Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2209  - SACD Hybrid Stereo 

2,500 Numbered Limited  Edition - Hybrid SACD Plays on All CD Players

Half Speed Mastered by  from the Original Master Tape at MFSL

Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc Hybrid SACD

T. Rex's Exotic Landmark Signals the Birth of Glam Rock, Features "Bang a Gong (Get It On)": Electric Warrior Swaggers with Libido, Flamboyance, Fantasy, Fun, Hooks, and Theatricality
Unsurpassed Sound and Strictly Limited to 2,500 Numbered Copies: Mobile Fidelity Numbered Hybrid SACD Presents the  Music's Reverb, Colors, Tones, and Strings in Full-Tilt Glory

Bang a gong and get it on. At once sardonic, flamboyant, and trashy, T. Rex's uncommonly unique Electric Warrior catapulted leader Marc Bolan to stardom, triggered an ongoing fascination with glam rock, and launched a movement that soon involved David Bowie, Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, and more. Yet none of those namesake artists ever released a record that out-glammed, out-innuendoed, out-thrusted, or out-camped Electric Warrior – named the 160th Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone and included in the celebrated book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's state-of-the-art mastering system, strictly limited to 2,500 numbered copies, and housed in a gatefold mini-sleeve, the label's hybrid SACD gives the 1971 landmark the widescreen sound quality it has always deserved. Tony Visconti's warm, reverb-soaked production and Roy Thomas Baker's ace engineering remain two of the work's most famous and revered aspects. Here, the production and music can be experienced in all its full-tilt glory, from the subtle albeit elegant classical touches to the instantly identifiable Les Paul guitar licks to Bolan's sensual, wispy, are-they-or-aren't-they-serious vocals.

As Sean Egan wrote in the liner notes of a long-out-of-print reissue: "The sound is recognizably rock, yet a previously unheard exotic variant, almost as if concocted by inhabitants of one of the Tolkien-esque worlds common in Bolan's lyrics. The strings are overt but discreet in shape and tone, injecting just the right amount of class." All these elements and more come to life with a realism, vibrancy, detail, and textural palpability that surpass the presentation on any prior digital edition. If you can hear colors, this audiophile version of Electric Warrior will stimulate your inner synesthesia.

At the time of the album's creation, such cosmic-related phenomenon were well within Bolan's orbit. But the differences between Electric Warrior and the singer/guitarist's earlier works are as vast as those that divide high art and low-brow culture. Chief among them: Bolan's decision to channel his acoustic hippie-inspired visions into hyper-sexualized, metaphor-rich statements that benefit from amplified foundations. And still, part of the songs' charm relates to how they tread a fine line between rock and pop.

Save for the lashing out of "Rip Off," Electric Warrior retains a mellow core underlined by a gauzy tint, gossamer temperament, and crushed-velvet feel. The perception that he record contains blustery heaviness is furthered – and initiated – by the now-iconic album cover, which depicts a giant-sized Bolan standing in front of an equally giant amplifier stack, striking a rock-star pose and giving the impression everything within is designed to go to the proverbial 11 on the volume knob. Akin to a majority of the songs themselves, the visual functions as clever illusion, absurd humor, ostentatious simplicity, and playful pretense.

Bursting with excessive fun and unchecked libido, T. Rex's catchy boogies, shuffles, and vamps scoot by on a seemingly impossible blend of concise hooks, non-sequitur fantasies, and theatrical swagger. From the chart-topping "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to the beautiful "Life's a Gas," the R&B-stoked hit "Jeepster" to the pout of "Motivator" and galactic soul of "Planet Queen," Bolan, percussionist Mickey Finn, and boards manipulator Visconti craft a rewardingly strange, parallel universe of sound, style, and sex that still has no equal.

Secure your collectible copy of Electric Warrior  today!

Backing Vocals – Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman
Bass – Steve Currie
Drums – Will Legend
Engineer – Malcolm Cecil, Martin Rushent, Rik Pekkonen, Roy T. Baker
Flugelhorn – Burt Collins
Percussion, Vocals – Micky Finn
Producer – Tony Visconti
Saxophone – Ian McDonald
Vocals, Guitar – Marc Bolan

Mambo Sun
Cosmic Dancer
Jeepster
Monolith
Lean Woman Blues
Bang a Gong (Get It On)
Planet Queen
Girl
The Motivator
Life's a Gas
Rip Off

Mobile Fidelity believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artifacts. 

It is worth noting that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab stands out as one of few record labels that independently invests in research and development of audio technology. With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware. Mobile Fidelity is pleased to work with a variety of engineering legends and companies including Tim de Paravicini, Ed Meitner, Pass Labs, Theta Digital and Sony Electronics. 

Our joint efforts to seek out the ultimate audio experience, has resulted in significant advances for the technology of music reproduction. 

GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid SACD and Ultradisc II™ 24kt Gold CDs 

For over twenty years, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has continually searched for the ultimate audio experience. During this search MFSL engineers and associates created The GAIN™ System, a proprietary mastering technology which brought warmth and ambience to the compact disc format. A few years ago - with higher resolution formats on the horizon - the vision of GAIN 2™ began. As it stands today, GAIN 2™ is one of the greatest technical advancements in analogue and digital technology in the last ten years. It consists of a series of critical modifications and new components to Mobile Fidelity's proprietary mastering chain. 

We feel that GAIN 2™ has come extremely close to meeting this goal. The key accomplishments of GAIN 2™ System are 1) the ability to extract all the musical information as possible through the Ultra High bandwidth analogue tape playback system with proprietary custom tape playback heads, reproducer electronics and 2) transparently capturing and storing that information with the Direct Stream Digital recording system.