Favourites : Television

I remember buying Marquee Moon in 1978.  I was coming back from Uni for that long journey home - walk down from Mount Vic, visit record store, train, bus and 25 minute walk up the valley to home.  Typically an hour an a half.

In the record shop I heard that Keith Moon had died and was feeling pretty sad - I could not imagine The Who, without that manic and yet perfect drumming. Little did I know they would be going almost 40 years later.  The record store had a sale and I picked up three albums that I still really enjoy. Talking Heads 77 and the first two Television albums Marquee Moon and Adventure,

At the time I knew little about either band other than that along with The Ramones and Blondie they were a key part of the new New York "Punk Scene".   I had heard only one song on the three albums (Psycho Killer) and so it was a bit of a punt.

They all quickly became favourites and played often and loud.  At the time Grease was the word amongst my Wainui friends and these albums seemed further proof to them that I had no taste. The rhythms, vocals and angular guitar playing were unusual and to some unfathomable.  The fact that Television had guitar solos and songs over 10 minutes long was also not in line with conventional punk thinking.   Buying Adventure and Marquee Moon at same the time also meant that I did not have the expectations of Adventure that those who had started with Marquee Moon experienced.  I immediately enjoyed both albums but in the end gravitated  to the sheer brilliance of Marquee Moon.

Television when at their best are the best two guitar attack to have ever existing.  Tom Verlaine's guitar almost perfectly balanced by Richard Lloyd's.   Verlaine playing the lyrical and angular solo's with Lloyd coming in with the more aggressive, punchy and even conventional stylings. All backed by with a tight rhythm section.  The songs are unusual as well - not conventional and characterised by Verlaine's nasal almost non singing.  Here is a very early version of Marquee Moon from 1975 lacking the polish that they would get later and at the time Richard Hell would have been playing with them. The only decent clip I have come across from the band at their peak would be this version of Foxhole from 1978.

They broke up in late 78 and may even been over by the time I bought their albums that day.

However that was not the end of the story with both Verlaine and Lloyd recording excellent solo albums with and without the rhythm section, reforming in 1992 to record the self titled Television which is not as good as either the solo albums or their earlier work but does have a few good tracks but little of the sparkle and wit of the earlier albums.

Over the years I have collected a few bootleg and love albums - most notably the early demos of Marquee Moon recorded with Brian Eno, Live albums and the demo's for Adventure.  I have both vinyl and CD versions of one of their last live shows at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco.

Last year I made the pilgrimage with the boys to finally see Television play live in Auckland.  While I enjoyed the night - they were well beyond their peak and while Jimmy Ripp substituted well for Richard Lloyd the songs lacked the urgency that they need to really shine.