12 August 1971
Already here in mid-1971 we have one of the signature hits of T. Rex and glam – but perhaps not yet the signature sound of either. As with most of the tracks on parent album Electric Warrior, ‘Get It On’ still has a groove rather than a stomp, the lyrics are still courtly and quaint rather than downright cartoonish, the production is still spacious rather than chock-a-block, and the melodies are still slinky rather than shouty.
Where it kicks on from ‘Hot Love’ is that the groove is ratcheted a little tighter, like Eddie Cochran and the poppier end of ’50s US rock n’ roll. This is mostly down to its sensational guitar parts: the minimalist verse riffs, much imitated ever since, like sparks off an angle-grinder; the wispy instrumental fills like curlicues of smoke rising from an incense stick. The T. Rex trademark falsetto backing vocals (by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of ‘Happy Together’ hitmakers The Turtles, factoid fans) in the chorus are complemented by their unearthly weird-sisters moaning that rumble darkly under the verses. The later, heavier T. Rex sound will be hugely enjoyable too, of course, but ‘Get It On’ captures something more magical.
As for the singer, an attentive listen to ‘Get It On’ is a surprise in how minimalist his vocal is too, almost to the point of reticence: subdued in the verses, pretty much drowned out in the chorus, a few near-voiceless squeals and groans of enraptured ecstasy throughout, all with the anachronistic Englishness of his mystical imagery and RP dawnce and chawnce. And yet Marc Bolan absolutely dominates this record by force of sheer charisma and star power: already by ‘Get It On’ he is the complete modern pop-cultural icon. Much was made at the time of T. Rex being the first genuine British pop sensation since The Beatles, an impression copperfastened by the 1972 T. Rex concert film being directed by Ringo, the coolest Beatle. However, Bolan himself is closer to the Stones – a mercurial synthesis of Mick’s electrifying peacockery and Keith’s peerless cool.
In any case, ‘Get It On’ still sounds thrilling and sexy today. Electric Warrior is a fantastic album too. And if you wrote away to God to order a pop star you’d get Marc Bolan. What’s not to love?
