Television’s Marquee Moon was released in 1977. At the time, we were celebrating the arrival of punk and its adding new energy and style to the musical landscape that had been dominated by disco (at least on the airwaves).
A friend of mine introduced me to Television. There were a few of us that gathered at our respective places and played albums for a few hours. The challenge – and fun! – was to come up with a new artist or album that we’d all like. Television was my buddy’s winner that night.
There was a lot more structure, style and nuance in Television than in the prototypical punk and garage bands of the time. Marquee Moon covers a few different style bases with songs like “Venus”, “Marquee Moon”, “Guiding Light” and “Prove It”. You’d see variation like this in later work by The Clash and Elvis Costello. I believe this structure, musicianship and production allows Marquee Moon to be as relevant today as it was in 1977.
There were a few things that really struck me initially. I liked the drive of “See No Evil”. I appreciated the humour of falling into the arms of Venus de Milo. And the extensions within “Marquee Moon” felt like the jams in live songs from some of my ’60’s favourites. I liken those to taking a bit of a deviation in a favourite hike: you get a chance to experience something new in a familiar, comfortable context.
I enjoyed listening again to Marquee Moon in preparation of this post. I hope you do, too.