20th Century Boy: The Ultimate Collection

10/16/2002 9:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Mike Lipton

If ripples of Marc Bolan's influence were momentarily felt on this side of the Atlantic (thanks largely to the Top 10 single "Bang A Gong"), in England, Bolan, who later hosted a TV show and penned a weekly column, was a force that shaped an entire decade of rock music.

Beginning with the almost-solo "Debora" and "One Inch Rock," you can almost hear the upcoming wave of British music--from Roxy Music to Mott The Hoople--in his warbly voice. His mystic hippie persona was a foil to David Bowie while you can hear him twist a Kinks influence on songs like "Ride A White Swan," a turning point that ushered in Bolan's glitter phase--and the entire glam rock movement. He mutates Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" in a completely opposite direction than Blue Cheer, and you can hear the first of many Flo and Eddie backing vocals on "Hot Love."

More familiar tunes (at least in the U.S.) follow: "Metal Guru," "Telegram Sam," "The Slider," and "Bang A Gong," one of rock's most perfectly crafted singles. In 1973, "20th Century Boy" (and the curiously omitted "The Groover") marked Bolan's last major singles. Fittingly, the set concludes with "I Love To Boogie," a disarmingly simple, retro-sounding track.