Mambo Sun” (Side 1, Track 1), which sounds more, well, stereophonic than I’ve heard of it previously. Listen for that slap again on “Jeepster” (Side 1, Track 3), which sounds extra open and vibrant.

While the new master is not especially brighter-sounding, inevitably, it may feel that way initially, because you are hearing more of the music in a much more open, likely less-compressed presentation. Within a minute or so into listening to the new Hi-Fi edition of Electric Warrior, I was utterly immersed in the music, with that classic sound both preserved and improved.

Bolan is not often cited as a guitar hero per se, but I’ll make the case that he deserves to be considered one, based on his performances on Electric Warrior. Listen to his guitar tone and the control he exerts during his solo during “The Motivator” (Side 2, Track 4) — you can almost feel his fingers wrangling the steel strings of his (I assume) Les Paul Gold Top. And if you love amplifier tones, Electric Warrior is simply a must-listen for guitar heads!

The acoustic guitars are also beautiful. Tracks like “Planet Queen” (Side 2, Track 2) are gorgeously recorded — to the point where, if you close your eyes, you can almost see Bolan’s guitar pick traversing the steel strings. Percussionist Mickey Finn’s congas sound extremely natural and present in the studio space, while Volman & Kaylan’s backing vocals here are super-vibrant, especially when they’re featured on the song’s closing choruses.

The music of Electric Warrior is presented in a very rich, warm, open, and airy manner. The vinyl pressing from Optimal is absolutely silent (and perfectly centered), so the music just jumps out of the grooves through your speakers.

My only nits to pick here are purely cosmetic. I wish the powers that be had included some of the original album elements that were issued in the UK like the foldout poster that replicates the U.S. gatefold photo, as well as the spiffy custom inner sleeves that featured drawings of the core original T. Rex duo (as you can see on the above collage that I’ve prepared for your edification). There were custom picture labels originally as well. But, ultimately, those are tiny issues. (Footnote 2)

As for our ratings, Electric Warrior is a great listen from start to finish, filled with songs that hold their own against the big, smash-hit tracks like “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” and “Jeepster,” so I’m happy to give this release a very happy 11 for the Music. As far as the Sound goes, I have to consider several factors in its rating. First, it’s originally a 1971 release, and as remarkably consistent as the sound and production is — given that it was recorded on the fly at four different studios — there are other albums that are probably a little bigger-sounding from that period. Still, I’m happy to give Electric Warrior a very solid 9.5 rating overall for Sound, which also gives us a little wiggle room should we get to experience a UHQR and/or One-Step version of it somewhere down the line. (Footnote 3)

For an affordably priced audiophile release, this new Rhino Hi-Fi Series edition sets a fine new benchmark for how good Electric Warrior can sound in its original 33⅓rpm form. For anyone who has always wanted a good go-to play copy of this rock & roll classic without having to pay the hefty collectors’ prices that NM originals are currently going for on Discogs, this new edition of Electric Warrior is near definitive. In effect, this Hi-Fi Series Electric Warrior reissue will make you want to skip the cowbell, and just bang your gong proudly. Just one bit of “pro tip” advice in closing: Play it loud!

Author bio: Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for eCoustics, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.

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Footnote 1: AP editor Mike Mettler adds: My well-loved original 1971 Electric Warrior Reprise LP (RS 6466) has long been relegated to ceremonial shelving only, so getting to spin the new Hi-Fi Series version of it on my turntable has been a blessing. Compared to the RTI-pressed, 2017 AAA reissue that Kevin Gray also cut (R1-6466), it’s practically neck and neck, but the new Hi-Fi edition has a slight edge in clarity and breadth.

Footnote 2: Mettler again. My copy of the Hi-Fi Electric Warrior LP experienced no pops or clicks from start to finish. The vinyl was deep black, flat, and well-centered. Springboarding off Mark’s cosmetic nits, I do wish the Hi-Fi Series folks had gone with the sandy-brown “riverboat” Reprise label on this album — or even chosen the similar shade of the original UK version’s Fly label — rather than stick with the current red-and-black Rhino Hi-Fi series style. As for my ratings, I too give the Music on Electric Warrior an 11, and the Sound a 9.

Footnote 3: Mettler here once more. Mark and I both want to point out that there is a 2LP 45rpm edition of Electric Warrior released by Mobile Fidelity in August 2020 (MFSL 2-490) with a second disc of “Work in Progress” bonus tracks (previously available on a few T. Rex CD releases) that we haven’t been able to compare the new Hi-Fi edition with as of this posting — but if we get a chance to do so, we will update this footnote section accordingly.

T. REX
ELECTRIC WARRIOR
180g 1LP (Reprise/Rhino)
MUSIC: 11
SOUND: 9.5

Original album produced by Tony Visconti
Original album engineered by Roy Thomas Baker, Malcolm Toft (and likely others)
String arrangements by Tony Visconti
Original album recorded at Trident Studios (London), Wally Heider Recording (Hollywood), MediaSound (New York) and Advision (London)
Original album mixed at Air Studios (London)
Original album lacquers cut at United Sound
Original album mastered by George Marino
Rhino High Fidelity reissue disc mastering/lacquer cutting by Kevin Gray, Cohearant Audio (Los Angeles)
Vinyl pressed at Optimal Media, Germany

Side 1
1. Mambo Sun
2. Cosmic Dancer
3. Jeepster
4. Monolith
5. Lean Woman Blues

Side 2
1. Bang A Gong (Get It On)
2. Planet Queen
3. Girl
4. The Motivator
5. Life’s A Gas
6. Rip Off