T. Rex "Dandy in the Underworld" (1977)

Dandy in the Underworld
release date: Mar. 11, 1977
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Marc Bolan
label: EMI Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Dandy in the Underworld" - 4. "I'm a Fool for You Girl" - 5. "I Love to Boogie" - 7. "Jason B. Sad" - 12. "Teen Riot Structure"

12th and final studio album by T. Rex. As usual all tracks were written by Bolan and the band name served as a mere pseudonym for Bolan himself as the only lasting member at this point was bassist Steve Currie who had been in the band since 1970. The album was a return to form and to laud as it peaked at number #26 on the album chart list despite not being a punk rock or new wave release. The previous album Futuristic Dragon (1976) was despite its inclusion of funk and soul more in sync with his material from the early 70s than this, where Bolan again has simplified the musical expression by turning down the glam rock side and turning up boogie rock, which at this point a band like Status Quo had success with. A few tracks even have art rock or new wave elements, and the album is by many critics seen as Bolan's swan song. He was back in people's mind as TV host for music program featuring new artists, and he even toured with one of Britain's very first punk rock bands, The Damned. A few years later gothic rock became associated with glam rock and Bolan was one of the finest origins but he didn't experience a second glorification as he died in a car crash, Sep. 1977.

T. Rex "Futuristic Dragon" (1976)

Futuristic Dragon
release date: Jan. 30, 1976
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,14]
producer: Marc Bolan
label: EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Jupiter Liar" - 3. "Chrome Sitar" - 4. "All Alone" - 6. "My Little Baby"

11th studio album by T. Rex and again with Bolan in full control. 1976 was the year when punk rock exploded in Britain with The Damned, Sex Pistols, The Clash and a totally different approach to music. but it was also a fine year for Marc Bolan, although, his music had a hard time getting through to the crowd he used to appeal to.
This is actually a fine and daring album with some nice tracks, but... Bolan keeps to a formula based on glam rock and boogie with the addition of soul and funk elements, which may feel a bit strange and somewhat dated when thinking of the time of its release. "My Little Baby" is a mighty fine track and would have fitted perfectly on The Slider or Tanx.

T. Rex "Bolan's Zip Gun" (1975)

Bolan's Zip Gun
release date: Mar. 11, 1975
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Marc Bolan
label: EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Light of Love" - 3. "Precious Star" - 4. "Token of My Love" - 10. "Golden Belt"

10th studio album by T. Rex following one year after Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow (Feb. 1974) is the first T. Rex album to be exclusively produced by Bolan himself. Several changes in the line-up appears to have taken place during the recordings of the album, and it remains difficult to make a full account of the official band members, or: officially the band could be described with a new line-up, which includes Bolan's current girlfriend, but that may not reflect the actual members contributing on the album, and in reality this only underlines the fact that T. Tex and its former incarnation basically is Marc Bolan's musical project.
Following little success with his previous album, Bolan wanted full control of the sound of this release, and for the first time in a long time he actually succeeds in exploring new musical territory with a combo of glam rock, boogie, and bold use of blues and especially soul. The end result are slower and more complex compositions, although, the album itself turned out to be his least successful so far, which in retrospect may seem a bit unfair as I do find it bettering the Zinc Alloy... outing, and it's really not far from Bowie's Diamond Dogs from '74 - and then again: It perhaps shows how Bolan now comes up with an approach to new evolving styles but still tries too hard to replicate what others do successfully.
Not recommended.

T. Rex "Tanx" (1973)

Tanx
release date: Jan. 28, 1973
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Tony Visconti
label: EMI Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Tenement Lady" - 2. "Rapids" - 9. "Born to Boogie" (4 / 5)

8th studio album by T. Rex follows only 6 months after The Slider (Jul. 1973) and it's at first glance the continued journey with the same quartet and the same producer, although, it has become evident that the fast production tempo has consequences on quality. Tanx was a general success in Europe, and particularly in the UK where the album peaked as number #4 on the albums chart list just as the 1972 predecessor, but musically the album is widely considered a clear step down for Marc Bolan. Except from the two exceptional tracks "Tenement Lady" and "Born to Boogie" the album doesn't contain the 'usual' pack of great tracks.
The biggest issue about the album is that it mostly sounds like a copy of former hits and a mix of heavy inspiration from David Bowie and Lou Reed. The originality appears to be missing, and it's nearly only Okay glam rock and boogie. Some tracks appear like new attempts to move away from the style of his two previous albums with a stronger blues or rock & roll style with slower arrangements adding strings and backing vocals as you'll hear on Lou Reed's Transformer (1972), e.g. the tracks "Mister Mister", "Broken Hearted Blues", "Electric Slim & the Factory Hen" and "Left Hand Luke".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars, Rolling Stone review without rating ]

T. Rex "The Slider" (1972)

The Slider
release date: Jul. 21, 1972
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,77]
producer: Tony Visconti
label: EMI Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Metal Guru" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Mystic Lady" (4 / 5) - 3. "Rock On" (4 / 5) - 4. "The Slider" (4 / 5) - 5. "Baby Boomerang" - 6. "Spaceball Richochet" (4 / 5) - 7. "Buick Mackane" - 8. "Telegram Sam" (4 / 5) - 9. "Rabbit Fighter" - 10. "Baby Strange" - 11. "Ballrooms of Mars" - 12. "Chariot Choogle" (4,5 / 5) - 13. "Main Man"

7th studio album release by Tyrannosaurus Rex / T. Rex following 10 months after Electric Warrior (Sep. 1971) is the second album as a band of Marc Bolan, Steve Currie, Mickey Finn, and Bill Legend. The style is very much the same as on Electric Warrior (1971), and the album is packed with great tracks that put Marc Bolan and Co. on top of glam rock. Actually, it's hard to say which album is the best of the two classic T. Tex albums of 1971 and '72, as they both contain some of the most classic glam rock songs of the era. Also, the year 1972 was truly a fine year of rock seeing such other fine releases as: David Bowie's (his best album ever) The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Lou Reed's Transformer, Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick, and Neil Young's Harvest, which explains the difficulty in reaching my top-3 that particular year. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]