Marquee Moon is truly timeless

And.... "What I Heard", later recycled as "Postcard from Waterloo" on Words from the Front. Vocals by Richard Lloyd!

 

Ah, thanks. Forgot about "Breakin'" which should have been obvious, but didn't know about the rest. But I sort of stand by my point -- if they were only playing "Grip of Love" after working on Adventure, it can hardly be called an old Television song. Tom was almost the sole songwriter for Television and so it should come as no surprise that he reused stuff Television didn't release (e.g., "Adventure" becoming "Red Leaves").

And it does look as if Dreamtime and Words from the Front were almost all new stuff, barring one song from each?

Did Lloyd write the words for "What I Heard" or something? It's weird to hear him singing it (not that I mind his voice -- Alchemy is actually my favorite Television solo album). Maybe at that stage they were a multi-lead vocalists band, with Lloyd as their "George."

 

Billy's drumming on MM is the best rock pop drumming ever, IMHO as a drummer of 30 years.
In some ways it's better than the amazing guitar playing, and Billy on The Blow Up is somehow even better.
Probably the most underrated musician I can think of.
Fred's bass playing lets it down a bit, but with so much happening elsewhere I guess he needed to
play simple stuff.

 

and in case anyone wants a go the intro to Marquee Moon is
D to Bm played like this

D - XX0230
Bm - XX04230

thats how it sounds to me anyway

 

Agree about the brilliance of Ficca, but I don't think Fred's bass "lets it down" ... he is often playing intriguing things -- I particularly love the heartbreaking ascending counter-melody he plays during the build-up to the refrain of "Guiding Light." I always listen for it. He goes up and accentuates a harmonic when most bass players would drop down to the tonic. Listen during the "I hear the whispers and I hear the shouts..." Brilliant and deceptively simple.

 

Geek alert. I don't hear those open strings.

I hear.......B Minor XXX43X to D5 XXX23X

When the solo section starts at 4:22 it reverses to D5-B Minor. The D5 becomes the lead chord.

Try it see what you think.

 

what I was really responding to in sberger's post (before he turned nasty) was the description of Verlaine as a bandleader, which I hadn't heard put that way before. There was the rehearsal footage, but you don't need to be a taskmaster to be find it frustrating to teach a song to Richard Hell. I knew he was the perfectionist in the group, but he sounds so committed to the band presentation in that account. Yet he never really founded a new band. But I suppose he found it easier to get the control he wanted as a solo artist, supported by hired musicians (even when some of these were ex-Television).

I've also asked, I think on this board, how he managed to sustain himself all these years with no obvious uptick in his career. I wonder that about a lot of alternative rock legends... but that can be saved for another thread.

 

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/marquee-moon-is-truly-timeless.448245/page-6#post-12668581

 

Solo or with Television, he's always toured, or at least played a few dates a year.

Also, David Bowie covered "Kingdom Come" on Scary Monsters in 1980. That's gotta help with the income stream.

 

Maybe he just has an inexpensive lifestyle? I know musicians who live in rural areas, mostly because they love the peace and quiet (and nobody bothering them about playing their instrument late at night) but they also save a lot of money. I know one Australian blues player who deliberately chose to move to Detroit - partly for the city's rich Blues heritage, but mainly because he could buy a house there for less than $10,000. Nobody is going to break into his house to steal his didgeridoo.

Absolutely. The only consistent money in music is the publishing rights to a song, which is a fixed amount per song, per physical copy, and administered by the Harry Fox Agency. It's a small amount per song (from $.02 to $.091 per song per copy) but if it's on a huge album like Scary Monsters it adds up.

 

He had a nervous breakdown, he was a crack fiend, somebody stole his guitar and he had 3 operations. Oh, he got tired.

There's the dirt you're looking for.

 

"Alternative Rock Legend". Now that would give him a laugh. Seriously.

He played with lots of different musicians. Like one does when they go solo and produce 9 albums. Television exhausted him, I do know that. What is so difficult to accept about that?

 

A couple of things I failed to mention in the song breakdown of MM.
Tom's solo is epic and unique but you can hear some of his influences in his solo. At 6:50 to my ears there is a definite John Fogerty influence. Fogerty's influence is at other points also in the solo. I was wondering if you guys agree. I think it makes sense considering other songs like Mary Marie.
Also I said the chords were the same as the intro in the solo part starting at 4:27. In fact, the chords at the solo section at 4:27 are reversed to D-B Minor. That changes the whole color of the solo section. Smart songwriting move on Verlaine's part. The intro and verses are passive sounding and the solo section is more aggressive in tone.

 

I was fooling around on guitar yesterday and randomly started playing that opening riff. Sounds awesome, even when I play it.

 

I'm pretty sure he still lives in Manhattan, I see him every few years taking a stroll down B'way towards Union Square, maybe heading over to browse at The Strand. I've heard that he's an extremely frugal man. I believe his wife teaches art at NYU so there's probably steady income from that (not to mention healthcare insurance). He's probably making more money in this century than ever before without having to work too hard... Television get booked in decent venues and are featured at music festivals all around the world.

 

He could be in his Grandmother's rent-controlled apartment, and couldn't afford to move.

 

Proof that Richard Lloyd could also play a nasty modal freakout guitar solo.

 

Depends on whether she's faculty or an adjunct instructor. If the latter, it may well still be that Bowie cover paying the bills.

 

That was wonderful. Thanks for posting.

All the bands coming out of CBGB in the mid 70s were fantastic, but for my money none of them produced an album as good as Marquee Moon. It's very much of its time and transcends its time, one of those rare works that still sounds fresh even now.

 

Television's "Marquee Moon" middle section/solo-Rock's Greatest Moment?

 

We think alike. I need to look through that thread because I agree with it's premise.
It's funny, the two chords are so similar in tone that sometimes I forget they are switched in the interlude section.
You are correct though, the modal (D Mixolydian) sound comes out stronger with the D being the lead chord in the solo break.

 

Glad to! Thanks, on their behalf.

As I said, the thing that amazed me so much is that these kids were not the most advanced musicians in the School. There were six different programs last season, and many of the most advanced students were doing the Who, including the two students who have been selected as "AllStars". By the time they get to that level, they can, and have, played nearly anything. The AllStars are on tour starting next Sunday, finishing up at Lollapalooza and Gathering of the Vibes. If you get a chance these kids are seriously amazing. Here's a link to one of the AllStars bands playing King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man:

 

Just brilliant how they make it sound so natural coming in and out of the solo. The reverse isn't gimmicky because as you said you almost don't notice and when you do it's like "wow"!

 

He's married?? That's something I never knew.

I can't speak for Tom's lifestyle, but Richard Hell was (is?) living in rent-controlled apartment well into the 21st century. Makes NYC a lot more affordable.

I wonder what sort of income that posthumous Jeff Buckley release generated for Verlaine (with his productions on it)? Or would he have been paid a flat rate for that work?

 

BTW, not that he might not want/need supplemental health insurance, but Tom's eligible for Medicare these days.