T.Rex / Mickey Finn - Renaissance (CD)

Is there any excuse for buying an album of re-creations of old T. Rex hits that don't feature T. Rex mainstay Marc Bolan? To be cut and dried, nope, even if that band happens to feature two T. Rex alumni, Mickey Finn and Paul Fenton. Recorded in late 2001, all but a couple of these songs were T. Rex chart hits in the 1970s. Lead singer Rob Benson does actually sound like Marc Bolan. But to state the obvious, what's the point in hearing remakes that differ from the originals principally in the slightly updated arrangements, featuring (to their considerable detriment) more slick and modernized technology than was heard on the old T. Rex recordings? None, that's what, especially since all of those original versions remain easily available. The overall effect is that of hearing a faithful T. Rex cover band, albeit one that has more legitimacy than some cover bands due to the ties of two of the members to the original article. ~ Richie Unterberger