(Elektra)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
"Highly what? This guy's a quack! I don't even want to know what he'll say about Monster when he gets around to it in ten years. Marquee Moon is a classic of the punk and new wave genres, but it's a one-shot, the chief example of a great live band's one successful bid at recording. Revelatory as it is, it was lightning that could not be recaptured. Why bother with this when you can buy The Blow Up? It would be one thing if Television accepted their fate and moved into a new direction, but this album's production is different from the debut only in that is a bit slicker. I accepted, god knows how, all that bullshit about Galaxie 500 peaking with their last album, I accepted the unfocused, rambling debunking of England's Newest Hit Makers, I accepted the vindictive Grizzly Bear review obviously intended to offend people who will never read it, but I cannot accept this."
Jesus, calm down! No, Larry, Adventure does not live up to Marquee Moon in any major fashion. All that proves is that Marquee Moon is, as you point out, a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. It's some kind of heaven captured in a butterfly net, unheard-of beauty in a surprising medium. But Adventure is a wonderful album too, on its own terms. I concur that Television did not opt to change their sound and the result is very much a slicker, more rhythmically consistent extension of or a sequel to Marquee Moon. Were the two albums put together the result would remain cohesive but it would not sustain the mood of the first record as well. Music and emotional bleedthrough were the world of the other album, while this one is about songs. For all I know it may even be a bid for pop success.
"Yes, yes, Tom Verlaine is an excellent songwriter and half of these songs are magnificent even though the production isn't as sharp as Marquee Moon. Let me beat you to the punch by saying that 'Glory' is quite possibly his finest composition, though I know you may side toward 'Venus' or 'Guiding Light' or 'Prove It.'"
Sure, but "Glory" is indeed perfect Verlaine; on this album his performances are more ambitious (in terms of their careful keying to their environment; you have to listen far more times to take real note of the virtuosity in the solos here), and it's clear immediately on this first track. The band is less stunning than it was on Marquee Moon because they've decided to take a backseat to the songs, I assume because they're so good. It reminds me of, if you'll excuse the indulgence, the minimalism of Carl Wilson's solo on "Don't Worry Baby" as an act of submission to the sublime power of the song's ambiance. That doesn't mean the sonic guitar bliss stops, but I think you can sense the analogy. "Glory" has Verlaine's usual brilliantly mindbending lyrics, and on this anthem he's quite poignant, awkwardly observing a lover from a distance. I don't know if it's their best song, but it sure is amazing and it's probably their quintessential moment. So are we done?
"All you've done is sing the praises of one song. You still haven't explained how you think this deserves to align with your definition of what makes something 'highly recommended' -- can you really argue that this album is one you'd reach for as an example of what made Television great, or as a release that belongs in a library or a canon or a pantheon of genuinely excellent work? Even in the context of 1978, think about other beloved records of yours -- Chairs Missing or All Mod Cons or the Talking Heads one you never shut up about."
Let me say this. It's a fair guess that far more people own Marquee Moon than own Adventure. For whatever reason, even though the second album is more conventionally accessible, the first one captures what was special about the group so that's what people go for. But if you've had Moon long enough for it to get under your skin and obsess you, you need this CD. It won't floor you the same way but you will certainly adore it. So stop now and go buy it and then, we'll talk about it.
Okay, Tom Verlaine's other moment of pure genius here is a treasure: "Careful" is three minutes of outright flawless rock & roll. It's immediate and transcendent and it will move you -- physically -- every time you hear it. Without feeling the least bit trite or overly familiar, it's one to crank up, and better yet it's a moment of fun. I mean, I'm not one to complain that Marquee Moon is too serious.
"Oh, you'd never do that."
Right, I wouldn't. But there's nothing on it as lightweight as "Careful," and lightweight is not a bad thing because as much as this song sweetens the earlobes it also sticks with you. I can hear the Replacements in it. And then there's "Days."
"The other excellent Adventure track. When all is said and done, 'Careful' is just 'Prove It' again and 'Car--'"
I admit similarities, but they're very different, "Careful" possessing a refinement of the previous aesthetic that's characteristic of the sophomore effort overa--
"DO NOT FUCKING INTERRUPT ME, ASSHOLE. Richard Lloyd, who later did some very nice solo work that Nathan's probably never heard --"
Yes, I have, the first al--
"SHUT UP. Richard Lloyd cowrote 'Days' and not only is it Television's most beautiful song, it's one of the best rock & roll ballads ever."
I agree with that absolutely, as pretty as "1880 or So" is. There are certain songs that just stick out in that exact sense, and it's interesting that two of them are called "Days." (The other one, by the Kinks, might be close to my favorite song, period.) Tom Verlaine's vocals on this track have to be heard to be believed, and its steady, dreamlike melody of it anticipates R.E.M. as much as the intro to "Elevation."
"Yeah."
Mm-hmm.
"You've run out of things to say, haven't you?"
Well, this is where I figured you would tell me about "Foxhole" being tame and "The Fire" being self-indulgent.
"I was waiting for the opportune moment, but since you've set me up, yes. 'Foxhole' is a big failure, despite whatever Nathan is going to say. Even though he claims to be very fond of the Rolling Stones, he's always complaining about how some of their major rockers sound canned."
