Big Al Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Yet another reason why Rhino is truly the greatest thing to happen to music since Al Lion landed on the shores. I've always been curious about this group, but never had the nerve to actually plop down the money for their albums. I just figured that Marquee Moon was just another critics darling, overrated as most critical darling albums are. I am happy to admit that, once again, I was wrong! The Fort Worth public library inexplicably has the remastered versions of MM and Adventure, and I will be purchasing these albums posthaste (or at least asking them for my birthday coming up in a few weeks! ). Now I understand where groups like Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, R.E.M., U2, etc got all their ideas. That guitar interplay is nothing short of telepathic. Plus, I love it that they originally wanted to record their first album at Van Gelder's studio. How cool is that? Rhino Handmade is offering a live album by these guys that I'm contemplating getting. Figure if MM is any indication, these guys musta KILLED live! Anybody here remember when their albums came out? Or seen 'em live? Ah, another happy discovery in the vast array of good undiscovered (by me, anyway) music! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Welcome to the world of Television, Al! Those albums came out in 1977 & 1978, respectively. I have yet to pick up the new re-masters with the extra tracks, but it's just a matter of time. I did in fact just order the "Waldorf" set from Rhino this week - should be great. It was mentioned in a review of the band on NPR's Fresh Air last week, which you can hear through the web site. Speaking of web sites, there is a really good one out of England for these guys right here: The Wonder I also just picked up a 2CD compilation (also English) of Tom Verlaine material that I had been looking for called "The Miller's Tale - A Tom Verlaine Anthology" ('Miller' being his real last name). I really like what I'm hearing, so far. The first disc is from a live show in England in the early 80's. The second is a collection of stuff from his solo albums, unreleased material and one tune each from the first 2 TV albums. It's a really nice set, if you find it. As far as seeing the band live.......they have played sporatically together over the last few years. I just saw them here in SF last Fall. Pretty much what you would expect - a guitar jam-fest. And finally........they did an album together in the early 90's just called "Television" which didn't do well, but has some great material on it. Should be easy to find. Hope I didn't overload you with info........enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Hey Al, check out earlier Organissimo discussion of Television here. Believe it or not, Television--the original band--still gigs from time to time. What I wouldn't give to see that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphie_boy Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Marquee Moon is a landmark guitar album! For those players and guitar fans that have never heard Tom Verlaine's or Richard Lloyd's playing, I recommend running out and picking this up ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrome Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Didn't Richard Lloyd also play on some Matthew Sweet discs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Yes, Lloyd has done work outside of Television, too. I recommend his solo album "Alchemy". Slightly more "pop" than Television or Verlaine's solo work, but really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 "Life in the hive puckered up my night-- The kiss of death the embrace of life--" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Big Al and BFrank, I picked up the live album on Rhino on a lark and love it. They sound great - raw and in your face. Among other things, they play a wicked version of "Satisfaction". If you like MM, you will love this! Eric PS Lloyd did play on several M Sweet CDs ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Just got my live disk today. Sounds great, so far. I don't know why I didn't go to this. I was seeing a lot of shows at this venue back then. I guess I hadn't discovered them yet. BTW, mine is numbered 4837/5000. Does this mean that it's almost sold out? Or is it like Mosaic, where the numbers seem to be pretty arbitrary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted February 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Thanks for the link, Ghost! I feel kinda silly, getting all caught up in my excitement and not doing a search first. Oh well; guess you can't have too many Television threads. Can't decide which album I like better: MM or Adventure. Each one has it's redeeming merits, but those vocal harmonies on "Glory" and "Days" just make me tingle! So sweet! But then, life doesn't get much better than when "Venus de Milo," "Friction," "Marquee Moon," and "Prove It" are blaring through the speakers (and for my money, "MM" could've gone on for another 60 minutes and I still woulda loved it!) That live album keeps getting more appealing the more you guys talk about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Now all you need is to snag a copy of Richard Hell's BLANK GENERATION -- Robert Quine... -- and the live TV set THE BLOW-UP and you'll be in NYC scum-rock (a compliment, BTW) heaven! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Yes, Lloyd has done work outside of Television, too. I recommend his solo album "Alchemy". Slightly more "pop" than Television or Verlaine's solo work, but really good. Lloyd was recently here in Austin touring with the reunited Rocket from the Tombs; takning the place of a now-deceased original member. RFTT was an Ohio band that never even made a legitimate album but split up into the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu. The set ended with "Sonic Reducer" as well as a number of Pere Ubu classics ("30 Seconds Over Tokyo", "Final Solution", "Heart of Darkness", "Life Stinks", etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Lloyd was recently here in Austin touring with the reunited Rocket from the Tombs; takning the place of a now-deceased original member. Peter Laughner?! Check out the essay on Laughner in Lester Bangs' PSYCHOTIC REACTIONS and posted here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Al - are you in NYC? +++ From The Wonder web site: Live Television shows for 2004 Television will be performing 2 shows in New York, at Irving Plaza, on: Thursday March 25 Friday March 26th. These 2 shows are confirmed. There may be others around that time, but not confirmed yet. Also confirmed is Boston, Wednesday March 24th, at the Paradise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted February 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 I wish! I live in culturally-deprived DFW, TX! -_- Ah well, the records are good enough for now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted February 13, 2004 Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 ROAD TRIP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Burke Posted February 13, 2004 Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 Lloyd was recently here in Austin touring with the reunited Rocket from the Tombs; takning the place of a now-deceased original member. Peter Laughner?! Check out the essay on Laughner in Lester Bangs' PSYCHOTIC REACTIONS and posted here. Yup. That's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmirBagachelles Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 (edited) I thought it would be fun to revive this thread with an emphasis on Tom Verlaine. I played the instrumental album from last year, pretty dull, but then I went back to the live half of the Miller's Tale anthology and was re-blown away, so I have been trying to go back and find my old favorite tracks on the few solo records I own, Flashlight and TV s/t. Flash Lightning, Red Leaves, many great song grooves on s/t with subtle guitar noises, dynamics, excellent stuff. I remember now that I held Flashlight in highest regard, no point in ever playing it less than start-to-finish (much like Marquee Moon). TV is a master of mood, amazing capabilities, at age 47 I think I like listening to Adventure now more than Marquee Moon, which by my own reckless overuse is nearly consigned to the classic rock bin of my mind. I have Songs from last year, I will give that a listen for the first time today. I see a few other highly regarded titles are OOP or have been indifferently issued on CD, what a shame. Will we ever get a shot at new reissues of Dreamtime and The Wonder? This is great rock. Edited July 8, 2007 by AmirBagachelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) I saw Tom's tour last year and it was more like the live stuff on "Millers Tale" than either of the albums he released that year. He even had Jimmy Ripp on 2nd guitar. BTW, a album called "Live At The Academy NYC 12.4.92" just showed up on eMusic. The sound isn't great, but not at all unlistenable. I'm not sure if it's a boot or what - I've never heard of it before. Edited July 9, 2007 by BFrank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmirBagachelles Posted July 11, 2007 Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 Sound is EXCELLENT on that '92 show, merely some club/crowd noise (try EQing it down). This was very well recorded, and the performance is GREAT. You can't pass this up if you like this band. I got it free with the trial subscription (along with a nice Robyn Hitchcock record), then cancelled out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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