The T. Rex album Bolan's Zip Gun (1975), most of which had already been released the previous year in the US as Light of Love, was self-produced by Bolan who, in addition to writing the songs, gave his music a harder, more futuristic sheen. The final song recorded with Visconti, "Till Dawn", was re-recorded for Bolan's Zip Gun with Bolan at the controls. Bolan's own productions were not well received in the music press. Most of Zip Gun plus three tracks from Zinc Alloy had already been released in the US as Light of Love, by replacement label Casablanca Records who had refused Zinc Alloy in favour of new material. Rolling Stone magazine gave it a positive review, but the British press slammed T. Rex for copying Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, even though Marc had spoken of releasing work under the pseudonym "Zinc Alloy" during the mid-1960s. Always a fantasist with "the biggest ego of any rock star ever", during this time Bolan became increasingly isolated, while high tax rates in the UK drove him into exile in Monte Carlo and the US. No longer a vegetarian, Bolan put on weight due to consumption of hamburgers and alcohol, and was ridiculed in the music press.
T. Rex's penultimate album, Futuristic Dragon (1976), featured a schizophrenic production style that veered from Wall of Sound-style songs to disco backing, with nostalgic nods to the old T. Rex boogie machine. It only managed to reach number 50, but the album was better received by the critics and featured the singles "New York City" (number 15 in the UK) and "Dreamy Lady" (number 30). The latter was promoted as T. Rex Disco Party. To promote the album, T. Rex toured the UK, and performed on television shows such as Top of the Pops, Supersonic and Get It Together.
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