For example, "Brown Sugar" and "Let's Spend the Night Together" and (gulp) "Satisfaction," which are brilliant compositions, well-performed, but don't play to the band's strengths. I see where you're going with this.
"But if you probe Nathan for a while you'll learn that he didn't like 'Satisfaction' at all until he heard Television play it."
I admit that. But I didn't like "The Black Angel's Death Song" until I heard it on the Quine (RIP) tapes either.
"You and your song-title-dropping. In any case, isn't it hypocritical of you to say that 'Foxhole' doesn't sound canned? It's clearly intended to be a big rock move and make an impression. Not only is it sequenced terribly on the album -- between 'Days' and 'Careful' -- it fails despite its merits as a song because it sounds like posturing."
In fact, I do agree with that point, and I think the studio recording of "Foxhole" is merely adequate. It shows up in roaring variations on the two live albums. I don't skip it, and generally I can say something is a five-star album even if there's one track I skip (maybe two if there's a lot, but there's eight on here). I tend to listen to this start to finish but I can acknowledge the flaws in that recording. I don't think the potential of the song was fulfilled. And now I know you're going to grill me about "The Fire."
"'The Fire' sounds like the Grateful fucking Dead. It's an obvious excuse to have Verlaine compensating for the timid, exact pop constructions on the rest of the album by doing a bunch of Van Halen shit. I know you'll say Verlaine's a better guitarist than Eddie Van Halen but everybody knows that. So prove me wrong here. I think you're just fucking around."
Oh dear. Listen, I don't want to do some kind of unrelated speech here but you know how I hate the notion of living on principles.
"Oooh, is there a Wordpress entry about that coming up?"
Uh, probably.
"Fine, I don't even know what the hell you're talking about."
I think there are exceptions to everything and that while I have every right to say "never" if I feel like it, if something comes up to retract that opinion I don't think it constitutes duplicity, just metamorphosis. In other words, I can change my mind, or I can make umbrella statements with the knowledge that they don't have to be absolute, and especially that I can think whatever I want to without having to refer back to previous statements to ensure that it's how I'm supposed to feel.
"Get to the point."
The guitar work in "The Fire" is beautiful. Listen again, just forget that it's guitar heroics and be neutral. If you take the same attitude and go try to get through "Truckin'" or something it's still going to jar you. Verlaine is committed to the music itself, not to his own star power, and he has none anyway. One thing I can go along with you on is that it's a little too long.
"'Ain't That Nothin'' is a little too long, and bland to boot."
I don't think it's bland; it was a perfect single (in an alternate, better mix). It's probably not going to impress people who know every second of "Friction" by heart but it's still charming and it rocks out. Larry, you know it's not as bland as "Start Me Up."
"The Rolling Stones could be bland too. They're always filling out albums with stuff like 'Carried Away' here, now this is just 'Guiding Light' all over again."
It's a mournful, lovely little song -- I often forget how chilling and desolate it is, and how wonderful a showpiece it is for the band's utterly tireless rhythm section plodding through the thing. Like most of Adventure, I think it just is what it is, I don't think it's the band repeating itself or inflating their own work. It's like a great set of b-sides; the only thing that keeps people from giving it the credit it deserves is the arbitrary requirement that it must stand up and move beyond Marquee Moon. Records like this usually find an audience over time. Now that Rhino's reissued this I hope more people discover it. Alone it's a great album I'll play over and over, maybe even more than the first one because it has more variance. In tandem with MM, it's a religious experience. But of course, of the two, Marquee Moon is a better introduction.
"Why is that?"
Marquee Moon is not a record about the band; it's really a creation in itself. It's one of the albums that completely overhauls the formula and expands the boundaries. It's still ahead of what's being made today and nothing that's come out of the indie movement it halfway spawned has been able to capture its all-encompassing spirit. The songs are wonderful, the band performances are, in a word, extraordinary, and there's so much passion and, um, glory pressed into it. I just simply think it's something everybody should own, and once you appreciate it, you can appreciate Adventure, which probably is more easy to adapt to but won't mean as much to you until after you hear the other one.
"But 'highly recommended,' which according to you translates as an A or A-, as 'among the crucial and best works of the band?'"
What do you care? It's a personal blog! Nobody said that something has to make sense the first time to be a classic. Marquee Moon and Adventure are both deeply involving and they demand concentration; it can be a slow kill. The same goes for the third album (which sounds ahead of its time now too; have you listened to it side by side with the National?).
"You and I'd better not talk about that one."
Okay.
"Hey, I don't remember this last song, 'The Dream's Dream.'"
Oh, yeah, that's a great one.
"Holy shit, this is some amazing guitar work. There's so much atmosphere to this. I can't believe it's more or less a punk song from 1978."
I know, it reels you in.
"I give up, the album is great. I give it three and a half stars; that's close enough to an agreement, right? No more fighting?"
I didn't really know we were fighting.
"Whatever. But you're still wrong about Monomania."
Fuck off, Larry. Who the hell are you, anyway?
[Originally written and posted (with now-nonsensical in-context references updated) in 2004. I'm sorry.]
[SEE ALSO:]
Marquee Moon (1977)