Marc Bolan & T. Rex – 20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection

Given that the cast-iron classic T. Rex material has been repeatedly compiled, recycled, reissued, remastered and remixed in impassive, workmanlike fashion since Marc Bolan's untimely passing in 1977, long-time fans are entitled to be pessimistic when yet another apparent cash-in appears on the market. Ostensibly "absolute" single-disc collections such as Hip-0's 2002 release "20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection" are commonly geared at considerably less nostalgic or unforgiving younger consumers newly exposed to T. Rex through a modern lens - in other words, callow, undiscerning and very easy to please. Granted, one should not set much store by labels willing to release a posthumous compilation billed as "The Ultimate Collection", but this particular label have somehow defied the odds to deliver just that, albeit on a single disc. Incredibly, this isn't business as usual - a much fuller portrait than its slim packaging suggests, "20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection" is the first truly well-executed, fully absorbing and concise consolidation of Marc Bolan's complicated catalogue.

Unexpectedly, this 23-track career survey selects with care as opposed to treading the same old ground, sampling the acoustic-based whimsical hippie-wicca beginnings before drawing from the thundering, winningly spaced-out electric sex god years, (thankfully) skipping the Zip-Gun demented soul incursion and capping things off in true Rexstasy style. Certainly, sceptics and completists are free to baulk at the suggestion that a mere introduction is comparable to the profound experience of delving into the albums proper, but there is fun to be had herein even by the most cynical and extreme Bolan enthusiasts -- the unprecedented inclusion of sedate but still loopy flower power jams and altogether buzzier-sounding gems - "Elemental Child", "Ride A White Swan", "Summertime Blues" - surrounded by the campy proto-boogie pop smashes - "Hot Love", "Bang A Gong (Get It On)", "Jeepster" - and stunning string-laden grooves - "Metal Guru", "Telegram Sam", "The Slider" - ensures that this disc captures all sides of Marc Bolan and T. Rex and is all the more satisfying as a result.

From mystical, dreamy balladeer to baroque, ballyhooed bopper, Bolan's overriding style as well as his penchant for grooving and jamming is demonstrable throughout, finally discrediting the notion that he was nothing more than a flash-in-the-pan teen idol whose ambition, arrogance and addiction got the better of him. Without a doubt, Marc Bolan was an immensely individual talent, and aside from contextualizing the visionary poet's career remarkably coherently, "20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection" is a tastefully remastered set of recordings sequenced for maximum replay value.

RATING: 4.5/5