Pop Kulcher

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Member Since: 7/1/2002
Total Mixes: 376
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Born To Boogie: The Definitive T. Rex (expanded 2-cd edition)

Side A
Artist Song
T. Rex  Ride A White Swan  
T. Rex  Beltane Walk  
T. Rex  Hot Love  
T. Rex  Woodland Rock  
T. Rex  Bang a Gong (Get It On)  
T. Rex  Raw Ramp  
T. Rex  Mambo Sun  
T. Rex  Jeepster  
T. Rex  The Motivator  
T. Rex  Telegram Sam  
T. Rex  Baby Strange  
T. Rex  Metal Guru  
T. Rex  Thunderwing 
T. Rex  Rock On  
T. Rex  The Slider  
T. Rex  Chariot Choogle 
T. Rex  Baby Boomerang  
T. Rex  Children of the Revolution  
T. Rex  Solid Gold Easy Action  
T. Rex  Born To Boogie  
T. Rex  20th Century Boy  
T. Rex  Tenement Lady  
T. Rex  Mister Mister  
T. Rex  Country Honey  
T. Rex  Mad Donna  
T. Rex  Sitting Here 
Side B
ArtistSongBuy
T. Rex  The Groover  
T. Rex  Midnight 
T. Rex  Venus Loon  
T. Rex  Sound Pit  
T. Rex  Nameless Wildness  
T. Rex  Light Of Love  
T. Rex  Solid Baby  
T. Rex  Precious Star  
T. Rex  Till Dawn  
T. Rex  Girl In The Thunderbold Suit 
T. Rex  Gold Belt 
T. Rex  New York City  
T. Rex  Chrome Sitar  
T. Rex  Jupiter Liar  
T. Rex  All Alone  
T. Rex  Sensation Boulevard  
T. Rex  London Boys 
T. Rex  I Love To Boogie  
T. Rex  Laser Love 
T. Rex  Dandy In The Underworld  
T. Rex  Crimson Moon  
T. Rex  Universe  
T. Rex  Jason B. Sad 
T. Rex  I'm A Fool For You Girl 
T. Rex  Groove A Little  
T. Rex  Celebrate Summer 

Comment:

Expanding on an earlier T. Rex mix, this time I've gone all out for the definitive 2-cd set, arranged chronologically, having splurged on the import remastered reissues (the 2-cd versions, all of which come bundled with a bonus disc of demos/outtakes; this mix, however, is only from the final versions). I skipped over the early days of Tyrannosaurus Rex (already expertly compiled by Rob Conroy), starting this off when Marc Bolan decided to shorten the name, plug in the guitar, hire a band (there's only so much you can do with a pair of bongos), and sing less about unicorns and more about doing the nasty. So that takes us from the self-titled 1970 T. Rex album up through 1977's Dandy In The Underworld, the solid comeback album preceding his untimely death in a car crash. Naturally, most the good stuff is up front, drawn primarily from Electric Warrior and his peak effort, The Slider, as well as the magnificent run of singles surrounding those albums. But there is plenty of excellence on disc two as well. Yes, there was a steady drop-off in critical and commercial success, but there were some decent tracks even on his worst albums (like the mediocre Zinc Alloy and the underrated Futuristic Dragon); indeed, latter-day album Zip-Gun Boogie is far better than legend has it, and Dandy is almost up there with The Slider.

Yes, Bolan is not without his weaknesses. Listening to this makes it particularly apparent that he had 3, maybe 4 riffs and chord progressions that he repeated song after song, album after album. His lyrics ranged from banal to puerile. The latter day synths and disco beats dated poorly. But I'd still cast my vote with T. Rex as one of the best singles acts ever, and even if he never quite matched early smashes like "Jeepster" and "Metal Guru" and "Solid Gold Easy Action" and "20th Century Boy," the latter half makes a strong case that he still had tunes to burn (particularly the far lesser-known but nearly as great "Till Dawn," "Girl In The Thunderbolt Suit," "I Love To Boogie," "I'm A Fool For You Girl," and "Groove A Little." (Hell, even with 160 minutes, I still ended up cutting a few tracks I really wanted.) Long live Marc!
image for mix

Feedback:

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p the swede
Date: 8/26/2005
"one of the best singles acts ever"

you're so right even if I miss some personal favs here like NY City
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Thomas_Mohr
Date: 8/26/2005
"Give me three chords, and I'll give you a thousand melodies", MB's been quoted for saying. Well, in this case it's just 52, but they're all brilliant. Buy the Born to Boogie dvd set!
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Siobhan
Date: 8/27/2005
Wow. This I would love to hear. Nice liner notes and excellent choices!
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Sean Lally
Date: 8/27/2005
great!
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les_autres
Date: 8/27/2005
Looks good. I really think T Rex will be re-evaluated critically and taken more seriously in the years to come. I mean, this isn't the Beatles, but I think there's more musicality here then most critics give credit for.
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Jenergy
Date: 8/27/2005
This is just great!
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Lancelot Link IV1
Date: 8/27/2005
I wouldn't change a thing here. Truly definitive summation of a great artist's career.
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SMoss
Date: 8/27/2005
THis looks like a great package. Better than any mass-produced compilation could be.
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G-Sphere
Date: 8/27/2005
Great collection.
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Salman1
Date: 8/28/2005
Hell yeah. Impressive two-disc set.
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French Connection
Date: 8/28/2005
Superb stuff here but I got to agree with Peter re NY City.
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Dom1
Date: 8/28/2005
Hmm the re-masters are ten quid here which I thought were pretty reasonable...yup a good selection here and definitely one of those artists who are better served by compilations!
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musicgnome
Date: 8/29/2005
A reintroduction is in order. Thanks for the reminder.
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Rob Conroy
Date: 8/29/2005
This looks really great. I may want to tap you for copies of those later albums, particularly if Dandy is as good as you say it is (I haven't heard those in such a long time).
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Moe
Date: 8/29/2005
Excellent work once again sir. I'm really only familiar with the half dozen or so hits, so this is required listening. Please save a copy for a future trade, if you're up to it, of course.
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buglady
Date: 8/29/2005
This looks like a great compilation! It's been years since I've heard Dandy in the Underworld. Really takes me back...