Until now I've covered big artist catalogs over numerous posts at my blog, so I decided to do a small catalog (in one post) before moving on to my next large one...and I chose the band TELEVISION:
http://kamertunesblog.wordpress.com/201 ... elevision/

For those of you who don't know me, I'm revisiting the complete catalogs of artists in my music collection, and posting my thoughts on a few albums at a time. Instead of focusing on my favorites, I'm choosing artists whose catalogs I own but haven't spent enough time with and fully embraced. So far I've covered Van Morrison, Talking Heads, The Band, Roxy Music, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell. If you'd like to know more about me and the reasons for starting the blog, check out the "About" page here:
http://kamertunesblog.wordpress.com/about/

Since the main purpose of the blog is to start a conversation about each artist, I invite you to share your thoughts here or in the "Comments" section at the blog. Thanks to anyone who stops by.

One of my favorite bands. The thing about Television is that the available (legally) music is only half the story. The studio albums are all wonderful, and all very different approaches to the sound Verlaine was after. Obviously, Marquee Moon is a classic, but the live gestation of those songs, and the ones that got left out, tell a fuller story. Also, the Richard Hell version of TV usually gets forgotten, but it was also an excellent, if different, band. Growing out of the Neon Boys when Lloyd was added, the original version of TV was mostly about short, psych/punk tunes. With titles like "Fuck Rock'n'Roll" , "Love Comes In Spurts", "You Rip My Feelings Out" and 'Hard On Love", you knew what you were getting into. They were a great live band, albeit a far remove from what they became. Hell was all about energy and r'n'r catharsis, Verlaine was much cooler. The schism between the two resulted in Hells ouster and Fred Smith being brought in.

They built up a new set fairly quickly. The longer takes on songs came on gradually, and the intertwined guitars got better and more elaborate. The live versions available on bootlegs of "M. Moon", "Little Johnny Jewel", "Adventure" etc. trounce the ones on The Blow Up. And the songs that they never recorded, like "Breakin In My Heart" and "Kingdom Come" were monster set closers (sometimes openers) whose unavailability create huge gaps in their history.

This was a truly great live band, who, on their best nights, could levitate the room. If any band deserves a comprehensive live anthology it's Television. Don't get me wrong, what's out there is amazing and I love the studio albums dearly, but it's not the full story on this band.

Nice reviews.

I never saw them live in their heyday.....only a few times in the early 2000's at Irving Plaza (Verlaine, Lloyd, Smith & Ficca). I've never heard and boots including Hell recordings. I only have The Blow Up and the Rhino Handmade Waldorf 1978.

I'm guessing Kingdom Come is the same song that ended up on his solo album and David Bowie's Scary Monsters

The "Kingdom Come" on Scary Monsters isn't the same song, and I think you're referring to "Breakin' In My Heart" on the first Verlaine album. That is close to the live version, although not so much of a rave up .

I never saw the band again after the initial break-up, something I regret after hearing some of the boots.

I learned something new. I didn't know Tom wrote 2 different songs called Kingdom Come.

It was the later (Bowie) one I was thinking of.....also on Tom's first solo album.

I didn't hear the one other you mentioned until now......


Great song! A shame this isn't officially released.

That's from the shows they did in 1975 at the Piccadilly in Cleveland, which were set up by the late Peter Laughner. His band, Rocket From The Tombs, opened the shows. That led to his (very temporary) replacing of Richard Lloyd in the TV lineup. Good as that version is, the ones they were doing a few months later were frightening. They were improving at a very rapid pace in those days.

Don't know why I blanked on "Kingdom Come" being on Verlaines first album. Guess if I'm old enough to have been at the gigs, I'm old enough to be forgetful.

Ralph & Charles, thanks for your input. I knew the three studio albums were only scratching the surface, but so far that's all I own. When I have more time I will seek out some of those live recordings. I'm not sure I'll like the Richard Hell era as much as the Verlaine-led era, since I'm less of a "punk" fan. However, I enjoy knowing the history of the artists I like, so I will definitely check it out at some point.

