Television - Marquee Moon

Remastered digipak reissue of classic 1977 debut, includes 5 bonus tracks 'Little Johnny Jewel' (parts 1 & 2), 'See No Evil' (alternate version), 'Friction' (alternate version), 'Marquee Moon' (alternate version) & untitled instrumental. Elektra. 2003. Album Description

Marquee Moon

Television-Marquee Moon *****


One of those rare albums that just absolutley changed everything. Released 1977, the year punk really broke, was the album along with Patti Smith's horses and The Ramones self-titled debut album that really started the buzz about punk, even though at that time it was not called that yet. Released to instant critical aclaim but to almost no record sales Marquee Moon would go on to be one of the most important and greatest albums in all of rock n' roll history. Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd play the tag-team here where as the great Richard Hell had just left the band right before the recording of this album becuase Verlaine refused to let any of his songs on the album even turning down his soon to be classic 'Blank Generation.'

This is an album of attitude and literary genius, opening with the odd 'See No Evil' followed by the wanna-be touching 'Venus.' Friction' may be the best song on the album, it is truly a tour de force with very typical punk lyrics of the time, and not to mention the breath taking guitar work. 'Elevation' and 'Guiding Light' open the second half of the album and well but with more soft side, a more tendor side if you will full of poetic prose, and even greater guitar. 'Prove It' is the strongest song on the second half of the album but the lyrics are a little hard to follow. 'Torn Curtain' closes the album and wonderfully. Nice and dark and slow leaving you wanting more, just what a good closer sould do.

But perhaps the focal point of the album is it's center peice, the albums title track 'Marquee Moon' and almost ten minute song filled with Verlaines best vocals and lyrics of the entire album, and his best guitar work that he would ever record. The song is a classic and concidered to be one of the very best songs of the period along with 'Friction.'

Now many copies of Marquee Moon come with several bonus tracks. Most of these are just demos and alternate versions of 'Marquee Moon' 'Friction' and 'See No Evil' which are all very cool to own but what is even cooler are the other bonus tracks. The inclusion of a Untitled Instrumental is incredible. One of the best instrumentals ever recorded. Also is the bands first single, one that they released before the album was released and clocking in at way over ten minutes and which originally took up both sides of the .45rpm. 'Little Johnny Jewel (parts 1&2)' is a interesting find, and one from when Hell was still in the band which makes it even cooler of a find.

While it was looped in with the whole Punk movement, Television is much more alternative then punk, though the lyrics are often revolutionary. The jazzy leanings and use of guitar solos almost make this hard to place with punk but it is no doubt one of the very best albums of the 1970's and as time has gone on it has become one of the greatest albums of all time. March 3, 2008

You can believe the hype here

In the main, it is fair to say that I have no respect whatsoever for the thuggish attitude of much of the late 1970s "punk revolution" and the basic idea of trying to make noise rather than actual music.

However, though Television played throughout their career along this scene they were in most respects a very different band from the repetitive thuggishness of the Ramones. The tone here is soft if lively, and the songs intensely melodic throughout from the first verse of the opener "See No Evil", a dramatic rocker notable for its vocal harmonies, which were to predate a lot of what was heard on the radio in the 1980s.

"Venus", the second track, is even better: it is refreshing to hear the way in which Verlaine is so successful and truly pondering on what life should be about, and "Friction", if the soloing here is somewhat excessive, continues in that vein. "Marquee Moon", for all the clear recognition the song receives from Fred Smith's first notes and the lengthy, stark intro of each verse, takes a lot of time to get used to. Appreciating the point behind the length of Verlaine's last solo being the difficulty, but one eventually sees that he possesses great talent on guitar, if not necessarily the equal of Lloyd.

"Marquee Moon" illustrates clearly how Richard Lloyd's fiery, yet musicianly guitar work held Verlaine's virtuosity in check to produce something much greater than the sum of its parts.

"Elevation" was the rawest track on the record, but the real centrepieces of the album were the beautiful piano-led ballads "Guiding Light" and "Torn Curtain". Here, the band's intense softness is seen at its clearest, aided by Andy Johns' uncluttered production, and the beauty both of Verlaine's voice and Lloyd's guitar work comes right to the fore. "Torn Curtain" (unfortunately edited on this CD reissue) was particularly wonderful, at times feeling like a nightmarish dream. "Prove It" was a slow groove rocker that showed Verlaine's unusual lyrical talents in full bloom.

