The title poses a pertinent question. After a stellar year (1972), during which T.Rex enjoyed two No.1 singles (Telegram Sam and Metal Guru), played sell-out shows at Wembley’s Empire Pool (now Arena), released a Ringo Starr-directed concert film of the aforementioned (Born To Boogie), and had a top-five album with The Slider, the magic of main man Marc Bolan began, slowly but inexorably, to fade.
The photos included in this four-CD/ five-LP box set – shot by Keith Morris, many of them previously unpublished – tell part of the tale. Bolan has cropped his corkscrew hair and lost his elfin looks. He’s cheerful and buoyant, but his cheekbones have gone and he’s put on the pounds. Compare and contrast these images with the mysterious, sunken-faced charisma that exudes from Bolan’s portrait on the cover of The Slider. Something ain’t quite right.
