Marquee Moon is truly timeless

I always listen to it all the way through. The guitar solo on Torn Curtain is one reason, but Prove it is just so much fun

 

I was at those shows. Then they broke up.

It is awesome. I think I first heard that extended arrangement at The Palladium when they were on the NYE bill with Patti Smith and John Cale. They'd expanded the song as a set-closing climax... possibly for a future double-live-album, me-thinks.

In my brief conversation with Fred Smith that I recounted above I asked him if Little Johnny Jewel had been rerecorded for the soon-come Elektra album, "No. We're saving that for the live album," he replied with a confident nod.

In early-77 they were imagining a perfectly orthodox and long-running career for Television.

 

I saw them do an incredible all instrumental performance with the Joshua Light Show last fall. They're always brilliant (or damned close to it). I know some people mistake their taciturn demeanor and complete lack of a stage "show" for phoning-it-in, but that's not the case. They aren't too concerned with pacing, tuning-up between songs if necessary.

Seeing Television is more like seeing a jazz performance. It's all about the music. (Okay, Sun Ra and the Art Ensemble of Chicago were pretty showy, but you get my drift...).

 

You're right, I think they always saw that song as the big finale. Even in 1975 they positioned it as one of the set closers, and it's length varied, but it was always one of the longer ones.

 

I love Prove It - one of my favorites!

 

I was there and it was a brilliant performance. I'd seen them before at the Paradise in Boston and it was not a good night for them, I was disappointed, but then the Bottom Line show exploded my mind!

 

Well, it may have taken many years, but the live versions of "Little Johnny Jewel" on Blow Up and Live at the Old Waldorf are just monstrous (-ly good)!

 

I came to this album late, probably five or six years ago. I still remember my first impression which was, "was this really an album from the 70s?" Marquee Moon doesn't sound like it's from any particular time to me. That's quite a feat really.
Oh, and I read the review linked on the first page of this thread. They don't write em like that anymore.

 

At a party recently I was talking with one of the guys who was involved in the Arrow bootleg, which was expanded into The Blow Up on ROIR. He recounted the tale of the release. He was acquainted with Tom Verlaine and after they'd sold 1000 LP's he gave Tom $1,000 in "royalties." Verlaine was taken-aback and tried to return $200 as a finders fee, but my friend insisted it was his to keep. He continued to give Tom money as the album sold and when the idea of the ROIR cassette materialized he put Verlaine in contact with the guy who'd done the original taping at My Father's Place in Roslyn (shows I was lucky enough to attend).

It was an interesting story that I'd forgotten about through the years; an honorable (occasional) bootlegger developing a relationship with the artist, which led to an official release down the line.

 

Those Roslyn shows were really intense, very memorable. The guys who did the Arrow boot also did their research about where to get it pressed as it ran fairly long and fidelity was important to them. The vinyl always sounded better than any version of The Blow Up I've heard.

 

"Marquee Moon" is one of the few albums regarded as a classic that I have to admit to never hearing. Wrong place (suburbia) wrong time (I was pogoing to Blondie, The Ramones and the Sex Pistols.)
Any suggestions for a 'best' readily available copy?

 

Agreed. I don't know why the CD issues of The Blow Up can't capture the sonic quality of the long-running LP. I'm not a big vinyl booster, but that's a good example... and a bootleg at that.

 

The cd that's readily available isn't bad at all, and it adds "Little Johnny Jewel" as a bonus track.

 

I have the Rhino reissue LP, and though it gets debated, I think it's fine. Although originals are not hard to find (but I haven't priced them in a while).

 

Marquee Moon was the precursor to Darkness On The Edge Of Town. You can bet Bruce listened to Marquee Moon again and again and again.

Suddenly on Darkness you hear long, searing guitar solos played on a clean Fender.

Springsteen, Patti Smith, and Tom Verlaine are more similar than they are different.

 

When the album first came out on CD it was pretty exciting because Marquee Moon didn't fade at the end, the song continued to its conclusion.

The cardboard sleeve reissue includes bonus tracks and is somewhat essential for Little Johnny Jewel.

I must have given the original CD issue away so I can't compare (damn, I still have the earlier version of Adventure). I suspect that the audiophile position would be to go for the original 8-song CD or an original vinyl copy, but the expanded edition CD is easily available. My Japanese vinyl copy sounds really good too.

Here's an old thread addressing the question:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/television-marquee-moon-on-cd-question.80792/

 

I find Marquee Moon as the closer interesting because I play side 2 first in its entirety, starting with Elevation, then end with side 1 and the title track last.

Did the Belfast show on June 13 have the "jumbled" running order: See No Evil, Elevation, Prove It, Friction, Torn Curtain, Venus, Guiding Light, Marquee Moon? Based on other setlists I've seen from this year, they're experimented with different combinations, sometimes adding Persia and 1880 Or So.

 

I have to admit that by the time I'm finished with the title track, I'm usually done. I've burned through that first side many, many times but Side 2 doesn't yet have a spell on me. But it's only been a few years, this may change.

You just can't follow "Marquee Moon." It's too breathtaking. It should have been the closing track of the album, fading off into infinity.

 

Hard to argue with that. But personally, I have grown to love those discordant, final guitar notes that pop-up at the end of "Torn Curtain" as it fades out.

The whole thing just works for me -- not a single wasted note on the LP.

 

I always was taken by Tom Verlaine's brilliant use of melody. For instance on this song there is barely a melody sung by him and for good reason...the guitar motifs provide the melodies and Tom's vocal melody is just along for the ride and is based on just one little interval drop.

 

RRB, could you break down Side One, song by song? One day, anyway?

 

Yes I can. I am pretty familiar with how to play most of the songs on Side One. I will give it a shot. Thanks a lot for asking for it.

 

This thread has got me looking forward to going home and re-reading the 33 1/3 book covering MM. One of the best in the series.

 

Well, since this thread is now encompassing a discussion of Arrow/The Blow Up here's a shot of the empty interior at My Father's Place in Roslyn, Long Island NY.

It was an old bowling alley and they used the wood from the lanes to make the long, narrow tables. I think the capacity was about 400.

 

A few more Arrow tidbits:
The mastering was done in Hollywood at the same place Lindsey Buckingham used.
Metal stampers came from Europadisk.
Three test pressings from three different plants were rejected.
Truly a labor of love.