This review is from: Live At The Old Waldorf (Audio CD)
Television were (and occasionally, when they get back together, still are) one of the 70’s New York rock scene’s great enigmas. In their recorded career, they released one total classic album ‘Marquee Moon’, its flawed follow-up, ‘Adventure’, and a reformed album from the 1990’s, which failed to live up to the finest moments of their first two, although it wasn’t a total disaster. There was one live album, a semi-legit double called ‘Blow Up’, and then this one. This is from the promo tour for the second album, ‘Adventure’, recorded June 29th 1978, a month before they split up.
I saw Television live in the UK in 1977 (supported by Blondie), and then again in 1978 (supported by The Only Ones), and on each occasion they were an extremely frustrating watch. Between each number, guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd spent an eternity tuning up. They’d then start a number, and would seem to get going, but then they’d finish the number and do the tune-up thing again. This unexpected live release does capture the band late on in their tenure, their playing is incisive and dynamic, with the added friction of a bunch of people who were not getting on well (perhaps). There’s a great version of their first single, ‘Little Johnny Jewel’, and a fourteen-minute ‘Marquee Moon’, as well as the (relatively) poppy ‘Careful’, one of my favourite tracks from ‘Adventure’, and a five-minute tear-up through the Stones ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’. The contrasting guitar styles of the more melodic Lloyd and the jarring, edgy Verlaine makes for a stimulating listen. Maybe not for those wanting an easy entry to the small Television recorded canon, but for the fan, it’s well worth seeking out.
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Some Great Guitar Action from NY New Wave Pioneers,
Television were (and occasionally, when they get back together, still are) one of the 70’s New York rock scene’s great enigmas. In their recorded career, they released one total classic album ‘Marquee Moon’, its flawed follow-up, ‘Adventure’, and a reformed album from the 1990’s, which failed to live up to the finest moments of their first two, although it wasn’t a total disaster. There was one live album, a semi-legit double called ‘Blow Up’, and then this one. This is from the promo tour for the second album, ‘Adventure’, recorded June 29th 1978, a month before they split up.
I saw Television live in the UK in 1977 (supported by Blondie), and then again in 1978 (supported by The Only Ones), and on each occasion they were an extremely frustrating watch. Between each number, guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd spent an eternity tuning up. They’d then start a number, and would seem to get going, but then they’d finish the number and do the tune-up thing again. This unexpected live release does capture the band late on in their tenure, their playing is incisive and dynamic, with the added friction of a bunch of people who were not getting on well (perhaps). There’s a great version of their first single, ‘Little Johnny Jewel’, and a fourteen-minute ‘Marquee Moon’, as well as the (relatively) poppy ‘Careful’, one of my favourite tracks from ‘Adventure’, and a five-minute tear-up through the Stones ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’. The contrasting guitar styles of the more melodic Lloyd and the jarring, edgy Verlaine makes for a stimulating listen. Maybe not for those wanting an easy entry to the small Television recorded canon, but for the fan, it’s well worth seeking out.
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