Marquee Moon

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Marquee Moon was Television's 1977 (see 1977 in music) debut album.

Television was one of the mainstay acts that emerged from the CBGB scene in New York City. This album 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 Verlaine and his 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 #28 in Britain.

In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Marquee Moon the 83rd greatest album of all time. Also ranked 128 in the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

The following track listing is that of a remastered 2003 compact disc rerelease of Marquee Moon. The original vinyl recording was composed of the first eight tracks below, in the same order, although the title track itself was originally faded out early with a running time of 9:58.

The best known song on the album, "Venus", is not a cover of the Shocking Blue single. It is an original tune about taking refuge in the arms of the "Venus de Milo", a legendary Greek statue which has in fact lost its arms. The song "Guiding Light" takes its name from a soap opera.

Track listing

"See No Evil" (3:58)
"Venus" (3:54)
"Friction" (4:45)
"Marquee Moon" (10:47)
"Elevation" (5:10)
"Guiding Light" (5:37)
"Prove It" (5:05)
"Torn Curtain" (7:10)

Bonus tracks from CD reissue:

"Little Johnny Jewel (Parts 1 & 2)" (7:09)
"See No Evil (Alternate Version)" (4:40)
"Friction (Alternate Version)" (4:52)
"Marquee Moon (Alternate Version)" (10:54)
An untitled instrumental (3:22)

The untitled instrumental is an unfinished attempt to record "O Mi Amore", a song Television performed frequently in concert during 1976 and 1977.

Trivia

According to the liner notes of the 2003 reissue, Television originally wanted to record Marquee Moon with veteran jazz recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder (John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, most of the classic Blue Note Records catalog) at his legendary Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey recording studio.

The album cover features a portrait of the band taken by Robert Mapplethorpe.

There is a reference about Marquee Moon en the spanish group Amaral_%28Music_Group%29´s song Moriria por vos.

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