Marquee Moon is truly timeless

Good stuff. Never got to see Television regrettably, but I did get to see Richard Lloyd open up for the Golden Palominos at the The Ritz in '86
on a rare trip to NY. Now you guys have me on a mission to dig up some Television... might as well, I'm playing everything in sight tonight. lol

 

Venus Di Milo is exquisite.

 

Classic

 

Don't forget the live Television albums too.

 

Truly a masterpiece and one of the best records from the 70's.

 

For those in any doubt, go listen to A Sailor's Life off Unhalfbricking, the long closing duet section of Thompson and Swarbrick, or, to a lesser extent, something like Sloth.

IIRC, Verlaine denied having heard any Richard Thompson until after they'd done MM, but I never believed that - when I first heard MM on release (still have a very early vinyl copy), aside from thinking "Wow! This is chuffing brilliant!", my first thought was "Aaaaah, a Richard Thompson fan."

 

Marquee Moon belongs to my List of Life-changing-Top-10 Records. It's essential listening, timeless and will hopefully also work its magic on future generations of rock lovers.
That said, time to hunt for an original pressing. All I have is the remastered Rhino CD and the Rhino Vinyl reissue. While both sound pretty good (and Little Johnny Jewel became essential listening too) I think a nm original pressing would play on another level of pleasure. Any recommondations on what to get?

 

Best heard at a dive bar at 2 am

 

From a 2018 perspective, I hear a lot of parallels between Television and U.K. electric folk pinnacles like Fairport Convention or Trees circa 1969-70. As far as I've
gleaned from interviews, neither Lloyd nor Verlaine were aware of these artists/albums when Television was a C.B.G.B.s fixture or an Elektra-signed act. The
lamer reviewers of the first two Television albums back in the 70s often evoked comparisons to The Velvet Underground and/or The Grateful Dead. That is something
that I don't hear at all, other than the fact that there are two guitars involved. What I heard was a jazz improvisational-influenced guitar band borrowing instrumental tones and riffs from San Francisco and Los Angeles 60s two-guitar bands like Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Electric Prunes And Moby Grape. Even in his later solo
work, Verlaine still inserted Jorma Kaukonen ("Red Leaves") and Ken Williams ("Ancient Egypt") guitar licks in unexpected places.

 

You should hear their early material, Jesus, they were rough!

 

The Neon Boys tracks are more '60s garage meets early glam than actual proto-punk.
That's probably why I like them so much.

 

Has anyone read their Bio 'Sonic Transmission'? Worth reading? Any insights into Marquee Moon?
Sonic Transmission: Television Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell by Tim Mitchell

 

I've never really been able to get on with Richard Lloyd solo. The 2-CD release of Field of Fire goes some way top repair that - what with the remix - but still, it's clear from vibe that Verlaine was the sound of Television. Take for example Richard Hell, who made a couple of (excellent) records after leaving Television, his sound morphed too.

Every single Verlaine CD is worth owning. They are uniformly excellent. The 2-CD Miller's Tale CD is special for me, because the live performance on CD was in London, and I was in attendance.

I confess, I don't hear any Richard Thompson/Fairport Convention in there.

 

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I don't hear Thompson either, but I think the connection is that they were both fans of west coast bands like the Airplane and the Dead.
Disagree about Verlaine being the sound of Television. Especially in a live setting, his more static/icy approach to playing was a perfect counter to Lloyd's fluid/hot approach, and in the studio it was Lloyd's doubling up on guitar parts that gave those records their unique sound.

 

Grrrr - I lack the words to adequately describe Television's sound - it was so special with that little bit of something different. I've not heard anyone do it again. I have to say, Verlaine's voice brings a lot to it as well.

Perhaps it would be better to say - if you love the sound of Television, then I think there's a very good chance you'll love the Verlaine albums. Hell, even his instrumental albums have that sound. He did experiment a bot, such as with the Cover album, but he never ventured far from that Television sound. I rate some of Verlaine's solo work almost on a par with Marquee Moon.

Sadly, Verlaine's career was blighted by missing years when he did goodness knows what. Television's third album came out a long time after Adventure, and somehow it sounds like they never stopped playing together! Verlaine's last two albums were terrific too. Sadly I'm aging myself, because they came out several years ago.

 

Yeah, Verlaine's albums are wonderful, and I think Cover (which I just played yesterday) is an overlooked gem.
I just wish he would finish the long aborning fourth TV studio album.
Another possible TV guitar influence is Glenn Phillips. Give a listen to the lone Hampton Grease Band album.

 

Or release a live show from the recent "Marquee Moon" tour - I have the previous live album, but would be nice to get a new one.

Shame he and Lloyd just can't seem to get along.....

 

WH

When I saw Richard Lloyd backing up progressive folk/country artist Butch Hancock back in the '90s, his Hendrix roots really came to the fore
in his guitar solos. There were a few times during that show I could close my eyes and hear what Mike Bloomfield playing full-tilt behind
Dylan in the mid-60s might have been like in a live setting.

 

Not surprising about Hendrix, he made a cover album that's recently been reissued. Personally I'd of taken the chance to do another cover design.....



https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jamie-Neve...&qid=1516047917&sr=1-4&keywords=richARD+LLOYD

 

I find it rather stranger to read that people actually do not hear Richard Thompson or the Dead in full flight on those first two Television albums. It's still good, tho

 

Verlaine's debut might as well be the 3rd Television album in terms of songs (several of which come from the Television songbook) and sound (with Fred Smith still on-board, and Verlaine playing in the same style as he was in 1977/8). I certainly love it just about as much as Marquee Moon and maybe even more than Adventure. Either way, the three LPs make up a stellar trilogy.

 

This is a completely different "Kingdom Come" than the one Television played live. It is, however, the one covered by David Bowie. But it is a great album, especially the re-worked "Breakin' In My Heart" with Ricky Wilson.

 

Yes it is not bad and well worth reading. I kind of knew the Marquee Moon album story but it is well told. Not many books on Verlaine/Television and the best other account of the band is is probably Velvets to Voidoids by C.Heylin.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Velvets-Vo...516051967&sr=1-2&keywords=velvets+to+voidoids

 

Tom's debut solo album is a great record but I still wish the band had kept going (wishful thinking).

 

Yeah, I just picked it because it's probably my favorite from the LP. A few songs on Tom Verlaine date from Television days, though: "Breakin'" (as you mentioned), "Grip of Love", and the lyrics from "Red Leaves", which had previously been used both for "Adventure" and for... the original "Kingdom Come"! (Further Television leftovers would appear on Verlaine's next 2 solo records, too).