Television Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Television's groundbreaking first album, Marquee Moon, was as close to a perfect debut as any band made in the 1970s, and in many respects it would have been all but impossible for the band to top it. One senses that Television knew this, because Adventure seems designed to avoid the comparisons by focusing on a different side of the band's personality. Where Marquee Moon was direct and straightforward in its approach, with the subtleties clearly in the performance and not in the production, Adventure is a decidedly softer and less aggressive disc, and while John Jansen's production isn't intrusive, it does round off the edges of the band's sound in a way Andy Johns' work on the first album did not. But the two qualities that really made Marquee Moon so special were Tom Verlaine's songs and the way his guitar work meshed with that of Richard Lloyd, whose style was less showy but whose gifts were just as impressive, and if you have to listen a bit harder to Adventure, it doesn't take long to realize that both of those virtues are more than apparent here, and while one might wish the sound had a bit more bite on "Foxhole" or "Ain't That Nothin'," the quieter, more layered sound is just what the doctor ordered for "Glory" and "The Dream's Dream." Sure, Marquee Moon is a better album, but Adventure has one of the greatest guitar bands of all time playing superbly on a set of truly fine songs, and albums like this come along far too infrequently for anyone to ignore music this pleasurable simply on the grounds of relative evaluation; it's not quite a masterpiece, but it's a brilliant record by any yardstick. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Live at the Old Waldorf'
Release Date 9/23/2003
Tracks 9
Label Rhino Handmade
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Television were generally regarded as the precise and arty guys of the original New York punk scene -- enough so that some have (rather pointlessly) questioned just what they had to do with the punk rock aesthetic -- but while the clean lines and gleaming surfaces of Marquee Moon and Adventure might have inspired such thought, the band's live show told a different story. While they lacked the bash-it-out ferocity of the Ramones or the Dead Boys, on-stage Television played a lot harder and looser than they did in the studio; the guitar interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd gained much grit and muscle (and Lloyd was given significantly more space to show what he could do), and drummer Billy Ficca and Fred Smith weren't afraid to turn up the heat and add greater color and body to the songs. While the splendid "authorized bootleg" The Blow-Up is likely to remain the definitive document of Television's awe-inspiring live prowess, Live at the Old Waldorf -- a professional recording of a 1978 San Francisco date on the band's last tour before their 1992 reunion -- runs a very close second, and the superior sound quality allows one to better appreciate the subtle textures lurking beneath Verlaine and Lloyd's Stratocaster firepower. The Blow-Up preserves a longer and more enthusiastic performance from Television, while Live at the Old Waldorf finds them playing for a rather chilly away-from-home audience, but the band seems determined to show just what it can do, and these versions of "The Dream's Dream," "Little Johnny Jewel," and "Marquee Moon" are pure joy for guitar aficionados. Rhino Handmade are to be congratulated for finally giving this oft-bootlegged recording the authorized release it deserves, and providing still more evidence of Television's enduring brilliance and innovation -- 25 years after this set was played, Live at the Old Waldorf still sounds fresher and more exciting than most anything you're likely to see at a rock club on a given evening. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After the breakthrough success of Nirvana's Nevermind in 1991, it seemed (at least for a while) that many of the tributaries of the American punk movement might finally have a chance to break through to a larger audience, and a number of seminal bands from the salad days of punk and new wave made reunion albums, imagining they might have a better chance to be heard than they did in the 1970s or '80s. Television were an especially strong example of a band whose influence and reputation far outstripped their commercial impact, so it's not that surprising that the group decided to reunite in 1992 and see if the mass audience might finally be prepared for them. However, Television's intricate guitar attack and elliptical melodies would have been a hard sell under ideal circumstances, and it didn't help much that the group's comeback disc, simply called Television, sounded even less approachable than the music of their masterpiece, Marquee Moon. With its skeletal melodies, starkly dynamic arrangements, and cryptically witty lyrics, Television sounds like one of Tom Verlaine's post-1982 solo albums more than anything else, but with one important difference -- here, Verlaine is working with a second guitarist who is actually worth his while, and while on this set everyone seems to follow Verlaine's lead, with Richard Lloyd on hand to trade licks with Tom, and Fred Smith and Billy Ficca holding down the rhythm section with unobtrusive strength, it's easily the strongest record Verlaine made since Dreamtime in 1981. Anyone wanting to know why Television were one of the most important bands of their time needs to start with Marquee Moon, but if you want further proof that Verlaine and Lloyd truly bring out the best in each other's guitar work, this album will certainly help. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Double live albums frequently come off as redundant and indulgent, but in the case of Television, The Blow-Up comes awfully close to being an essential document, simply because the band's studio albums didn't always capture the rawness and spontaneity that fueled their on-stage improvisations. Both of those qualities are present on The Blow-Up in abundance; the sound quality is not exactly pristine, but the performances, recorded in 1978 on what proved to be the band's final tour, are exciting and frequently breathtaking, capturing a side of the band that will enlighten anyone wondering how Television's intricate, layered sound was ever tagged "punk." Six songs from Marquee Moon and two from Adventure appear, plus covers of "Satisfaction," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," and the 13th Floor Elevators' "Fire Engine" (here renamed as the album's title track). It's interesting to hear the shorter songs outside of a studio setting, but the album's real treasures are the second half's nearly 15-minute versions of "Little Johnny Jewel" and "Marquee Moon," which are loaded with the improvisational fireworks that helped build Television's reputation. Anyone seeking a more complete, rounded picture of the band after digesting Marquee Moon should eventually find his way here. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Marquee Moon is a revolutionary album, but it's a subtle, understated revolution. Without question, it is a guitar rock album -- it's astonishing to hear the interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd -- but it is a guitar rock album unlike any other. Where their predecessors in the New York punk scene, most notably the Velvet Underground, had fused blues structures with avant-garde flourishes, Television completely strip away any sense of swing or groove, even when they are playing standard three-chord changes. Marquee Moon is comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections, not through Verlaine's words. That alone made Marquee Moon a trailblazing album -- it's impossible to imagine post-punk soundscapes without it. Of course, it wouldn't have had such an impact if Verlaine hadn't written an excellent set of songs that conveyed a fractured urban mythology unlike any of his contemporaries. From the nervy opener, "See No Evil," to the majestic title track, there is simply not a bad song on the entire record. And what has kept Marquee Moon fresh over the years is how Television flesh out Verlaine's poetry into sweeping sonic epics. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
