The Night Owl will now enter experimental mode and try something never before attempted, which is a dramatic way of saying we’re going out on a limb that may or may not hold us.
Typically, Night Owl music aims to please the greatest number of Blenders possible by publishing playlists of tunes that were popular in the U.S. (where nearly all TNB regulars reside). By spotlighting the popular and familiar, it’s hoped that the greatest number of Blenders can enjoy, relate to, and reminisce over, music from bygone decades. While this approach has been a successful strategy, the downside is, it’s impossible to please everyone all the time. (Isn’t that always the case for everything?)
Getting to the point, the Owl received a request yesterday for the English rock band T. Rex, which the Owl is happy to honor this morning. However, because T. Rex only had a grand total of one of their tunes chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, for the first time ever we’re going to refer to the U.K. Singles chart, where T. Rex was wildly popular in the post-Beatles era. All of the tracks listed here charted in the U.K. top four, while only one of which made the U.S. Billboard top forty.
No, the Owl has no idea why T. Rex didn’t soar in the States.
Due to time constraints, I have not yet listened to any of these tracks, or heard them before, (except of course for Get It On, the only one that was a hit in the U.S.).
No, I have no idea if these selections will please the Blender that requested T. Rex, although I hope that they do, and other Blenders as well.
Let the experiment begin!
1970 #2
Ride a White Swan (2:14)
1971 #1
Hot Love (4:59)
1971 #1
Get It On (4:28)
1971 #2
Jeepster (3:51)
(LIVE on Germany’s Beat-Club)
1972 #1
Telegram Sam (3:56)
1972 #1
Metal Guru (2:29)
1972 #2
Children of the Revolution (2:28)
1972 #2
Solid Gold Easy Action (3:20)
1973 #3
20th Century Boy (3:29)
1973 #4
The Groover (3:08)
