(TV) this may already be on keith's site...too lazy to check...

[Jay <piazzasanmarco@yahoo.com>]

Hunter Felt, Pop Matters

2003 Remaster of Original Version: 

There is no need to argue the importance of
Television's debut album, Marquee Moon. Anyone with a
remote interest in punk rock, the modern day garage
revival or just straight-ahead no frills rock and roll
needs Marquee Moon in their album collection. The
jaded yet somehow impassioned cynicism of Tom
Verlaine's vocals and Romantic poetry inspired lyrics
have become the model for a whole army of modern day
New York bands. A quick look at M2's Subterranean will
show that the rock quasi-underground of today would
not exist without Television. The sparkling clean and
precise guitars of Verlaine and Richard Lloyd manage
to imbue a simplicity and directness to their
multi-part songs and epic solos, allowing the band to
preserve their punk spirit while pursuing a thoroughly
un-punk muse. The underrated rhythm section of Fred
Smith and Billy Ficca played with a precise
syncopation that influenced the arrival of countless
post-punk and new wave acts. Television, it seems,
were pretty much exactly 25 years ahead of their time.
Rhino's decision to reissue this landmark album in
2003 is a smart financial decision, but does there
need to be a new edition of Marquee Moon? 

The main selling point of this particular remaster is
not the uninspired liner notes or the underwhelming
bonus tracks, but rather the updated sound. More than
any other album associated with the '70s punk scene,
Marquee Moon demands immaculate sound quality. The
most notable feature about Television's sound was how
clean and sharp the music sounded. Rather than burying
their songs in effects and distortion, Lloyd and
Verlaine strove for a return to the "ringing-a-bell"
sound of Chuck Berry. Where most post-Hendrix
guitarists went for the big effect, Verlaine and
Lloyd, on rockers like "Friction" and "See No Evil",
produce sounds that are precise and razor-sharp, like
tiny pins. Because of this dedication to
simplification, the two guitarists never step on each
other's toes, complimenting each other rather than
overlapping into bombast. While the original CD
remaster of Marquee Moon was not an embarrassment, the
Rhino remaster has given the best possible sound to
this great album. 

Take for instance how the remaster cleans up the title
song. Television's finest moment, the song "Marquee
Moon" is a triumph, a ten-minute epic of Romantic
brooding that feels as concise as a three-minute pop
song, yet is as powerfully evocative as a symphony. A
ten-minute song, with poetry for lyrics, an extended
instrumental section, and plenty of soloing hardly
seems the fare for a "punk" album. What makes the song
"punk" is how Television manage not to waste a single
second with self-indulgence. From its gripping
cinematic opening to the climactic orgasm of heavenly
guitar squeaks that would awe even Kevin Shields,
every single element of the song builds upon the
previous part. Television were never a jam band, and
even the solos just propel the song to its
irresistible climax. "Marquee Moon" works like precise
clockwork, with each instrumental section pushing the
next part along. With the new polished sound, the
drama of "Marquee Moon" becomes starker, and the
moment where the heavenly music stops and the song
steps back from the sonic excess of the climax and
settles back to the simple opening groove becomes even
more bewitching. 

If you already own the album, and are content with the
old mastering job enough not to feel pressured into
shelling out 17 bucks or so for the new edition, the
bonus tracks will do little to entice you. The single
version of "Little Johnny Jewel Pts. 1 & 2" is issued
on CD for the first time. Hardcore Television fans
highlight this strange tune as Television's finest
hour, but its toy-box of squeals and bangs is not
equal to the rousing emotional epics of the album
proper. The alternate versions of "See No Evil",
"Friction", and "Marquee Moon" are very similar to the
original versions, with only a slightly rougher sound
and different solos to distinguish them from the album
versions (although a step above the "alternate mix"
phenomenon that is plaguing modern day reissues). In a
bit of a cop out, the concluding surf-inspired
"Untitled Instrumental" is actually an out-take from
the Adventure sessions. The hardcore fan, hungry for
any unreleased Television material, of course will
need all of this, but it is the cleaned-up sound that
makes this reissue a godsend for those who have put
off buying the original master. And those who have
already bought the original, and refuse to buy the
album again, don't beat yourself up. In ten years or
so, during the next New York rock revival, the new
"new and improved" Marquee Moon will inevitably pop up
on DVD-Audio. Until then, this is the definitive
version of a definitive album.


=====
"When she sang about a boy
Kurt Cobain
I thought what a shame it wasn't about
Tom Verlaine"
 
--The Go-Betweens























		
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