(TV) Filter reviews the recent Verlaine reissues

[Phil Obbard <pobbard@yahoo.com>]

http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=18066&c=3

They give it a 78%:

"Youd
think three decades would provide enough sunsets for a man to
outstep his
shadow, but Tom Verlaine has spent nearly a dozen albums
trying to outshine
his. Problem isthere hasnt been much for cloud
support. Verlaines legacy as
one-half of the guitar duo of 80s
new-wave punk icons Television is a
cemented one, steeped in the rock
and roll history vaults alongside the likes
of CBGB and The Ramones.
But Warner Brothers initial release of his sophomore
album, Dreamtime, in 1981, and the immediately following Words from the Front
in
1982, hinted early at the changes to come in Verlaines soundscape as a
solo artist. Now introduced to an entirely new generation, a new batch
of ears
has the opportunity to discover the remains of a movement
Verlaine helped to
create. Gone are many of the punk nuances in favor
for a sense of arrangement,
where shimmering guitar tones trade harsh
vocals for heavily reverbed
amplifiers. While Dreamtimes transition eased Verlaines audience, Words from
the Front was
less forgiving. Here, hes truly obsessed with the intricacies
of the
recording studio, favoring the melodic sense of a constricted jazzman
with only a past rooted in punk tendencies. Now, after 30 years of
running
from that shadow, these two have a second fighting chance."
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