The first morsels of the punk scene materialized in the ’60s, and by the mid-’70s, punk music had hit its stride. Punk was a departure from rock and roll at the time, which had a reputation for using excessive sound effects. Therefore, punk offered a rock foundation stripped down to its essentials, often keeping to three-chord patterns.
In the early ’70s, when punk was firmly rooted in the smear of rock-based music, Television emerged as a band that defied any type of strict categorization. Their attitude lay comfortably within the subgenre of proto-punk, which embraced a sensibility not found in other counter-culture bands of the time.
The proto-punk bands were subversive but keenly self-aware, which thus created an artistic feel to their music. They also preferred an unpolished approach to the recording process and, in these aspects, Television was a tight fit.
Although they hired a producer known for mixing popular hard rock bands with sound effects galore, Television refused to use any distortion, reverb or compression. Instead, they opted for a completely stripped down approach, letting the instruments speak naturally.
By 1977, they released their first album, Marquee Moon, on Electra records to critical acclaim. The album is a revolution of synthesis, taking the foundation of punk and beautifying it with cerebral, striking guitar textures inspired by other modern rock and roll bands. Now the album has been re-mastered and re-released in a nice package featuring first and second-hand accounts of its creation, and some extra songs that compliment the album nicely.
Marquee Moon is renowned for its guitar interplay, but the guitars are only the rich, creamy frosting spread thick over the spongy cake of drums and bass. The bass links the guitars and drums together by rhythmically interweaving both while providing catchy, emotive notation. The bass also fills in a large gap of space equivalent to that between glorious puffy clouds and the lush green fields below. The drums are very punchy and evolve to fit the tone of the music without deviating in any risky manner.
Of the two guitarists, Richard Lloyd’s Fender textures serve mostly for rhythm and to broaden the soundscape. Tom Verlain’s Fender textures swirl in the electric sky like a kite tail on a windy autumn morning. The result is an astounding interplay of guitars — Lloyd’s giving the music a direction, Verlain’s offering extrapolation.
Even though Television preferred no effects, they managed to create some interesting sounds, which are exemplified in the album’s third song, “Friction.” Verlain’s guitar rains as an electric storm. This is impressive, considering it was created by the natural manipulation of the guitar.
The guitar solos are certainly the shining work of the album. Every song effectively introduces a musical theme that naturally builds an ornate, neck-craning bridge leading to the peaking solo, which tangibly climbs to great heights and provides a substantial and cohesive climax.
But even when the blaze of the guitar trails is contained, they still manage to produce off-kilter rhythms and infectious melodies, such as in the chorus of “Elevation.”
The lyrics are poetic and esoteric but seem deeply thoughtful. However, Verlain’s vocal performance may be perceived as a bit abrasive, considering his tenor squeal is a hint too whiny and chokes with his contemplative lyrics. Upon repeated listens, the vocals gain relevance to the music, especially when perceived in context with the punk genre from which they were born.
But even at its worst, Marquee Moon is a brilliant shining star harnessing explosive energy, but keeping it under control to allow the subtleties to shine as well. It’s an album that mixes the best qualities of rock and punk of its time to create a sound that could have materialized out of thin air. This album could have been relevant at any time in rock’s history and still sounds fresh, even after the 27 years of music that it influenced. Marquee Moon deserves to stay in the minds of all those who claim to appreciate music.
Grade: A
