Sunday, April 12, 2015

The fan keeps whirling (Television) #399

Television Ain't That Nothin'/ Glory (Elektra, E 45 516, 1978)

By no stretch of the imagination were Television pop stars, singles artists or in it for the glory.

This single comes from their second album Adventure, which suffers from a text book case of second album syndrome. Marquee Moon was a revelation and a joy from start to finish; Adventure is anything but by comparison. 

How to follow up that awesome debut? Go for more concise songs that shy away from the nervy jagged spark of Marque Moon? Well - okay, but it didn't work guys!

So what's the deal with this single? In short it's a pale imitation of Marque Moon's guitar adventurism. Three seconds after playing it, all I can remember is Tom Verlaine's plaintive cry of 'Ain't that nothin'.

The band called it a day after this. Richard Lloyd went on to release a wonderful solo album (Alchemy) in 1979 and Tom Verlaine also had a solo career before they reconvened the band (unsuccessfully) in the nineties.

Marquee Moon casts a giant shadow!

Hidden gem: Glory contravenes the trade description act! It ain't nothin' of the sort!

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