Television Adventure CD

Remastered W/ 3 Bonus Tracks.

Television: Tom Verlaine (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Richard Lloyd (guitar, background vocals); Fred Smith (bass, background vocals); Billy Ficca (drums).
Recorded at Sound Masters and Record Plant, New York, New York. Originally released on Elektra (133). Includes liner notes by Alan Licht.
Personnel: Tom Verlaine (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Richard Lloyd (vocals, guitar); Fred Smith (vocals); Billy Ficca (drums).
Audio Remasterer: Dan Hersch.
Liner Note Author: Alan Licht.
Recording information: Record Plant, New York, NY; SoundMixers.
Photographers: Gerrit Van Der Meer; Lynn Goldsmith; Richard Robinson ; Corbis Bettman; Godlis; Daniel Lainé; Stephanie Chernikowski.
Television's groundbreaking first album, Marquee Moon, was as close to a perfect debut as any band made in the 1970s, and in many respects it would have been all but impossible for the band to top it. One senses that Television knew this, because Adventure seems designed to avoid the comparisons by focusing on a different side of the band's personality. Where Marquee Moon was direct and straightforward in its approach, with the subtleties clearly in the performance and not in the production, Adventure is a decidedly softer and less aggressive disc, and while John Jansen's production isn't intrusive, it does round off the edges of the band's sound in a way Andy Johns' work on the first album did not. But the two qualities that really made Marquee Moon so special were Tom Verlaine's songs and the way his guitar work meshed with that of Richard Lloyd, whose style was less showy but whose gifts were just as impressive, and if you have to listen a bit harder to Adventure, it doesn't take long to realize that both of those virtues are more than apparent here, and while one might wish the sound had a bit more bite on "Foxhole" or "Ain't That Nothin'," the quieter, more layered sound is just what the doctor ordered for "Glory" and "The Dream's Dream." Sure, Marquee Moon is a better album, but Adventure has one of the greatest guitar bands of all time playing superbly on a set of truly fine songs, and albums like this come along far too infrequently for anyone to ignore music this pleasurable simply on the grounds of relative evaluation; it's not quite a masterpiece, but it's a brilliant record by any yardstick. ~ Mark Deming
Television's second album arrived a year after the band's remarkable 1977 debut, MARQUEE MOON. The eight songs again feature the intertwining guitars of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd in a way that recalls both the glory days of San Francisco ballroom bands and the finesse of shimmering pop music. In the late '70s, Television was lumped together with other bands that came out of a New York City scene that had an epicenter at the club CBGB. As time has passed, the band has truly become an entity unto itself. Television's music shows none of the dulling effects of age, and its first two albums are essential.
Rhino's expanded 2003 reissue of Television's fine second album, Adventure, helps shine a light on this unfairly neglected sequel to Marquee Moon. Though it is ironically not as adventurous as its predecessor, time has treated it well; it may be softer and more produced than Marquee Moon, but Tom Verlaine's songwriting remained sharply intelligent and his guitar interplay with Richard Lloyd is one of the wonders of rock, so it's always nice to hear. And that's why the bonus tracks are worthwhile -- any chance to hear Television at their prime play is welcome. The most noteworthy addition is "Adventure," a would-be title track that fits nicely into the album, while the early version of "Glory" is a bit rougher, but essentially the same. There are two alternate versions of "Ain't That Nothin'" -- a single edit, which is worth having here for historical purposes, and an unlisted early run-through that's a bit more interesting, primarily because it crackles with raw energy. All in all, this reRolling Stone (10/16/03, p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[ADVENTURE] has great songs such as the spastic rocker 'Glory,' the brooding 'Carried Away' and the gorgeously sad 'Days.'"
Entertainment Weekly (9/26/03, pp.94-5) - "...Think of it as the band's chill-out CD..." - Rating: B+