In this download age where we oughta be eulogizin' the demise of traditional record packaging, it's heartening to find a recent reissue chock full of everything and the kitchen sink. The long-MIA T.Rex '72 concert film Born to Boogie is just such a repackage. The fact that UK-based Sanctuary Records has deemed it also worthy of a US release—in a five hour-plus DVD and separate 2-CD audio, no less—is reason enough for a closer look. T.Rex never meant much in the States. Marc Bolan's calculated assault on America (immortalized on the May '72 cover of CREEM) proved a monumental misfire. Despite the triumph of "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" and Electric Warrior, the US was ultimately turned off to the hype. By 1973, Bolan couldn't get arrested here. Back in England, it was a riotously different story. T.Rex singles were regularly topping the charts in unheard of sales numbers and Marc Bolan—T.Rex' face/voice/songwriter/nominal guitar hero—had the music papers covering his every move and boast.
