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Electric Warrior is the second studio album by English rock act , their sixth if including the group's earlier incarnation as Tyrannosaurus Rex. The album marked a turning point in the band's sound, dispensing with the -oriented music of the group's previous albums and pioneering a flamboyant, pop-friendly take on electric known as .
The album reached number 1 on the UK charts and became the best selling album of 1971. The top 10 single "" also became the band's only US hit. Electric Warrior has since received acclaim as a pivotal release of the glam rock movement.
The cover artwork was designed by British art design group , based on a photo taken by Kieron "Spud" Murphy at a T. Rex concert at the Albert Hall, Nottingham on 14 May 1971.[] Murphy also took the photo of the band that was used for the poster that was included with the first issue in the UK and Germany. The inner sleeve artwork, portraits of Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn, was drawn by artist .In 1987, Electric Warrior was ranked number 100 in magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of the Last 20 Years" list. In 2003, the album was ranked number 160 by the same magazine in . In 2004, ranked Electric Warrior as the 20th best album of the 1970s. The album was also included in the book .
's Paul Weller cited it as one of his all-time favourite records, hailing Bolan's guitar playing as "really unique. You know his sound instantly." 's guitarist also mentioned a special liking for this album for "the whole sound, the whole cartoony, sexual, and humourous [sic] thing, it's very English as well. I think has taken so much from Bolan." 's main collaborator included it in his favourites: "when I'm working... I like to have a few records that are most important for me, which I periodically stick on to remind myself just how good records can be. [...] I have a duty to at least try and make something as sweet and irresistible as this".
The song "" is featured in a bar scene in 's (2007). In the opening scene of the film (2000), the title character is shown putting Electric Warrior on a and skipping to the song "Cosmic Dancer". "Cosmic Dancer" was also included in the soundtrack for the film (1998).
Bolan, in a 1971 interview contained on the Rhino Records reissue, said of the album "I think Electric Warrior, for me, is the first album which is a statement of 1971 for us in England. I mean that's... If anyone ever wanted to know why we were big in the other part of the world, that album says it, for me."[]
Bolan was a guest on the show, , in January 1973. He and sang an acoustic version of "Life's a Gas".