Marquee Moon (album review)

There is a whole class of albums known for transcending an initially poor reception. Love’s Forever Changes, the Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle, any Big Star album – all recordings that are famously underrated, a trait that today sometimes makes them overrated. Though these albums all deserve to be heard, I believe they aren’t as consistent as those which I consider truly great.

Marquee Moon by the New York-based Television is perhaps the best of these under-appreciated classics, and one with a genuinely strong set from top to bottom. Though associated with the early American punk scene, Television leveraged a more intricate song structure, and prog rock qualities like longer songs and otherworldly lyrics. Perhaps that combination makes them post punk; they were definitely more post than non-post, at least on Marquee Moon.

The album kicks off with See No Evil, a perfect introduction to the band’s dueling guitar work. Right away you can appreciate the layered riffs and aggressive tempo changes that make this album such an interesting listen. See No Evil is probably the most straightforward listen on the album, although lyrically it’s just as inscrutable as the rest. There are several interpretations of this album’s lyrics on the internet, so I find it hard to make a definitive comment on their quality; with the exception of the title track and perhaps the last song, I find them generally more baffling than effective. See No Evil, for example, talks about flying fountains and jumping mountains. It’s all generally upbeat imagery, so I guess it works with the music.

The album’s second track, Venus (de Milo), is a standout. It features a constantly evolving guitar part, starting with an urgent, marching sound that transforms into a triumphant rising and falling melody. Venus continues the album’s tendency to eschew traditional structure, and lacks any readily identifiable chorus – the changing guitar sound drives the song. Lyrically, the song talks about falling into the arms of a famously armless statue, which is at least somewhat interesting. However there are goofy lyrics as well, including something about dressing as cops. Have fun with that.

Tracks three, six, and seven are all associated in my mind as the most traditional songs on the album. Track three, Friction, is a fun song with a unique falling guitar hook and a big chorus. Track six, Guiding Light, is the album’s most gentle cut, built around a simple six note progression and a piano-backed chorus. Track seven, Prove It, was dubiously released as one of the album’s singles. Though its clockwork guitar hook is solid, an anticlimactic chorus and typically indecipherable narrative did this song, or the band’s popularity, no favors. It should be noted that despite not being one of the album’s strongest cuts, Prove It is still quite listenable.

Tracks four, five, and eight all share psychedelic qualities. Track four is the titular track and probably the album’s best. It features some strong imagery centered around death – “I remember when the darkness doubled…I recall lightning struck itself.” But once again it is the guitar work that makes this such a remarkable piece, all 10 minutes of it. Like Venus, Marquee Moon starts with an urgent strum that blends effortlessly into a transcendent feel. Its unique and epic sound has quickly made it into one of my all-time favorites. Track five is Elevation, which, like Prove It, features a disappointing chorus; it is however buttressed by an otherwise excellent, dreamy sound (as in the breezy line “I sleep light / on these shores tonight”). The final track is Torn Curtain, which has a plodding somber tone and the vague menace of disturbing revelations. It’s an appropriate closer and a fine example of prog rock.

Taken altogether, I’d suggest that Marquee Moon is the definitive underrated album. Though its popularity has grown with time, it still seems to fall short of the extremely high praise it deserves. Highly listenable and with novel, intelligent song structure, it’s an album I’d recommend to anybody.

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