1971 T Rex: Get It On

There's always something inspiring about a recording artist at the top of their game; the swagger of idolatry, the cockiness in adulation, the anticipation of the next release if only to see where they are going next – teenage dreams so hard to beat indeed. But like the star that burns twice as bright, such purple patches are rarely lasting, especially in the pop field. Cockiness turns to complacency, swagger becomes arrogance and talent eventually runs dry. Or sometimes people just plain get too old and are usurped from their throne, especially when the fans don't grow old alongside them. Such is life.

In 1971, Bolan was very much on top of his game; the brightest star on the British pop skyline. And to prove it, ‘Get It On’ is in many ways the definitive T.Rex statement, it's the one that everybody knows though that's not say the song trumpets its own existence. Still too understated for Glam proper, the choppy guitar riff is kept slow and low in the mix to play underneath a rumbling bass, giving 'Get It On' an edgy feeling of something just waiting to break loose from its moorings.

That it never loses control means you can never take your ear off the track from beginning to end. It always keeps you listening and that alone is down to Bolan being savvy enough to know the limitations of his own creation; he's the star here and so his vocal gets as much attention as the music. And just like on 'Hot Love', his pseudo croon turns the 'rain in Spain' lyrics into a seduction worthy of Casanova, with the "You're built like a car, you've got a hub cap diamond star halo" introduction serving as verbal foreplay before the "Get It On" demand (there's none of the suggestive 'Let's' of Marvin Gaye; Bolan is too cocksure for that) of the chorus.

Though apparently based around Chuck Berry’s ‘Little Queenie’, Bolan’s sound on ‘Get It On’ is a unique hybrid of 50’s rock and 70’s glam shot through with a folksy earthiness provided by Steve Took’s bongos. A guitar based song to be sure, but not in the way that ‘Highway To Hell’ or ‘Marquee Moon’ are guitar-based songs - 'Get It On' isn't something that can be tinkered with or glammed up, proving one louder is not always one better.

Van Halen covered ‘You Really Got Me’ with all their waling whammy whammy guitar and got away with it, but they couldn’t do that with this. It wouldn’t work. Power Station found out as much in 1985 with a version that amplified the guitar, shoved it down your throat from the off and tried to use noise and bluster to disguise the fact it was going nowhere. It bores after a few bars and though ‘Get It On’ is many things, it’s never boring. It may well walk a fine line between homage and parody, sexy and silly, but it’s a line Bolan walks with verve, confidence and without a safety net. As well befits an artist at the top of his game.