Also, Ralph, thanks for the Verlaine solo recommendations you left at the blog. For anyone reading this thread who hasn't checked out the Comments section there, here's what Ralph wrote:
"I will say that if you want to explore solo Verlaine the following are essential listening:
Tom Verlaine (s/t), the closest to Television, with a wonderful version of the live TV staple, “Breakin’ In My Heart” with Ricky Wilson of the B 52′s on guitar.
Words From The Front – melodic, lovely songs
Dreamtime – his best album top to bottom, an absolute stormer with mountains of guitars. This is the one that should have broken him as a solo act."

I will most certainly be adding these to my never-ending music shopping list.

For me, there is no greater song than Marquee Moon. So perfect, emotional and almost cinematic. I'm taken away by it every time it plays, and prefer the longer version that appeared in the CD era.

As far as solo Verlaine, I'd recommend Flash Light and think I'll give it a spin right now as it's been a few years since I played it.

I don't know if DeepDiscount.com still has it on sale, but I picked Words From the Front rather cheap on there a couple of weeks ago.

Yes, Flashlight is definitely also a must have. Also, Cover, while spotty, has some wonderful songs.

Hi Dean. Excellent description of "Marqee Moon" as "cinematic." Thanks for recommending Flash Light. Between you & Ralph, it looks like I have a few Verlaine albums to check out. As always, so much music, so little time.

The above mentioned Verlaines are really good.

For Television, it's probably worth getting The Blow Up too....it's ragged, but it's the only official (affordable) live recording available as of now. (Live At The Waldorf 1978 is a Rhino Hsndmade that sold out) It's ragged, but has some great tunes including the 13th Floor Elavator's Fire Engine.

Here's a brand new Television recording (Verlaine/Smith/Ficca/Jimmy Rip)......


It's only available on a Japan disaster charity CD right now.

This is GREAT! I just discovered Television this summer and had to pick up the guitar to play along...an intriguing departure from blues-based solos, yet still rich with melody and innovation.

Thanks for posting that, Charles. Not sure how I feel about TV without Lloyd. I know he and Verlaine had a falling out when TV played their "final" show together a few years back at Central Park and Lloyd didn't play because he was in the hospital. Rip is a good guitarist, but the Lloyd/Verlaine team had a certain spark that is probably impossible to duplicate.

The Blow Up is a good representation of their live show. The version of "Little Johnny Jewel" is excellent, and the cover of "Satisfaction" is a high energy blast. Another cover they played quite often was "Psychotic Reaction". Seeing that band play out from beginning to end was one of the great musical experiences of my life. A lot of late nights, the Bowery at 3 am was truly something else, alien and beautiful.

Charles, thanks for posting that new Television track. Even though it's just an instrumental (I was hoping to hear how Verlaine's voice has held up over the years), and it kind of sounds like a rehearsal, it's nice to know that they're working on new material.

Not sure if/when I'll get either of their officially-released live albums, but if I can find a reasonably-priced copy of the Live At The Waldorf CD (not likely, I know), should I opt for that over The Blow-Up? Which one has the better sound quality? And which one has the better performance?

Personally, I rate The Blow Up over Live At The Waldorf. The Blow Up has a perfect "Little Johnny Jewel" and "Satisfaction", the cover of "Fire Engine", and the energy level is very high on all tracks. The recording quality is bootleg (there were better source tapes available, try to dig up the Arrow boot) but acceptable. For me, Waldorf, while well recorded, falls a bit flat, the performance is kind of lackluster. The Portland shows from the same tour were incredible with a 20 minute "Marquee Moon" that is brain frying. I say go for The Blow Up as a hot performance trumps a perfect recording any day. And it's cheap. Unfortunately, despite the quality of the performance on The Blow Up, the best live Television remains in the world of bootlegs.

I've seen The Blow Up in used CD stores many times but never picked it up. There aren't many stores left, so I would probably have to buy it from an online seller now. Based on the recommendations here, I will definitely begin seeking this out. Not sure I have the time to explore their bootlegs, no matter how good they are. Thanks.

