Television Marquee Moon CD

Remastered W/ 5 Bonus Tracks.

Television: Tom Verlaine (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Richard Lloyd (guitar, background vocals); Fred Smith (bass, background vocals); Billy Ficca (drums).
Recorded at A & R Studios, New York, New York. Originally released on Elektra (1098). Includes liner notes by Alan Licht.
Personnel: Richard Lloyd , Tom Verlaine (vocals, guitar); Fred Smith (vocals); Billy Ficca (drums).
Audio Mixer: Andy Johns.
Audio Remasterer: Dan Hersch.
Liner Note Author: Alan Licht.
Recording information: A & R Studios, New York, NY.
Photographers: Robert Mapplethorpe; Richard Robinson ; Roberta Bayley; Chuck Pulin; Godlis.
Marquee Moon is a revolutionary album, but it's a subtle, understated revolution. Without question, it is a guitar rock album -- it's astonishing to hear the interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd -- but it is a guitar rock album unlike any other. Where their predecessors in the New York punk scene, most notably the Velvet Underground, had fused blues structures with avant-garde flourishes, Television completely strip away any sense of swing or groove, even when they are playing standard three-chord changes. Marquee Moon is comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections, not through Verlaine's words. That alone made Marquee Moon a trailblazing album -- it's impossible to imagine post-punk soundscapes without it. Of course, it wouldn't have had such an impact if Verlaine hadn't written an excellent set of songs that conveyed a fractured urban mythology unlike any of his contemporaries. From the nervy opener, "See No Evil," to the majestic title track, there is simply not a bad song on the entire record. And what has kept Marquee Moon fresh over the years is how Television flesh out Verlaine's poetry into sweeping sonic epics. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
New York's 1970s punk was markedly different to that of Britain. Rather than reject the past, American groups deconstructed its forms and rebuilt them with recourse to the music's strengths. Television's leader, Tom Verlaine, professed admiration for Moby Grape and the folk rock of early Fairport Convention. Elements of the latter appear on this album's title track, which offers a thrilling instrumental break, built upon a modal scale. Verlaine's shimmering guitar style provides the set's focus, but his angular compositions are always enthralling. A sense of brooding mystery envelops the proceedings, and Marquee Moon retains its standing as one of the era's pivotal releases.
Rhino's 2003 expanded edition of Television's seminal debut, Marquee Moon, doesn't add much on the surface -- in addition to the de rigueur liner notes and loving packaging, all standard fare on serious reissues here in the early days of the 21st century, there are a mere five bonus tracks. Some might complain, but dealing with scarcity is part of being a Television fan; few great bands have left such a slim body of work, with only two studio albums from the golden age, weighing in at a total of 16 songs. So, any addition of new recordings, even alternate takes, to the canon is welcome indeed, and the five bonus tracks are all necessary, none more so than the first official CD release of Television's first single, "Little Johnny Jewel." Here, the two parts -- part one issued as the A-side, part two as the B -- are presented as one track (it does fade out and in at midway point), and it's a fascinating roughhewn blueprint for Marquee Moon. It's a legendary single, and it's a blessing that it's finally readily available, but hardcore Television fans will likely be more taken with the alternate takes of "See No Evil," "Friction," and "Marquee Moon." While "See No Evil" is the only tune that's radically different in this incarnation -- it's the same structure, only with another, very busy, guitar line surging throughout the versRolling Stone (12/25/03, p.112) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Top 10 Reissues of 2003"
Rolling Stone (10/16/03, p.90) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...One of the all-time classic guitar albums....MOON still shimmers with urban grime and psychedelic imagination..."
Spin (12/03, p.125) - "...It's the first punk jam album and a thing of swooning, brawny loveliness..."
Entertainment Weekly (9/26/03, pp.94-5) - "...One of the era's masterworks, a multilayered thrill ride of interlocking stun-gun guitars and leader Tom Verlaine's nervous vocals..." - Rating: A
Q (01/01/04, p.77) - Included in Q's "Best Re-releases of 2003"
Q (5/02 SE, p.143) - 5 stars out of 5 - Included in Q's "100 Best Punk Albums"
Q (1/03, p.132) - "...A brutally stark, yet intricate weave of guitars and affectingly passionate vocals..."
Uncut (11/01, p.134) - "...Television may have vowed to 'pull down the future', but no one knew they'd reinvent it. Proof that lightning can, indeed, strike itself..."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/03, p.76) - Ranked #32 in Mojo's "Top 50 Punk Albums" - "...A graceful new wave bite that betrayed delicate hints of neo-psychedelic sophistication..."
Mojo (Publisher) (11/03, pp.134-6) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...MARQUEE MOON sounds more accomplished, more idiosyncratic than ever..."
NME (Magazine) (9/18/93, p.19) - Ranked #10 among The Greatest Albums Of The '70s
NME (Magazine) (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #26 in NME's list of the `Greatest Albums Of All Time'