Audio CD review:
Television - Adventure

Television - Adventure

Band: Television Title: Adventure Rating: Release Date: 23 September, 2003 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Glory 2: Days 3: Foxhole 4: Careful 5: Carried Away 6: The Fire 7: Ain't That Nothin' 8: The Dream's Dream 9: Adventure 10: Ain't That Nothin' (Single Version) 11: Glory (Early Version) 12: Ain't That Nothin' (Run-Through)

Customer Reviews Maybe it's just as the critics have said "Adventure", their second album following the massively-acclaimed [[ASIN:B0000AI45P Marquee Moon]], was highly accessible due to the slick production and absence of extended jams. Television were a breath of fresh air in the 1970s with their unique psychedelic rock, sparse but based on long, yet always melodic and even delicately soft guitar lines - producing melody even through chaos. Nonetheless, the rapid tightening of commercial radio formats and the ineptitude of noncommercial radio restricted Television to the tiniest cult audience in their homeland, although "Adventure" made them stars in Western Europe. Compared with the deceptively soft sound of [[ASIN:B0000AI45P Marquee Moon]], "Adventure" lost out in terms of the unique textures due to the rather intrusive production, which verged on pompous on the disappointing "Ain't That Nothin" and blunted the edge from the guitar lines of "Glory", which is largely carried by a touching vocal. However, "Carried Away" moved the clanging guitar sounds to piano and organ with surprising effect, and the largely instrumental closer "The Dream's Dream" blend's the undeniable guitar talents of Verlaine and Lloyd with a sound that was remarkably rich and soft for a time when stripped-down aggression or bombastic stadium rock was the order of the day. The almost insanely catchy "Foxhole", their third and last European hit single, however, was the stunner here, with perhaps the finest guitar work ever made coming from Richard Lloyd. Especially in his closing solo, Lloyd played with a skill that even the radio-oriented production utterly failed to thwart. Verlaine's lyrics can appear to be shallow or intelligent (sometimes at the same time) but the music of "Foxhole" will never leave you: probably, in fact, the best song of the late 1970s. "Careful" sounded like a radio-ready pop song, but in a good kind of way: Verlaine's gift was his knowledge of human aspiration. "The Fire", an appropriate description of a summer heatwave, expresses the opposite feeling. Really, "Adventure" carries on the sound of [[ASIN:B0000AI45P Marquee Moon]] in a more heavily produced manner: the psychedelic sparks are still there, but are not always easy to hear - just as critics have always been saying. . Tom Verlaine Either you love it - or you don't - Typically, big fans of groups like Styx, Toto, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Boston, Kansas and The Doobies. Tom Verlaine's guitar has a unique voice. . . might not appreciate Verlaine's voicing and style. It's just off the radar enough to miss major classic rock radio play. . . you are more likely to hear Verlaine on a college radio station. Adventure is my favorite Television album -Marquee Moon may be better - but I just like "The Fire" too much to knock this one down. The soloing is brilliant and the mood of the songs are laced with anticiaption that fully delivers. I would especially recommend this album to a guitarist who is searching for a unique and brilliant sound. If you do not like this music, it is strongly recommended that you buy a buick, grow a horrible mustache and start selling Amway products. Days, be more than all we have... Over time its reputation grew until it was finally recognised for what it is- a work of near brilliance. When this album came out in the late seventies the critics said it didn't hold a candle to their debut album Marquee Moon. It doesn't have the hard edge of MM, but that is where its appeal lies- the hard edges have been smoothed out and replaced with a dreamy, surreal quality that acheives moments of greatness- check out "Carried Away", one of the few keyboard-based Television songs, and especially the final track "The Dream's Dream"- the interplay of guitar work between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd has never been better than on this track. One of the best late seventies albums, no question. . You can see a complete list of all Television discography, or go back to the Television tabs