These four reissues from Rhino, which are essentially identical to the Edsel reissues from a few years ago, track T. Rex's downward trajectory but attempt to redeem the band's later, lesser releases by packaging each album with a bonus disc that re-creates the tracklist using alternate takes, live tracks, and B-sides.
Anybody else feel like over the past 5 years we have seen enough T. Rex reissues to last a lifetime?
Let’s be honest too, how many people are really going to purchase anything beyond Slider in relation to this series of reissues or more specifically need to own anything beyond the few records universally accepted as the must haves? ( Must have = Electric Warrior, Slider and throw in a best of type collection for good measure. PS: Soundscan numbers confirms this.)
The number of fans willing to buy these lesser known / less popular records would maybe fill the floor of Giant Stadium, maybe. As a music nerd I appreciate these special more obscure releases but as a business person I can't imagine how their limited sales potential would make such a series profitable to a label.
To get back to the PFM review the only true difference separating the Edsel versions verse the Rhino collection (they even share almost the same list price) is the fact that Edsel is an import label and Rhino is domestic label. Hip hip hooray! The bigger less cool stores (chains mostly) who don’t carry imports can finally stock these reissues. I suppose for the people living in towns that only have Best Buy or Walmart to buy music from this Rhino reissue series is good news. Will Walmart even carry all of these records? That is a whooooooole other issue entirely but I would hazzard to guess the answer is no.
I am willing to bet that most of the serious T Rex fans bought these records as imports years ago and God knows with all the oddball collections and box sets most of these songs and their alternate take version have been available somewhere else before. The hardcore fans are not getting anything they have never heard / owned before and even the most of the liner notes and pictures are recycled here.
Thanks to these reissues the material is just a little better organized and in one (well soon to be a total of 8) place(s) than before. But wait, isn't that what box sets are for?
*Taken from the Rhino site, here is the breakdown of which cds are out now and which ones are soon to be.
Nov. 8th
T. Rex - The Slider (Deluxe Edition)
T. Rex - Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow (Deluxe Edition)
T. Rex - Dandy In The Underworld (Deluxe Edition)
The T. Rex Wax Co. Singles A's And B's 1972-77 (Deluxe Edition)
Jan. 24
T. Rex – Tanx (Expanded & Remastered)
T. Rex – Bolan‘s Zip Gun ( Expanded & Remastered)
T. Rex – Futuristic Dragon (Expanded & Remastered)
T Rex – Work In Progress (Expanded and Remastered)
* thanks to the comment posted earlier I have updated / fixed this post.
