T-REX - 1974-1977 T-REX

‘1974-1977’ brings together 5 CDs absolutely bursting with music covering the most overlooked, but arguably most pioneering, period of Marc Bolan’s glittering career. It rounds up the final three T. Rex studio albums – Bolan’s Zip Gun, Futuristic Dragon and Dandy In The Underworld – and a string of 10 peerless late-period singles (and B-sides) that included New York City, Dreamy Lady, The Soul Of My Suit, and of course I Love To Boogie. Throughout the journey Marc’s restless muse and creative spark encompasses soul and R&B (Ride My Wheels, Dreamy Lady), excursions into proto-glam metal (Zip Gun Boogie, The London Boys) and nervy, spiky-sharp tracks (Think Zinc, Celebrate Summer) that nod towards the punk explosion happening in London during the period and upon which Marc had been such a pivotal influence.

Excitingly, the set also includes two CDs hosting a plethora of previously unreleased rehearsal takes, lovingly mastered and curated from a stash of Marc’s own tapes unearthed towards the end of 2024. A fascinating record of an artist with renewed vim and creativity, they also document how Marc and his super-hot band kept the tapes rolling when recording all over the world, from London to the USA, to Germany and France and back to Manchester.

Also included are the newly discovered complete recordings from 1977’s MARC Granada TV show. While the set of T. Rex classics performed on the show (Ride A White Swan, Hot Love, Jeepster and more) has been available before, they’d been taken from broadcast tapes and as such were of a vastly inferior quality - mono, with early fades and with added audience applause. Presumed lost for almost half a century, the discovery of the original full-length versions as laid down by T. Rex before they were mimed to in the show was a very pleasant shock.

There’s also of course I’m Dazed, the “lost” T.Rex single unearthed from those very same tape boxes in 2024. Remastered and released on cosmic yellow seven-inch on Marc’s birthday in 2025 (with a new take of Billy Super Duper on its B-side), it also helped mark the occasion of Marc being awarded an official English Heritage Blue Plaque. The honour made him just one of 5 pop musicians to ever receive the accolade, alongside Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley. Two very different takes of I’m Dazed shimmer here: the 2025 single version remixed by Steven Wilson, and another, much slower take, led by languid drums, clavinet and piano.

74-77 comes in 7” Deluxe Packaging with a 24-page book including photography by Kevin Cummins, new sleeve notes by Jude Rogers, sleeve artwork and scans of those glittering studio tapes. The set was curated for Demon by “T.Rexpert” Martin Barden and mastering undertaken by AIR Studios’ Phil Kinrade.