The remastered version, besides a much better sund, features a brilliant alternative version of "See No Evil" that is undoubtedly worth the extra money even if you had the earler CD.

On the whole, if occasionally rather self-indulgent, "Marquee Moon"'s delicate softness and lyrical themes were unique for their day, and "Torn Curtain" in particular sounds like a precursor of 1990s psychedelia and sadcore. "Marquee Moon" is one of the most acclaimed recordings in history, and there really are enough reasons why to justify buying it. September 24, 2007

Don't miss it under any circumstances - if you don't have it already, of course

This is one cool record. It's also weird. Really, really weird. A lot of people say it's a proto-punk album, but I don't know what any of these songs have to do with punk; the synthesizer (or is it a guitar?) solo on "Venus" and the jerky rhythms of "See No Evil" - two of the album's best songs, if you were curious - have more to do with new wave than punk. Then again, the sweeping, magical title track, mostly a guitar odyssey (and, at over ten minutes, they allow themselves a lot of time to solo), doesn't have much to do with New Wave. So we'll call this a country-polka album. Who cares about classification, anyway? "Marquee Moon" itself is one of the greatest songs I've ever heard: the verse section is beautiful, and the interlocking guitar solos are wonderful. It's like going to Heaven and staying there for eleven minutes. Continuing on, the group often writes some very interesting lyrics ("Friction"), and is just as capable in creating a wonderful atmosphere (the dreamy "Elevation"; the airy "Guiding Light", which has some serious guitar solos; the dark closer "Torn Curtain") thanks to their odd choice of guitar tones: they really do make their axes sound otherworldly. This was too quirky upon original release to make any impact on the charts, but these days it's justly considered a classic album. If this sounds like anything by the Velvet Underground to you, it's no surprise, because I can hear a VU influence in this group. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest albums ever made, and even though it's been out for thirty-odd years, I have yet to hear anything that sounds like it. I have to give this the highest recommendation possible, a classic album by an underrated band. August 31, 2007

One of the top five albums of all time

This album is moving. It reaches the soul. Marquee Moon rocks and soothes at the same time. The perfect background music while sitting around a fire or contemplating the cosmos with your buddies. It lifts you up and the grooves elevate you to a plane of existence that you want and desire to be in. The sound of the dual guitars amaze and relax you at the same time. From the opening lyrics of "See No Evil" to "Torn Curtain". The interplay of the guitars of Verlaine and Lloyd are amazing. The musicianship is better than anything out there today even though this comes from 30 years ago. Add in the confounding, wonderful, and definitely punk lyrics of Verlaine and you get a perfect album that simply cannot be improved upon. If you do not own this you do simply do not know good music. Owning over 2000 albums, cds, tapes, and computer files, I cannot stress how important this album is. Get it now. You will not be disappointed. The more you listen to it the more you want to hear it. I guarantee it. August 19, 2007

A timeless masterpiece

Often cited as one of the NYC bands that helped inspire the "punk rock" movement in the 70's, Television is typically lumped-in with the punk bands that followed, but this is a tragic mis-characterization. Television certainly shared some of punk's elements: spare instrumentation, raw youthful energy, and a "street rock" rejection of the overindulgences of 70s era musical and visual style. But unlike the bands that followed, Television did this with a keen musicianship, that was equal to the intensely inventive spirit of their songwriting. This is why their debut album still remains fresh today and deserves recognition as a unique document that has all the qualities of the highest forms of musical art. I fully expect that hundreds of years from now those interested in and knowledgeable about electric guitar music will still be listening to the work of Television while their contemporaries are long forgotten.

Perhaps it takes a musician to truly appreciate the sheer brilliance of Marquee Moon. The inventive guitar interplay of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd over the equally inventive rhythmic foundation of drummer Billy Ficca and bassist Fred Smith puts every other rock foursome of the time to shame... both in sheer originality and musical sophistication. Most of the bands that followed eschewed serious musicianship and offered little more than youthful rebellion driven ever harder to a new level of speed, attitude, and volume. Television cracked open a door to a different kind of music, one that combined the raw attitude of rebellious youth, with a musical sophistication rivaling that of creative jazz, a fresh musical alchemy all their own that remains influential long after the raw appeal of punk has run its course.

For those looking for punk head-banging over densely hammering chords, this recording is not for you. For serious musicians and others interested in the deeper creative possibilities of guitar, bass, and drum rock music, Marquee Moon remains an essential and timeless artifact that defies categorization, and still inspires awe in Those Who Understand. August 13, 2007

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