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Rating: ****
"...Glory Days..."
Like so many of my generation (I came at the Seventies from 1970 onwards) - the second half of that stunning decade from 1975 to 1979 was so many things - fantastic, exhilarating, awful, confusing and so full of new genres, bands and formats - it was frankly dizzying.
What people also forget is that aside from the spitting and pogoing at gigs and homemade clobber posing on the street (the sheer visuals), both the UK and US Punk, New Wave and Alternative Rock bands were genuinely exciting - especially the American big boys like Talking Heads, The Ramones, Richard Hell, Dead Kennedys and such - on up to The Motels, Jim Carroll and even Canadian Philip Rambow, they all grabbed our attention.
But none more so than TELEVISION - a band who like The Verve effortlessly engendered hero worship on a biblical scale – especially for some reason in Blighty. Their March 1977 British debut album "Marquee Moon" was a wonder (and it charted here which it didn’t in the USA) - the kind of LP that makes me weak at the knees even now despite that kind-of-crappy artwork.
So it was probably not surprising that fans and worshippers alike felt like someone had wee-weed on the Mona Lisa when 1978's ever so slightly anaemic "Adventure" turned up in April. It was undeniably a lesser-work, great sounding, but rushed (rambling instrumental bits) even though there were those moments of magic. When they disbanded shortly after its American failure and Verlaine and Lloyd went off to solo and other projects – it kinda got stuck at the back on my vinyl record pile to be sold into secondhand stores when funds got tight. But as so many astute reviewers have pointed out - ok it's not MM - but it is Television and frankly Frank Frankfurter - in 2020 at the age of 62 - that does the tomato ketchup for me. But which issue to buy on CD?
Most will have noticed that if you type in 'Television Adventure CD' into Amazon's search bar, you immediately get thrown onto the cheap 1993 variant on Elektra 960 523-2 (Barcode 075596052320) which is new for about five and half quid. But this 8-track basic variant is not the one you want - the peach you need is the Rhino reissue from September 2003 (USA) and October 2003 (UK) with Four Bonus Tracks (one hidden). This is one of those rare instances where a Remaster and four Bonuses elevate a 3-star album up into a 4-star CD reissue by virtue of their dual quality (I provide the exact Barcodes below to locate either of the Rhino US or UK CD reissues). Here are the foxholes and the glory days...
US released 23 September 2003 - "Adventure" by TELEVISION on Elektra/Rhino R2 73921 (Barcode 081227392123) is an Expanded & Remastered CD Reissue with Four Bonus Tracks (One Is Hidden). The British issue was released October 2003 on Elektra/Rhino/WSM 8122-73921-2 (Barcode 081227392123) – both play out as follows (60:22 minutes):
1. Glory [Side 1]
2. Days
3. Foxhole
4. Careful
5. Carried Away
6. The Fire [Side 2]
7. Ain't That Nothin'
8. The Dream's Dream
Tracks 1 to 8 are their second studio album "Adventure" - released April 1978 in the USA on Elektra Records 6E-133 and April 1978 in the UK on Elektra Records K 52072. Produced by JOHN JANSEN and TOM VERLAINE - it peaked at No. 7 in the UK (didn't chart USA).
BONUS TRACKS:
9. Adventure - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Album Outtake (5:38 minutes)
10. Ain't That Nothin' (Single Version) - July 1978 US 45-single A-side on Elektra E-45516. The A-side single edit is 3:56 minutes (LP version is 4:53 minutes) with "Glory" from the album as its B-side.
11. Glory (Early Version) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Album Outtake (3:39 minutes)
HIDDEN TRACK:
12. Ain't That Nothin' (Run Through) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Album Outtake (9:48 minutes)
The gatefold card digipak is unusual in that it has an extra inner-flap housing the Elektra Records logo CD (original 1978 US label design) whilst the first flap has the 16-page booklet with new liner notes by ALAN LICHT (see photos). The lyrics to the eight songs and the outtake "Adventure" are on the inner flaps too while the booklet features black and whites of our four heroes – Tom Verlaine on Lead Vocals, Guitar and Keyboards (all songs written by him except "Glory" which is a co-write with Richard Lloyd), Richard Lloyd on Lead Guitar and Vocals, Fred Smith on Bass and Vocals and Billy Ficca on Drums. There are other photos of the band in the back of some glass-strewn Transit van and a copy of the single Ain't That Nothin' in its US Elektra/Asylum label bag. The sorry history of the band is told that includes comments from Verlaine on the cold US reaction and bad sound engineers at British gigs. For a band that has been so influential, even now in 2020 and over 40 years later, their lack of success on home turf still seems inexplicable.
The Remaster is done by one of Rhino’s most experienced Audio Engineers – DAN HERSCH who along with his partner in tape-research crimes BILL INGLOT - have touched on huge swathes of the mighty WEA catalogue across decades of their releases. This Adventure thing rocks and rolls and is fantastically clear. I was expecting perhaps amateur hour with the outtakes – but no – they sound amazing, as does the LP.
It opens strongly with "Glory" where a girlfriend dons emotional and physical boxing gloves and spars with Tom over halos, wet red lips and mirrors in vans. When they issued a 45-single to finally promote the album in September 1978, Elektra chose "Ain't That Nothin'" with "Glory" on the flipside – a mistake methinks because I would swear that "Glory" would have drawn in that Cars audience "My Best Friend's Girl" (but who knows). There is a touch of The Byrds in the jangle-prettiness of "Days" - a touch of her hand - standing on a bridge of dreams (gorgeous guitar work from both of the boys). "Foxhole" rocks out like a snot-nosed son of some wicked Lou Reed and Mick Hunter riff off the "Rock 'n' Roll Animal" live album - Verlaine wanting to know where his guardian angel is - dressed up to the poser nines in a relationship dug out. That fantastic pinging guitar solo of Verlaine's on "Foxhole" is just brilliant and full of power on this remaster. "Careful" is pop-Television and its "I don't care..." voices feels false and weedy but I love the old-school romance of "Carried Away" where he could even be Springsteen with the E-Street Band the way he makes that organ sound.
Side 2 opens with "The Fire" - 5:57 minutes of guitar Television where it begins with Verlaine using a knife as a bottleneck for slide guitar - its slow holding-our-breath vibe feeling all weird and 50ts spacey. It's not the most immediate of Television tunes but there is a doomy vibe to the guitars and words about falling that draws me back after all these years. Riffage ala "Marquee Moon" ahoy with "Ain't That Nothin'" - a flicking-guitar chugger that's good but still feels suspiciously unconvincing until that cool chorus arrives. Six minutes and 45-seconds of "The Dream's Dream" brings the LP to a good if not a tad underwhelming finish. But what lifts me up are the Bonuses - all wicked especially the near ten-minute 'run through' of "Ain't That Nothin'" which is a Hidden Track. I used to slap this on CD-Rs in Reckless playlists and about five minutes into its so-Television guitar drone, the relentless almost Kraut rhythms would bring punters to the counter eager to know 'who is this!'
Yes - reviewers are right to call "Adventure" the complacency-riddled relative to its big brother and "It's A Wonderful Life" war hero - "Marquee Moon". But for me, the Bonuses on this fabulous sounding Rhino CD have saved the day.
"Moved by the hand that was never a fist..." Verlaine sings on the album-title outtake "Adventure" - get this 2003 CD variant and discover why...
