The album features some unusually dense production from Bolan, especially on "Chrome Sitar" and "Calling All Destroyers", which contained unusual musical embellishments such as the sitar and other sonic sound effects. The album includes a nod to a new genre discoon the track "Dreamy Lady", which was released as a single under the moniker of "T Rex Disco Party". Futuristic Dragon also contains tracks heavily influenced by American soul music, which Bolan had been experimenting with since 1973. "All Alone", "Ride My Wheels", and "Dawn Storm" all feature predominantly soul-based rhythms and instrumentation. The sleeve illustration was conceived by artist George Underwood, who had first worked with Bolan on the 1968 Tyrannosaurus Rex album My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows.
Release
Preceded by the release of two UK Top-40-hit singles from the album, "New York City" and "Dreamy Lady", Futuristic Dragon was released on 30 January 1976. It reached No. 50 in the UK Albums Chart; T. Rex's first album to register in the charts since Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow in 1974. Futuristic Dragon was remastered for CD by Edsel Records in 1994 as part of their extensive T. Rex reissue campaign. A number of bonus tracks were added. A companion release, entitled Dazzling Raiment , was released in 1997 and contained alternative versions, studio rough mixes and solo recordings of the main album and bonus tracks. A combined album digipak was released in 2002.
Reception
In her retrospective review of the album, Whitney Strub of PopMatters wrote "By the time Futuristic Dragon arrived, Bolan was considered a has-been. But the album defies expectation, presenting a surprisingly consistent set of tunes dovetailing with the burgeoning disco scene without entirely partaking of it." Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork wrote "Futuristic Dragon has enough winning moments to suggest an upturn blows smoke on its second half, with songs like 'Sensation Boulevard' and the schlock-disco 'Ride My Wheels' derailing the first half's chugging momentum. Nevertheless, the album wins your sympathies: It's good enough to make you wish it were better."
