Marquee Moon

Marquee Moon
Studio album by Television
Released	February 8, 1977
Recorded	1976, A & R Studios, New York City
Genre	Art punk
Length	45:49
Label	Elektra
Producer	Andy Johns Tom Verlaine
Television chronology
Marquee Moon (1977) Adventure (1978)

Marquee Moon is the debut album by American rock band Television, released in 1977. While often considered a seminal work to come out of the New York punk scene of the late 1970s, the album differs from conventional punk in its clean, textured guitar-based arrangements and extended improvisation. As a result, it is also often cited as important to the development of post-punk and New Wave genres.^{[citation needed]} While critically acclaimed at the time of its release, the album failed to garner commercial success.

It was re-released September 23, 2003. It has been ranked highly in many "best of" music lists.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Album information

According to the liner notes of the 2003 reissue, Television originally wanted to record Marquee Moon with veteran jazz recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder (John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, and most of the classic Blue Note Records catalog) at his legendary Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey recording studio.

The original vinyl recording was composed of eight tracks. The remastered 2003 CD re-release of the album retains the same track order, but the title track continues to 10:40, rather than fading out as on the original LP. The track was done in one take; drummer Billy Ficca thought that they were rehearsing.^{[citation needed]} The album was dedicated to William Terry Ork, on whose label, Ork Records, the band's first single ("Little Johnny Jewel (Parts 1 & 2)") was released.^{[citation needed]} The album cover features a portrait of the band taken by Robert Mapplethorpe.^{[citation needed]}

Marquee Moon features the elliptical lyrics of Tom Verlaine set against the sparse, yet complex, guitar work of Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, and the rhythm section of Fred Smith (bass) and Billy Ficca (drums). The introspective mood of the album, and the careful, instrumental virtuosity of the band were arguably one of the first manifestations of the post-punk movement.

Despite critical acclaim, the album never achieved more than a cult following in the United States at the time of its release, but rose to number 28 in Britain, partly because of a lengthy rave review by Nick Kent in the New Musical Express.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]
Blender	[7][dead link]
Robert Christgau	(A+)[8]
Entertainment Weekly	(A)[9]
Pitchfork Media	(10/10)[10]
Q	[11]
Rolling Stone	(positive)[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[14]
Sputnikmusic	(4.5/5.0)[15]

The album was ranked at 128th in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".^[1]

In 2001, Uncut magazine wrote, "Television may have vowed to 'pull down the future', but no one knew they'd reinvent it. Proof that lightning can, indeed, strike itself."^[16]

In 2003, the year of the re-release, Rolling Stone gave the album 5 stars out of 5 and called it "one of the all-time classic guitar albums....Moon still shimmers with urban grime and psychedelic imagination."^[13] In the same year, Spin magazine wrote, "It's the first punk jam album and a thing of swooning, brawny loveliness."^[17] Entertainment Weekly, in the same year, gave it an A grade and called it "One of the era's masterworks, a multilayered thrill ride of interlocking stun-gun guitars and leader Tom Verlaine's nervous vocals."^[9] Q magazine also called it "a brutally stark, yet intricate weave of guitars and affectingly passionate vocals."^[18]

Mojo called it "A graceful new wave bite that betrayed delicate hints of neo-psychedelic sophistication."^[19]

Accolades

The album has been included in several "best-of" publications:

• In 1993, NME ranked it number 10 in their "Greatest Albums of the '70s" list.^[20] Ten years later, the publication ranked it number 4 in their list of the "Greatest Albums of All Time".^[2]
• In 2001, Uncut ranked it number 2 in their list of the "Greatest Debuts".^[21]
• In 2002, Q magazine gave the album 5 stars out of 5 and included in in their "100 Best Punk Albums" list.^[22]
• In 2003, Mojo ranked it number 32 in their list of the "Top 50 Punk Albums".^[23]
• In 2003, the TV network VH1 placed it 83rd on their list of the 100 greatest albums of all time.^{[citation needed]}
• Pitchfork ranked the album number 3 in their "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s" list.^[24]

The album usually sits inside the top 30 of Rate Your Music's user-generated list of the 5000 most highly-ranked albums of all time^[25] and is number 25 on Acclaimed Music's list.^{[citation needed]}

The song "Marquee Moon" was placed number 372 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".^{[citation needed]} In March 2005, Q magazine placed the song 51st in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks".^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

Stephen Morris of New Order (formerly of Joy Division) cited Marquee Moon as one of his favorite albums. "I just felt that Marquee Moon and the stuff from New York was odd, and it was different, and it was weird - and I always liked weird things. It still had a lot of energy; I liked Marquee Moon in preference to, say, Patti Smith's Horses... it was just contrived enough."^[26]

Alan Wilder, formerly of Depeche Mode, also cited Marquee Moon as one of his favorite albums, saying "Television just came along for me, and I just love "Marquee Moon"; it's just that guitar riff it starts with. It captures your imagination immediately, it's so edgy and angular."^[27]

The title track was covered by the Kronos Quartet in 1990 for the compilation album Rubáiyát. There is a passing reference to Marquee Moon in the Spanish group Amaral's song "Moriría por vos". In the song's lyrics, while listing various reasons that the vocalist is falling for someone, she mentions that it might have something to do with the fact that the album is playing. The record is also mentioned in the 2008 song "Two Doors Down" by the British indie rock group Mystery Jets.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Tom Verlaine, except where noted. 

