New releases last two weeks: Rock

Review: Marc Bolan's influence on rock music is huge. Everyone from Morrissey and Oasis to newcomers like Bobbie Dazzle worship the ground his stack heels walked on, not forgetting the break he gave The Damned by taking the band's original lineup on tour with him. It extends way beyond the obvious big hitting singles, as this less comprehensive, more completely exhaustive collection of B-sides corralled for RSD 2025 demonstrates. He's the master of the short, sharp pop track - no song reaches four minutes and most are under three - and just about anything here would qualify as A-sides in a lesser band's arsenal. From the folksy strumalong 'Sitting Here' to the electric shock guitar of 'Free Angel' and even a glorious cover of Otis Redding's 'Dock Of The Bay' featuring "The Queen of Northern Soul" Gloria Jones, this is yet more evidence of why the man was a huge, huge legend.