Television – Marquee Moon
(Elektra Records 1977 K52046)
Matrix No’s: A1/B2 – UK Pressing
Blue lettering on back cover
Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
– some slight wear to edges/corners
Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)
Television is an American rock band from New York City formed in 1973. The group was founded by Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, Billy Ficca, and Richard Hell. An early fixture of CBGB and the 1970s New York rock scene, the band is considered influential in the development of punk and alternative music.
Although they recorded in a stripped-down, guitar-based manner similar to their punk contemporaries, Television’s music was by comparison clean, improvisational, and technically proficient, drawing influence from avant-garde jazz and 1960s rock. The group’s debut album, Marquee Moon, is often considered one of the defining releases of the punk era.
Marquee Moon is the debut studio album by American rock band Television. It was released on February 8, 1977, and produced by the band’s frontman Tom Verlaine and sound engineer Andy Johns. In the years leading up to the album, Television had become a prominent act on the New York music scene and generated interest from a number of record labels. The group rehearsed extensively in preparation for Marquee Moon and, after signing to Elektra Records, recorded the album at A & R Recording in September 1976.
For Marquee Moon, Verlaine and fellow guitarist Richard Lloyd abandoned contemporary punk rock’s power chords in favor of rock and jazz-inspired interplay, melodic lines, and counter-melodies. Verlaine’s lyrics combined urban and pastoral imagery, references to Lower Manhattan, themes of adolescence, and influences from French poetry. He also used puns and double entendres to give his songs an impressionistic quality in describing his perception of an experience.
Marquee Moon was met with widespread critical acclaim and unexpected commercial success in the United Kingdom, but sold poorly in the United States. The record has since been viewed by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time and a foundational record of alternative rock. Television’s innovative post-punk instrumentation on Marquee Moon strongly influenced the new wave and indie rock movements of the 1980s.
Track listing
All songs were written by Tom Verlaine, except where noted.
| Side one | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | “See No Evil” | 3:56 |
| 2. | “Venus” | 3:48 |
| 3. | “Friction” | 4:43 |
| 4. | “Marquee Moon” | 9:58 |
| Side two | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | “Elevation” | 5:08 |
| 2. | “Guiding Light” (Verlaine and Richard Lloyd) | 5:36 |
| 3. | “Prove It” | 5:04 |
| 4. | “Torn Curtain” | 7:00 |
Personnel
Television
- Billy Ficca – drums
- Richard Lloyd – guitar (solo on tracks 1, 4, 5, and 6), vocals
- Fred Smith – bass guitar, vocals
- Tom Verlaine – guitar (solo on tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8), keyboards, lead vocals, production
Additional personnel
- Jim Boyer – assistant engineering
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Jimmy Douglass – assistant mixing
- Lee Hulko – mastering
- Andy Johns – engineering, mixing, production
- Tony Lane – art direction
- Billy Lobo – back cover artwork
- Robert Mapplethorpe – photography
- Randy Mason – assistant mixing
- John Telfer – management
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