At once sardonic, flamboyant, and trashy, T. Rex's uncommonly unique Electric Warrior catapulted leader Marc Bolan to stardom, triggered an ongoing fascination with glam rock, and launched a movement that soon involved David Bowie, Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, and more. Yet none of those namesake artists ever released a record that out-glammed, out-innuendoed, out-thrusted, or out-camped Electric Warrior.

The sound is recognizably rock, yet a previously unheard exotic variant, almost as if concocted by inhabitants of one of the Tolkien-esque worlds common in Bolan's lyrics. The strings are overt but discreet in shape and tone, injecting just the right amount of class. Bursting with excessive fun and unchecked libido, T. Rex's catchy boogies, shuffles, and vamps scoot by on a seemingly impossible blend of concise hooks, non-sequitur fantasies, and theatrical swagger.

From the chart-topping "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to the beautiful "Life's a Gas," the R&B-stoked hit "Jeepster" to the pout of "Motivator" and galactic soul of "Planet Queen," Bolan, percussionist Mickey Finn, and boards manipulator Tony Visconti craft a rewardingly strange, parallel universe of sound, style, and sex that still has no equal.