T. Rex “Light of Love” 1974. Casablanca Records. Today, September 30th, would have been Marc Bolan’s 72nd birthday (b. 1947, d. 1977). Light of Love was T. Rex’s sole US-only LP release and the first to have Bolan on production (Bolan also wrote all the tracks), replacing Tony Visconti’s usual production duties (though he did help with some string arrangements on the album). Light of Love has three tracks that appeared on Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow (UK-only, 1974): “Teenage Dream,” “Explosive Mouth” and “Venus Loon.” “Teenage Dream” was released as a single and went to #13 in the UK and Bolan considered it the song with his best lyrics. The other songs on Light of Love were later included on the UK-release Bolan’s Zip Gun (1975), including the title track single “Light of Love” which went to #22 in the UK. Overall it’s a pretty good T. Rex glam-rock record, a bit over-the-top but it is glam, after all, maybe a bit too heavy on the orchestral strings and operatic doo-whop accents here and there. Unfortunately, Casablanca Records went bankrupt soon after the LP’s release and Bolan couldn’t find another US label to represent him so Light of Love was his first and only US-release (it also didn’t do very well in the US).