Marquee Moon
Encyclopedia
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. 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.
(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. 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. The album cover features a portrait of the band taken by Robert Mapplethorpe
.
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.
' s list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
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."
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." In the same year, Spin magazine wrote, "It's the first punk jam album and a thing of swooning, brawny loveliness." 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." Q
magazine also called it "a brutally stark, yet intricate weave of guitars and affectingly passionate vocals."
Mojo
called it "A graceful new wave bite that betrayed delicate hints of neo-psychedelic sophistication."
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 and is number 25 on Acclaimed Music's list.
The song "Marquee Moon" was placed number 372 on Rolling Stone' s list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In March 2005, Q magazine placed the song 51st in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks".
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."
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."
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
.
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).
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.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
, released in 1977. While often considered a seminal work to come out of the New York punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
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
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
genres. 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.
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 GelderRudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
(John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
's A Love Supreme
A Love Supreme
A Love Supreme is a studio album recorded by John Coltrane's quartet in December 1964 and released by Impulse! Records in February 1965...
, and most of the classic Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
catalog) at his legendary Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 5,281. The borough houses the world headquarters of CNBC and the American headquarters of Unilever, and is home to both Ferrari and Maserati North America.Englewood Cliffs...
recording studio.
The original vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
recording was composed of eight tracks. The remastered 2003 CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
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. 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. The album cover features a portrait of the band taken by Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
.
Marquee Moon features the elliptical lyrics of Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the frontman for the New York rock band Television.-Biography:...
set against the sparse, yet complex, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
work of Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, and the rhythm section of Fred Smith
Fred Smith (bassist)
Fred Smith is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work with Television. He was the original bassist with Blondie until he replaced Richard Hell when Hell left Television in 1975 to form The Heartbreakers. At the time, Television played at CBGB along with Blondie...
(bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and Billy Ficca
Billy Ficca
Billy Ficca is a punk rock drummer who has played with the bands Television, Nona Hendryx & Zero Cool, 40 Familys, The Washington Squares, The Waitresses and The Neon Boys...
(drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). 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
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
movement.
Despite critical acclaim, the album never achieved more than a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
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.
Reception
The album was ranked at 128th in Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
In 2001, Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
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."
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." In the same year, Spin magazine wrote, "It's the first punk jam album and a thing of swooning, brawny loveliness." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, 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." Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine also called it "a brutally stark, yet intricate weave of guitars and affectingly passionate vocals."
Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
called it "A graceful new wave bite that betrayed delicate hints of neo-psychedelic sophistication."
Accolades
The album has been included in several "best-of" publications:- In 1993, NMENMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
ranked it number 10 in their "Greatest Albums of the '70s" list. Ten years later, the publication ranked it number 4 in their list of the "Greatest Albums of All Time". - In 2001, Uncut ranked it number 2 in their list of the "Greatest Debuts".
- In 2002, Q magazine gave the album 5 stars out of 5 and included in in their "100 Best Punk Albums" list.
- In 2003, Mojo ranked it number 32 in their list of the "Top 50 Punk Albums".
- In 2003, the TV network VH1VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
placed it 83rd on their list of the 100 greatest albums of all time. - PitchforkPitchfork MediaPitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
ranked the album number 3 in their "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s" list.
The album usually sits inside the top 30 of Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music is a metadata database where musical albums, EPs, singles, videos, bootlegs, and movies are rated and reviewed by users. This data is then used to generate recommendations for users and to create rated lists of albums...
's user-generated list of the 5000 most highly-ranked albums of all time and is number 25 on Acclaimed Music's list.
The song "Marquee Moon" was placed number 372 on Rolling Stone
Legacy
Stephen MorrisStephen Morris
Stephen Paul David Morris is a musician best known for his work in the Salford-based rock band New Order and, previously, Joy Division. He also drummed in The Other Two, a band made up of Morris and his wife, Gillian Gilbert. Currently, Morris performs live with the post-New Order band, Bad...
of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
(formerly of Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
) 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
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
's Horses
Horses (album)
"Horses" is often cited as one of the greatest albums in music history. In 2003, the album was ranked number 44 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. NME named the album number 1 in its list "20 Near-as-Damn-It Perfect Initial Efforts"...
... it was just contrived enough."
Alan Wilder
Alan Wilder
Alan Charles Wilder is a British musician, formerly of Depeche Mode. His current musical project is called Recoil, started as a side project to Depeche Mode. When he left the latter in 1995, it became Wilder's primary project...
, formerly of Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, 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."
The title track was covered by the Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
in 1990 for the compilation album Rubáiyát
Rubáiyát
Rubáiyát is a compilation album, released in 1990 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Elektra Records record label. The concept was to feature present-day Elektra artists covering songs from the historic catalogue of recordings of Elektra Records and its sister label Asylum Records.Two...
. There is a passing reference to Marquee Moon in the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
group Amaral
Amaral (music group)
Amaral is an award-winning music group from Zaragoza, Spain who have sold more than four million albums worldwide. The band consists of Eva Amaral and Juan Aguirre , who write their songs together. Eva Amaral started out as a drummer in another group until she set out with Aguirre to perform her...
'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
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
group Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are an English five-piece indie band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band was formed by Henry Harrison , Blaine Harrison and William Rees when the boys were still at school and would send each other songs on cassettes...
.
Track listing
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
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
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).
Personnel
- Tom VerlaineTom VerlaineTom Verlaine is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the frontman for the New York rock band Television.-Biography:...
– lead vocals, guitar, keyboards - Richard Lloyd – guitar, vocals
- Fred SmithFred Smith (bassist)Fred Smith is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work with Television. He was the original bassist with Blondie until he replaced Richard Hell when Hell left Television in 1975 to form The Heartbreakers. At the time, Television played at CBGB along with Blondie...
– bass, vocals - Billy FiccaBilly FiccaBilly Ficca is a punk rock drummer who has played with the bands Television, Nona Hendryx & Zero Cool, 40 Familys, The Washington Squares, The Waitresses and The Neon Boys...
– 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.
External links
- Marquee Moon at MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
(streamed copy where licensed)