Revamped Television Have a New Album in the Can
Band to perform 'Marquee Moon' in Australia, set for first U.S. shows in six years

By PATRICK FLANARY
SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... n-20130920



An Australian audience will witness a first in October, when Television perform Marquee Moon, their classic 1977 debut, in full at a festival in Melbourne. Meanwhile, 16 songs frontman Tom Verlaine and the band recorded in December 2007 await vocals and mixing, though a release date is still not scheduled.

"It might happen before we all die, I don't know," Television drummer Billy Ficca tells Rolling Stone of the unheard tracks, recorded over a week in New York. "It's sort of laying there."

Until then, those hoping to catch Television's first U.S. shows in six years – in San Francisco, Athens and Austin, in November – can expect to hear "a whole bag of new songs" in addition to selections from the band's three albums, says Jimmy Rip, who replaced guitarist Richard Lloyd in 2007. For now, Marquee Moon will be played in its entirety only at the Release the Bats festival in Melbourne, on October 26th. London-based festival promoter All Tomorrow's Parties approached Verlaine with the idea earlier this year.

"I never thought Tom would do it," Rip told Rolling Stone in a phone interview from Buenos Aires, where he lives and plays with another band, Jimmy Rip and the Trip. "But every time you try to predict Tom, you're gonna be wrong. And he said yes." Verlaine was unavailable for comment.

A handful of dates this fall include stops in New Zealand, Australia, South Korea and the U.K. Those scheduled in the U.S. will be Television's first since since playing Central Park in 2007. That summer show generated interest among the group to record its first material since the original lineup released its last album more than 20 years ago. They booked the week between Christmas and New Year's at the now-defunct Stratosphere Sound in Chelsea.

"As soon as I found out who it was, I was like, ‘Cancel everything, we're doing this,'" says Geoff Sanoff, who engineered the sessions, noting that Verlaine favored low-powered amplifiers. "It sounded amazing. It was so clean and so crisp. As soon as you set them up playing, they just sounded like Television."

Yet Rip says he cannot compare the new songs – many of which Verlaine has assigned the working title of "Wingnut" – to anything from Marquee Moon, Adventure or Television. "Tom's pretty adamant about making a real effort to make something new each time," he says. "It doesn't make for super-fast work, but it's definitely an admirable goal."

Beginning in 1974, Television honed its act for two years in New York at places like CBGB and Max's Kansas City before recording Marquee Moon. Richard Hell, who with Verlaine and Ficca formed the pre-Television group the Neon Boys, left Television prior to its record deal and later founded the Heartbreakers and the Voidoids. Lloyd and bassist Fred Smith cemented the Television lineup, and they released their masterpiece in February 1977.

Though it never sold well in the U.S., the record spent 13 weeks on the U.K. albums chart, based on the success of "Prove It" and the title track. "Marquee Moon" is something of an anti-song, 10 minutes of disciplined disorder, lacking melody and a chorus and brimming with dueling guitar solos from Verlaine and Lloyd. The band recorded it only once.

"I wanted to do another take," Ficca says. "My bass drum wasn't anchored down, it was sliding away from me, so I was chasing it with my right foot. But I guess it was good and all. It all worked."

I didn't know Richard Lloyd was no longer in the band. Now I don't need to be upset for missing them in SF.

He left in 2007 to concentrate on a solo album.......there was a falling out between him and Tom Verlaine too. There's no way it can be the same, but I'll definitely buy a new TV album, and if they play a concert in NYC, I'll go see it.

I just saw Tom sit in with Patti Smith last Friday.......great show all the way around.

It definitely wouldn't be the same without Lloyd but I would certainly buy a new studio album by whatever lineup records it. I've liked these guys for years, but didn't consider myself a big fan until writing the blog post that started this thread nearly two years(!) ago. Since then I got a number of Verlaine solo albums and really appreciate what he does, with & without Television.

How does he explain the alternate version on the remastered Marquee Moon?

That issue was also raised in the comments section on the original RS article... short answer is "Who knows?".