Television's "Adventure" lp: your opinion

Guy, thanks for the info on the original running order, very interesting info.
And, Chris, wow, I didn't know anything about a proposed box set, I'll need to do a search for that in the threads. Anyone else know anything re this?
A Television set would be amazing, there is plenty of "educational" stuff out there, early recordings..the Eno stuff, live stuff, and there are the other works as mentioned above that have never been booted. The Rhino special edition live CD, now out of print as well, probably ehough for a good 5 or 6 CD set, (he said hopefully).

 

I've been reliably informed that the above is not accurate. I apologize if I got anyone excited

 

Exactly. Verlaine is a total original, which is what makes him so good.

My personal favorite Television guitar solo would be the one in "Guiding Light", from the first lp. What a piercing, beautiful piece of work (not sure who played it, though.)

 

I've always liked Adventure better than Marquee Moon. Don't know why but the songwriting always struck me as superior to the debut.

 

I was slow to warm to Adventure (it just didn't grab me right off, the way Marquee Moon did). But I came back to it about 8 months later, and found I really liked it the more I heard it.

 

I first heard Adventure in 1990 or so and it was my first exposure to Television. Great album and probably my favorite of the 2 original albums if only for sentimental reasons. I remember working out the guitar parts of "Days" with another guitarist and just really enjoying what was going on. Also, strangely perhaps, my first thought as "Glory" was chugging along is that one of my favorite bands, Rain Parade, owed a lot to these guys in the guitar department.

 

I think the songs on Adventure are every bit as good as those on the debut, but that the performances sound stiffer or "reigned in". The songs fare better on 'The Blow Up' or 'Live At The Old Waldorf' where they are played looser.

 

Just exchanged my black German copy for a red UK one and gave it a few spins: This is a fanastic record, no idea why it got such bad reception. Following "Marquee Moon" would alway be an impossible task but the band did REALLY well. There seems to be only one issue with "Adventure": It is NOT "Marquee Moon". As if you could hold that against a record....

 

Guy pretty much nails everything in this post. Verlaine was never one to sit still for long and the progression of Television from the early punk/psych days (with R. Hell) to the band that did Marquee Moon to Adventure was head-spinning. The only thing that could have improved Adventure would have been including the title track, and the current deluxe cd has rectified that.

 

Anyone who would like to hear Television circa 1975, go to You Tube and type in Television "Kingdom Come". It's from The Piccadilly in Cleveland, and, while not up to the 15 minute monolith it became, this is a great look at Television in transition.

 

I was at that show. They didn't seem in transition to me, they were a full-blown killer live band. I think they just had to make some compromises with Elektra for the recordings.

 

Those were the shows with Rocket From The Tombs? Lucky you, wish I had seen those. Maybe transition was the wrong word. But from the Hell era to the band you saw at The Piccadilly is such a short time frame. I wish that period of the band (1975) was the one that recorded the debut, I saw dozens of shows around then and they were on fire. As far as Elektra goes, Television could have signed when Hell was in the band (with the Stones label and quite a few others, there was a bidding war, and the Eno demos), but Verlaine held off because he felt the band wasn't ready to make an album, and he wanted full control, which I'm pretty sure he got from Elektra.

 

Sounds fine to my ears, and it's absolutely worth if for the title track. The deluxe Marquee Moon is also worth it for the inclusion of the ORK 45 version of "Little Johnny Jewel", and the cold ending on the title track, instead of the fade out on the original release.

 

Yes, those were the shows. Peter Laughner was responsible for the booking.

I would agree that Verlaine got full control for Marquee Moon, but for the second album they were getting pressure from Jerry Wexler to do something a bit more commercial (or at least more accessible).

 

Elektra sent me the album for review when it came out. I liked it a lot, possibly more than the debut, and remembered being dismayed by the generally negative reviews that it got at the time.

I still like it a lot, and still think, at least on some days, that it's better than the debut.

I think both are MUCH better than the reunion (Capitol) album that followed many years later.

 

If there was no Marquee Moon, Adventure would be considered a masterpiece.
Marquee Moon is a little rawer, a little edgier, perhaps. Adventure is more polished, but every bit as good, I believe.

 

After enjoying Live at the Waldorf, I have come to the conclusion that crummy production really hampers "Adventure". Sounds tame, shrill, with no bass. LATW shows how these songs can really sound. I don't think there is a more exciting moment in rock than the ending of "The Dream's Dream" leading into "Venus".

 

Much prefer it to MM, which bores me no end!!!

 

At least one band member swears this is not the case. Not sure where the story came from, but the track that appears on the 2003 reissue is not a finished Television track. Apparently the mix dates from a 2-track mixdown the engineer created for Lloyd's listening pleasure in 1978; it was not remixed for the 2003 release...

 

Well, whatever the reason for it's non-inclusion (and I'm inclined to agree with Guy on the reason), it's a shame it was left off as it was a highlight of the live show, and Lloyd took full advantage of the spotlight on that one.

 

Just because I have this handy, as far as I know the only source of the "groove cramming" story is a letter to MOJO in the March 2001 issue:

"Finally, thanks to Ira Robbins for his positive assessment of Television's oft-dismissed second album. Regarding the missing title track, the group did in fact record 'Adventure' for the LP, but the song was (perversely) dropped when test-pressings revealed a loss in fidelity due to groove cramming. Too bad, as the song's inclusion would have generated a more positive critical assessment. After the CD reissue of MARQUEE MOON restored the climactic ending to the title track, I held out high hopes for a reconstructed digital ADVENTURE, but disappointment prevailed.

Hey, Elektra, how about an expanded CD upgrade?

Guy Ewald, New York City"

Guy got his expanded CD upgrade in 2003, but to my ears, "Adventure" is not a finished track...

Is there another source for the "groove cramming" story re: "Adventure"?

Thanks.

 

"Days" is a beautiful song. Teenage Fanclub should have covered it.

 

Love Adventure about as much as Marquee Moon. "Days" is one of the greatest things they ever did.