Metal Guru

Bolan wrote it, and it was released on 5 May 1972 with Thunderwing and Lady as B-sides. It topped the UK chart for four weeks from May into June, the band's fourth and last number 1 there. Bolan described it as a festival of life song, said he related it to all the gods around, and added that he thought a god would be alone without a telephone. The backing track was recorded at the Chateau d'Herouville from 8 to 12 March 1972 in a stripped-down acoustic arrangement. Electric guitars, an orchestra and Flo & Eddie's backing vocals were added a few weeks later in London. Visconti remembered it as a very difficult mix.

It did not chart in the US. Pitchfork's Andy Beta described it opening The Slider with a gush of guitar. Morrissey was inspired by it while writing Panic for the Smiths, and Johnny Marr said it was a song that changed his life.