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RE: (TV) article



--- eRacerX <eracerx@adelphia.net> wrote:
> Does anyone agree with that description? I never heard "Adventure", the
> song, before this release, (I just don't have enough boots), but I feel it
> didn't belong on Adventure...

As it appears on the ADVENTURE reissue, I agree, it didn't deserve to be on the
final LP. The track had previously circulated among collectors, in the exact
same mix, on a tape of "working" versions of ADVENTURE songs (including "Glory
(Early Version)", now also on the Rhino reissue). Judging from that, my guess
is that "Adventure" (the song) was abandoned fairly early in the ADVENTURE
sessions. 

In other words, I think it's pretty safe to say that the version you hear on
the ADVENTURE reissue isn't a finished track by any means. Certainly, by the
standards of the rest of ADVENTURE, it sounds a bit underproduced, and
Verlaine's vocal sounds laid-back and off-the-cuff compared to say, "Careful",
to use the "poppiest" track on the LP for comparison.

> Maybe if more effort was put into "Adventure", the song - it must have been
> written in the studio. I think the best parts of it are when there is no
> vocal. I'm assuming that is Richard soloing all over that song - whoever,
> the leads are really good.

I was wondering who plays the solo, too. Any takers? However, "Adventure"
definitely wasn't written in the studio. The song had been in Television's set
(originally as "Excitement", with different lyrics) for years. You can hear it
in many concert tapes from 1976 onwards (sans piano, of course). 

Clearly Television intended for it to be included on ADVENTURE, originally. My
guess is that as ADVENTURE started to come together, with Verlaine writing many
of the tracks in the studio (like "Carried Away", "The Fire", and "The Dream's
Dream"), "Adventure" no longer really fit the feel of the record. 

> The chorus "I need a new adventure" - is just plain lame, especially in the
> context of all other Verlaine lyrics and phrasing. The boogie rhythm is cool
> for Television, but it sounds like a 2nd rate 'new wave' band.

I wrote last week and said I thought the verses sound unfinished and ad-libbed.
Later, it occurred to me that Verlaine recycled some of "Adventure"'s lyrics
for "Red Leaves" on his debut album, so they couldn't be *that* ad-libbed after
all. As for the chorus, while it's no "Marquee Moon" or "Venus", I wouldn't
call it lame compared to almost any other chorus on MARQUEE MOON or ADVENTURE
(try "When I see the glory / I ain't gotta worry" or "Oh oh ain't that nothin'
/ Why don't you tell me somethin'"). I'm not saying it's a great chorus, only
that I don't think it's a poor one.

Personally, I dig this track. I can see why it didn't get to ADVENTURE, but I
still can't stop humming it or playing it. My favorite parts are the bass riff
just before the key change, and the fantastic piano part that dominates the
last two minutes or so of the track. I agree with the words of Ty Burr's
assessment - "a peppy, near-pop gem" - but I'd rearranged them slightly to call
it "a peppy, pop near-gem" (if that makes any sense).

--Philip


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