Description
Marquee Moon is the debut studio album by American rock band Television. It was released on February 8, 1977, and produced by the band's frontman Tom Verlaine and sound engineer Andy Johns. In the years leading up to the album, Television had become a prominent act on the New York music scene and generated interest from a number of record labels. The group rehearsed extensively in preparation for Marquee Moon and, after signing to Elektra Records, recorded the album at A & R Recording in September 1976.
For Marquee Moon, Verlaine and fellow guitarist Richard Lloyd abandoned contemporary punk rock's power chords in favor of rock and jazz-inspired interplay, melodic lines, and counter-melodies. Verlaine's lyrics combined urban and pastoral imagery, references to lower Manhattan, themes of adolescence, and influences from French poetry. He also used puns and double entendres to give his songs an impressionistic quality in describing his perception of an experience.
Marquee Moon was released to widespread critical acclaim and unexpected commercial success in the United Kingdom, but sold poorly in the United States. The record has since been viewed by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time and a foundational record of alternative rock. Television's innovative post-punk instrumentation on Marquee Moon strongly influenced the new wave and indie rock movements of the 1980s.
US remastered reissue
