Marquee Moon

Performer: Television
Distributor: Warner Elektra Atlantic C

Notes: 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. 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.

Rolling 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'

Television came up in the 1970s among the first wave of New York punks (Ramones, Talking Heads, etc.), but their ambitious epics and stellar musicianship were far removed from the proletarian orientation of their CBGB's peers. The twin guitars of Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine made for a magical sound, further enhanced by Verlaine's poetic lyrics. Television broke up after two albums, but reunited long enough for a third in 1992, and have since staged sporadic reunion concerts.

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