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"See No Evil"	3:53
2.	"Venus"	3:51
3.	"Friction"	4:44
4.	"Marquee Moon"	10:40

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Elevation"		5:07
6.	"Guiding Light"	Richard Lloyd, Verlaine	5:35
7.	"Prove It"		5:02
8.	"Torn Curtain"		6:56

CD reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
9.	"Little Johnny Jewel (Parts 1 & 2)"	7:09
10.	"See No Evil (Alternative Version)"	4:40
11.	"Friction (Alternative Version)"	4:52
12.	"Marquee Moon (Alternative Version)"	10:54
13.	Untitled (instrumental)	3:22

The original vinyl LP faded out "Marquee Moon" to 9:58 because of space limitations. All CD issues have featured the full-length version of the song, clocking in at 10:40.

The untitled instrumental is an unfinished attempt to record "O Mi Amore", a song Television performed frequently in concert during 1976 and 1977. This recording of the song comes from the sessions for Television's second album Adventure (1978).^{[citation needed]}

Personnel

• Tom Verlaine – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Richard Lloyd – guitar, vocals
• Fred Smith – bass, vocals
• Billy Ficca – drums

Guitar solos

The guitar solos in "See No Evil", "Elevation", and "Guiding Light" are played by Richard Lloyd, while the solos in "Venus", "Friction", "Prove It", and "Torn Curtain" are by Tom Verlaine. The solos in the album's title track are shared between the two, with Lloyd soloing after the second chorus and Verlaine soloing after the third.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "500 Greatest Albums: Marquee Moon - Television". The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/marquee-moon-television-19691231. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "NME's 100 Best Albums". NME. 2003. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmes_100_best_albums.htm. Retrieved 9 August 2011. "4. Television – Marquee Moon" 
3. ^ "Mojo Readers: The Greatest Albums Ever Made". Mojo. January 1996. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p3.htm. Retrieved 9 August 2011. "34. Television - Marquee Moon" 
4. ^ "New Musical Express Writers Top 100 Albums.". NME. 2 October 1993. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nme_writers.htm#100_93. Retrieved 9 August 2011. "26. Marquee Moon Television (Elektra 1977)" 
5. ^ "100 Best Albums Ever". The Guardian. 19 September 1997. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/guardian100.htm. Retrieved 9 August 2011. "33. Television - Marquee Moon" 
6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Marquee Moon at Allmusic. Retrieved 8 April 2005.
7. ^ http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=1922^{[dead link]}
8. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Television > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=television. Retrieved 14 April 2006. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Weingarten, Marc (September 26, 2003). "Marquee Moon; Adventure Television > Music Review". Entertainment Weekly (730): pp. 94-95.  Posted at "Adventure; Marquee Moon Television > Music Review". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,488183,00.html. Retrieved 4 October 2011. 
10. ^ Dahlen, Chris (December 9, 2003). "Television Marquee Moon / Adventure > Album Reissue Reviews". pitchfork.com. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11853-marquee-moon-adventure/. Retrieved 13 January 2007. 
11. ^ Q (May 2002 SE): 143. 
12. ^ Tucker, Ken (April 7, 1977). "Blondie Blondie / The Ramones Leave Home / Television Marquee Moon > Album Reviews". Rolling Stone (236). http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/marquee-moon-19770407. Retrieved 24 September 2011. 
13. ^ ^{a b} Sheffield, Rob (October 16, 2003). "Jam Punk!". Rolling Stone (933): p. 90. 
14. ^ Brackett, Nathan with Hoard, Christian, eds (2004). "Television". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 805-806. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.  Portions posted at "Television > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/television/albumguide. Retrieved 15 March 2011. 
15. ^ Downer, Adam (September 29, 2006). "Television - Marquee Moon > Staff Review". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/9340/Television-Marquee-Moon/. Retrieved 15 March 2011. 
16. ^ Uncut (November 2001): 134. 
17. ^ Spin (December 2003): 125. 
18. ^ Q (January 2003): 132. 
19. ^ Mojo (March 2003): 76. 
20. ^ NME: 19. 18 September 1993. 
21. ^ Uncut (November 2001): 134. 
22. ^ Q (May 2002 SE): 143. 
23. ^ Mojo (March 2003): 76. 
24. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s =". Pitchfork Media. 23 June 2004. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5932-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/10/. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 
25. ^ "Top Albums of All-time". Rate Your Music. http://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time. Retrieved 26 September 2011. 
26. ^ "Bakers Dozen: Joy Division & New Order's Stephen Morris On His Top 13 Albums". The Quietus. 7 December 2010. http://thequietus.com/articles/05413-joy-division-new-order-stephen-morris-interview-favourite-records?page=3. Retrieved 26 September 2011. 
27. ^ "Alan Wilder Of Recoil & Depeche Mode's 13 Favourite LPs". The Quietus. 9 May 2011. http://thequietus.com/articles/06219-alan-wilder-depeche-mode-favourite-records?page=2. Retrieved 26 September 2011. 

External links

• Marquee Moon at Myspace (streamed copy where licensed)