Television
Marquee Moon

THE REVIEW

Musical trends, as we know, change significantly year by year. If during a certain period we hear bands with a sound and a way of handling melodies reminiscent of the '60s, shortly after we might have other bands whose style is tied to the Glam of the following decade. In recent months, the reference sound for many bands, especially English ones, is the New Wave of the early '80s and its first stirrings in New York in the second half of the '70s. Considering these influences should place "Marquee Moon" by Television among the canon of the most influential (and/or important) albums in rock history, often compiled by music magazines, an album highly praised by musicians and critics but rarely remembered by magazine readers or by radio and TV music users.

The characteristics of the album’s sound include an accompanying, non-intrusive drum, the interplay of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd’s guitars which weave among arpeggios, phrases, or simple chords complemented by a precise and present bass and Verlaine's own voice. This precise structure is evident today in bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Departure, or Cribs, while New Yorkers Strokes heavily cite the repertoire of their fellow citizens, especially in their guitar usage (and Julian Casablancas’s voice often recalls Verlaine's as well as Lou Reed's). However, despite Television's sound precision, it is not cold or impersonal; the guitars intertwine nervously, responding to each other, accompanying the singing and highlighting the more expressive passages.

Tom "Verlaine," as one might easily guess from his chosen stage name, was heavily influenced by French symbolist poetry and carved out a role as a maledicted singer in New York's vivid scene of the second half of the '70s. A scene usually associated with the birth of Punk, offering much more richness than the simple music genre. Not only the Ramones were born in this environment, but also photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe or writers like Jim Carroll. Musically, the Television was inspired by another great New York band, the Velvet Underground. Additionally, John Cale, one of the band's many souls, was very present in the New York music scene. "Marquee Moon" is not much tied to the aggressiveness of Punk as it is to the hypnosis of its psychedelia. As can be understood from the few words said earlier about the sound structure, the songs are not aggressive or fast; the guitars have little distortion and stand out with an emphatic and expressive singing style. The lyrics are visionary and talk about the difficulties of growing up in an unfair society ("Friction") and the desire to escape it ("See No Evil"). There are cultured references such as in "Venus" where Verlaine's sensations during a surreal walk through New York are described saying "and I fell right into the arms of Venus de Milo."

Other masterpieces of this album include the long "Marquee Moon" and the emphatic and powerful "Torn Curtain" that closes the album's tracklist in its '77 version, where at the end, the guitar pretends to miss a few notes to renew the final phrase. In recent years, the album has been reissued with some additional tracks. Thus, we can listen to "Little Johnny Jewel," the group’s first single, with a whimsical arrangement, or alternate versions of "See No Evil," "Friction," and "Marquee Moon," with louder guitar, especially in "See No Evil" where a sort of counterpoint to the melody is created.

In short, "Marquee Moon" is an album that every music enthusiast of yesterday and today must discover, or rediscover, at least to understand a significant part of today’s bands.