(TV) I'll See You, & Raise You a Non-Eagles Album Cover / RE: Open Invitation for Oct. 2009 in NYC / RE: (TV) Modest Proposal

["Leo Casey" <LeoCasey@comcast.net>]

Keith wrote:
>   And a further suggestion, of interest to all TV fans who are, naturally,
>   also scholars of The Eagles and their profound insights, another topic 
> for discussion:
>   http://www.fstdt.com/fundies/comments.aspx?id=30087

I'll see you and raise you a non-Eagles album cover: 

Robert Mapplethorpe had taken several shots of the band at a photo session
in his studio and Verlaine and Lloyd chose one for the album cover.  What
Verlaine wanted, though, was something less professional than a
straightforward print--he wanted to use a colour Xerox.  Mapplethorpe was
surprised--colour Xerox printing had not been used for album cover artwork
before--but he liked the idea and agreed to try it.  The innovatory approach
brought striking results--an image that once more mythologized the band, as
Richard Hell had once done.  Now, though, they were presented, not as
literate street punks, but as creatures of the New York underworld, with
veins bulging from their skin, caught by bright lights in the night. 

The 'nocturnal' cover of 'Marquee Moon' reinforces the presence of the night
on the album itself (five of its eight songs are at least partly set during
the hours of darkness).  Verlaine thought of himself as "...basically a
night person" and, although this was partly a matter of his natural
sensibility, it sprang also from necessity:  "Living in New York you become
very night-oriented.  Especially in the summers, when it gets so hot and the
streets get so dirty."

The inspiration that Verlaine took from New York was very much tied up with
its nature as the 'city that never sleeps', a place where nocturnal life
often outdid its daytime equivalent in energy, excitement and beauty.

Verlaine and Fred Smith appear in this cover image dressed in black and
somber blues, against the electric blue of the background, while Lloyd and
Ficca stand together, almost at attention, in red.  Smith holds his arms
against his body, but Verlaine's huge hands seem caught in an almost
messianic gesture.  While the rest of the band stare at the camera,
Verlaine's eyes aim higher, and are focused on a point above it.  (On the
sleeve of the reissued album of 2003, there is a round circle of light above
Smith's head, a tiny, ghostly 'marquee moon', not visible on the original
cover.) 

It is a cover that creates an immediate, vivid impression of the band and
their music, an impression that is developed on the inner sleeve.  Here the
band are pictured playing in near darkness against a brick wall with covered
windows, as if buried deep in the city (the shot was actually taken in Terry
Ork's loft).  Their equipment is simple and unostentatious and the emphasis
is on the guitars and on Verlaine and Lloyd, who are seated rather than
standing.  The impression is of people not just playing rock and roll, but
creating art, too.  Lloyd looks straight at Verlaine here (as does Fred
Smith) but Verlaine, who seems at first glance to be looking back at Lloyd,
could be staring just above his head.

For the back of the album's sleeve, Verlaine had told the art director that
he wanted  "...some corny, weird spirally shape" like an advertisement he
had seen in sixth grade for a toy called the "hypno-eye".  With this toy, he
said, "...when you pressed a button... [it] looked like an eye was
swirling".  A week later, he recounted, "...all this demo artwork showed up
in the mail from these different L.A. artists who had done spirals--the one
we used was the nicest looking one".

With Permission of Tim Mitchell.  Taken from his book, 
"Sonic Transmission--Television, Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell--An Illustrated
History", published by The Glitterbooks of London, 2006, all rights
reserved.               
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