Television - Marquee Moon (2LP, 45RPM, 1Step, Box Set)
Tom Verlaine – lead vocals, electric guitar, keyboards
Richard Lloyd – electric guitar, vocals
Fred Smith – bass guitar, vocals
Billy Ficca – drums
Written by Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd (C2)
2 LPs, box set
Limited to 3,000 numbered copies
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : Black
Speed : 45 RPM
Size : 12''
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Fidelity Record Pressing
Label : Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Original Label : Elektra Records
Recorded at A&R Recording Studios, New York City, in September 1976; mixed at Atlantic Studios, New York City
Engineered by Andy Johns, assisted by Jim Boyer
Produced by Andy Johns and Tom Verlaine
Mastered by Krieg Wunderlich at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Sebastopol, CA
Photography by Robert Mapplethorpe
Originally released in February 1977
Reissued in 2026
Tracks:
Side A:
- See No Evil
- Venus
- Friction
Side B:
- Marquee Moon
Side C:
- Elevation
- Guiding Light
Side D:
- Prove It
- Torn Curtain
Awards:
Rolling Stone – 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : Ranked #107
Pitchfork – 100 Best Albums of the 1970s : Ranked #3
NME – 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : Ranked #29
Included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
Reviews;
“Marquee Moon is a revolutionary album, but it's a subtle, understated revolution. Without question, it is a guitar rock album -- it's astonishing to hear the interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd -- but it is a guitar rock album unlike any other. Where their predecessors in the New York punk scene, most notably the Velvet Underground, had fused blues structures with avant-garde flourishes, Television completely strip away any sense of swing or groove, even when they are playing standard three-chord changes. Marquee Moon is comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections, not through Verlaine's words. That alone made Marquee Moon a trailblazing album -- it's impossible to imagine post-punk soundscapes without it. Of course, it wouldn't have had such an impact if Verlaine hadn't written an excellent set of songs that conveyed a fractured urban mythology unlike any of his contemporaries. From the nervy opener, "See No Evil," to the majestic title track, there is simply not a bad song on the entire record. And what has kept Marquee Moon fresh over the years is how Television flesh out Verlaine's poetry into sweeping sonic epics.” AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
One-Step : Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, One-Step uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, One-Step is created for the ultimate in sound quality. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, One-Step produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process.
Ratings
AllMusic: 5 / 5 ; Discogs 4.65 / 5