There’s a wounded urgency to the guitar that pairs nicely with the high Hollywood drama of the strings and the majesty of the piano, courtesy War’s Lonnie Jordan.Ī dispatch from DandyLand, “Telegram Sam” is textbook T. With the Cosmic Choir (his backing vocalists, which included northern soul star Gloria Jones, mother of his son Rolan Bolan) handling the chorus, Marc Bolan’s verses paint vivid, slice-of-life snapshots in the lyrical style of Macca. “Teenage Dream” ( Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow, 1974) Rex was a corrective and a reminder that disposal pop sometimes has an interminable shelf life after all.Ĩ. The verse/chorus line is blurred almost beyond recognition, but who cares? In an era where rock was becoming drunk on its sophistication and self-importance, T. Rex’s warped, theatrical, relentlessly energetic vision of rock. Kicking off The Slider with a wicked vigor and sweet sneer, “Metal Guru” is a potent distillation of T. Rex’s last album before Marc Bolan died - is a tantalizing taste of what Bolan’s distinctive, malleable vision might have achieved had he lived to see the ascent of new wave in the ’80s. Melding the energetic urgency of disco strings/synths with the propulsive energy of the nascent punk scene, this non-single highlight from Dandy in the Underworld - T. “Visions of Domino” ( Dandy In the Underworld, 1977) In honor of the group’s Rock Hall induction, here are 10 songs that are pure T. Rex’s greatest asset was androgynous pin-up frontman Marc Bolan, whose mischievous hippie-vampire magnetism proved irresistible and unforgettable, influencing singers long after his 1977 death at age 29 in a car crash. Gradually transforming from a psychedelic freak-folk outfit (then known as Tyrannosaurs Rex) to a trend-setting glam rock band specializing in durable pop songs drenched in a boogie swagger, T.