"Light of Love" is a unique album by the British rock band T. Rex, released exclusively in the US in 1974. The album combines three tracks from their UK album "Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow" with eight newly recorded songs from sessions in Hollywood's Music Recorders Inc. Studios, which would later feature on the UK album "Bolan's Zip Gun."
This release is notable for being the first T. Rex album produced without Tony Visconti, with Marc Bolan taking on production duties for the first time. The album was engineered by Gary Ulmer and marked Bolan's debut as a producer. One of the tracks, "Till Dawn," was later re-recorded for "Bolan's Zip Gun," with Bolan at the controls.
Despite significant promotional efforts and a US tour, "Light of Love" failed to chart in the US. This disappointment ended Bolan's aspirations for success in the American pop market and coincided with difficulties in securing a new label, following the collapse of Casablanca Records, which had released the new recordings. This album became the last by T. Rex to be released in the US.
"Light of Love" did see a CD release in the UK in 1995 as part of Edsel Records' extensive T. Rex reissue campaign. Additionally, live tracks recorded during the US tour were included as a bonus disc in the "Live 1977" compilation album, capturing a snapshot of T. Rex's energetic performances during this period.
