The debut album of the New York group Television was released in 1977, the heyday of punk and new wave. Raw, uptempo street songs like Friction and See No Evil definitely tie in with that, but there is a lot more going on on Marquee Moon. Unique is the intertwined guitar playing of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, in which Verlaine sounds lyrical and loses herself in drawn-out, avant-garde jazz-inspired
… solos, while Lloyd keeps the songs in line and rocked with his angular and elemental playing. There is a comparable relationship between the stoic bass-playing Fred Smith and the drumming Billy Ficca in deviant patterns. The title track, which takes more than ten minutes to a fierce climax, is the best proof of the special chemistry between these four individuals. But also the, Almost carelessly sung street poetry by Verlaine (audibly taught by ex-girlfriend Patti Smith) and an honest and unpolished recording sound make Marquee Moon a timeless record and one of the musical highlights of the seventies. This exemplary remastered CD version from 2003 adds the obscure single Little Johnny Jewel (1975) as a bonus. (MR)more
