Throughout the mid- to late '60s, Tyrannosaurus Rex was a folk duo, consisting of singer/guitarist Marc Bolan and percussionist Steve Peregrin Took, releasing such mysterious albums as My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair...But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows. Like their runaround name and album titles, the music was too self-indulgent to break through to the mainstream, so by the dawn of the '70s, Took was replaced with Mickey Finn, and the name was shortened to T. Rex. But the most important change was the music — it was becoming more focused, and elements of hard rock were fast replacing Bolan's past acoustic songs, as heard on 1970's self-titled release. While it still does have many acoustically tranquil moments ("The Visit," "The Time of Love Is Now," "Suneye," etc.), the bare, raw rock of "Jewel," "Beltane Walk," and "Is It Love?" signals T. Rex's soon-to-be permanent direction. Also included are a pair of lush, orchestrated ballads, "Diamond Meadows" and the exceptional "Seagull Woman" (the first T. Rex song to feature the backing vocal talents of Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, aka the Turtles). Although it may not be as quintessential as 1971's Electric Warrior or 1972's The Slider, T. Rex is Bolan & Co.'s most underrated effort. [Note: Currently, T. Rex is only available as a European import.]