Like alot of folks, I'm wary of the reissue game. Tempting as bonus tracks are, I often find they ruin the integrity of the original release. That being said, this sounds a 1000x's better than the previous cd incarnation. And it' s nice to hear their long out of print 1st single, "Little Johnny Jewel" in it's entirety.

Though long associated with the CBGB Punk scene, they were far more ambitious than The Ramones ever were. I mean what is this stuff? Psychedelic Jazz Punk? Whatever it is, it's original. Verlaine croons like he's choking on a 25-cent hot dog at Gray's Papaya off 8th Avenue. And though his poetical leanings can often be obtuse, they're offset by a no nonsense, tough as nails rhythm section.

In terms of guitar playing, this band is armed with 2 guys who don't quite see eye to eye. Richard Lloyd's playing is as precise & solid as Verlaine is moody & improvisational. In other words, they are perfect foils. There's nothing quite like the epic title track. The lyrics seem ripped out of some lost notebook by Rimbaud. Musically, it's a dark, surreal sprial staircase---leading you back to from whence you came. The sonic equivalent of Carol Reed's the 3rd MAN.

In terms of barbed wit & killer hooks, how can you top the likes of "See No Evil", "Friction", "Elevation, & my personal favorite, "Proof It"? All of which makes the balladry of "Guiding Light" seem all the more delicate & fragile.

By far the darkest track is the closer,"Torn Curtain". In anyone else's hands it would come off as pure pretention. But they pull it off. Guess it even proved to be oddly prophetic. After this album, the band pretty much fell apart despite the flawed farewell of their follow up, ADVENTURE.

In terms of today's bands, Television's influence is undeniable. Radiohead. The Strokes. Artic Monkeys. Tape-n-Tapes. As competent as they are, after hearing this, they won't hold a candle. MARQUEE MOON is up ther with VU's "banana album" as one of the greatest albums a NYC based band has ever produced.

This is the sound of a station that's not on your regular dial. Music before the days of remote control & MTV banality. It's the TV you always wanted to see, only you have to close your eyes first. Shut them tight & tune in.

Marquee Moon is one of the great albums of the 70's from the overlooked band Television. Born out of the mid 70's New York rock scene that produced the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie and others, the band was led by guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. The band's sound was different from the others thanks in part to superb guitar interplay between Mr. Verlaine & Mr. Lloyd, but also they didn't pump out quick 3 minute songs, but had a jazzy edge. The title cut and "Torn Curtain" are both lengthy numbers (close to 10 minutes each) and show off the band's sharp musicianship. Mr. Verlaine is a sharp lyricist and his songs has a wry sense of humor. "Venus" is probably the best track on the album and contains a classic line "fell into the arms of Venus DeMilo". Television never gained the mass appeal of Blondie or the Heads or icon status of the Ramones, but Marquee Moon is better than any album to come out from that music scene and deserves to be heard by a wider audience.

I don't give out stars lightly. To rate a record 5 stars means to me that its one of the greatest records ever, of which there are perhaps 100. Marquee Moon is one of them.

Television came out of the mid 70's NYC punk scene and may have had a punk attitude and fashion sense, but their music was the antithesis of the 3 chord, 90 second songs of Blondie and The Ramones. The first thing I remember thinking when I initially played Marquee Moon was that I've never heard anything quite like this before. The awesome guitar play, the sharp lyrics and Verlaine's high pitched, quavering voice gave them a unique sound.

In later years I noticed some similarities between Television's guitar work and that of Neil Young's, particularly in Young's Cowgirl in the Sand and Down By the River. I have a feeling you will find some Young in Verlaine's and Lloyd's record collections.

The hardest thing about Television is describing their sound to someone. They just didn't sound like anyone else. Though they were never a commercial success, their influences have been heard later in bands like the Strokes, Violent Femmes, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, The Killers and many more.

Marquee Moon is Television's finest album, though I think the follow-up, Adventure, is vastly underrated. What "Freebird" is to southern rock and "Stairway to Heaven" is to progressive rock, that is what the title track, "Marquee Moon" is to alt/punk rock. It's nearly 10 minutes of one of Rock's greatest moments of guitar interplay.

Every song on this album is phenomenal. From the opening riffs of "See No Evil" to Verlaine's plaintive wail on the closer, "Torn Curtain" the record is solid.

Marquee Moon is now over 30 years old. The amazing thing is that the music is still as fresh today as it was when it when released.

When this came out in 1977, if you looked back 30 years you saw artists like Guy Lombardo, Bing Crosby, Mills Bros. etc..., all fine artists in their own right, but that was grandma's and grandpa's music and had little relevance in 1977. The fact that Televison is as relevant, if not more so, in 2007 as they were in 1977 is a testament to their greatness.

"Marquee Moon" is, well, amazing. Like many other great albums it takes a little getting used to, but that's because it's unlike anything you've ever heard before. There are some blues-based rockers here ("See No Evil," "Friction"), but I think the real killers are the ones where the band ventures into stranger waters. On "Venus" and "Elevation," the guitars don't wail or cry, they bleep like computers and chime like bells. This is the sound that almost all great indie-rock is built on. The guitar-playing is mind-bogglingly good and, what is even more mind-boggling, it doesn't sound silly or self-indulgent. Tom Verlaine is a great songwriter (my vote for "Best Underground Pop Song of All Time" goes to "Venus"), and the band is good enough that on the title track they can turn a 5-minute guitar solo (just the words "5-minute guitar solo" are usually enough to make me cringe) into possibly the most effective build-up in rock history, the orchestra-and-alarm-clock build-up in "A Day in the Life" not excepted. Tom Verlaine's vocal style may be off-putting to those who don't listen to punk or indie music, but it can be really really effective, "Venus" being the prime example. So, in conclusion, if you don't have this album, I would suggest that you buy it. If you don't like it at first, listen to it again and again and again until you do. Some day you'll thank me.

This is the quintesential modern rock record from the greatest American art-rock band ever. Tom Verlaine and Television's approach is clever, with tons or interlocking guitar parts, rythmic basslines and tasteful drumming. Verlaine's lyrics are dark, imaginative and dreamy, and his vocal delevery fits the writing and guitar sound perfectly. His pinched, strung out whine expresses emotion and tells stories, even when the actual meaning is unclear. This album contains styles ranging from riffy rockers ("See No Evil") to soulful retro rock ("Guiding Light") to eerie ballads with cryptic lyrics ("Venus"). "Friction" and "Prove It" are incredibly strong songs, in Television's upbeat style. The longer songs, however are Television's strong suit. "Marquee Moon" stands as the album's centerpiece, a testament to what they can do as a band. Few moments on record have the same feeling one might get from listening to all the highly rythmic parts come together with the drums on the opening of that track. "Elevation" comes next, and allows the energy to stay high. The final track, "Torn Curtain" is different in some ways. Less guitar oriented, but moody and introspective, and basking in darkness, bringing the album to a supurb close. This album is brilliant. They took the genere of Velvet Underground influenced art-rock, and did even more for it than even VU did. Better than anything else, this album is ultra-essential!