[.ca] 1978 Blow-Up Live (Coll.Ed)

Chronique amazon.fr:
Présenté comme un groupe punk à la sortie de son premier opus en 1977, Television a eu tôt fait de remettre les choses au point. Comme en témoignait en réalité Marquee Moon, la formation new-yorkaise avait abandonné le terrain du punk pour créer une musique qui, magnifiée par la guitare de Tom Verlaine, exaltait le rendez-vous entre le rock psychédélique et le jazz coltranien. Sur scène, cette rencontre prenait une dimension plus flamboyante encore. The Blow Up est là pour en témoigner. Sorti une première fois dans une indifférence quasi générale il y a une dizaine d'années, ce live, en plus de montrer que l'histoire du rock s'est largement écrite en communion intense avec le public, constitue un grand moment de guitare électrique. Que ce soit sur "Marquee Moon", "Little Johnny Jewel" ou sur les reprises de "Satisfaction" et de "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", Tom Verlaine et Richard Lloyd, en effet, se livrent à des duels implacables, montrant du même coup que la modernité ne passe pas nécessairement par les synthétiseurs et les samplers. --Philippe Margotin

From Amazon.com:
The guitar-led, thin-sounding rock of NYC's seminal art-punk band Television had many acolytes--from the lovelorn poetry of Australia's Go-Betweens to the more commercial sound of New Wave poppers the Knack. This live double CD, originally released on cassette in 1982, showcases the band at their most experimental and wired. Obvious standouts include the intricate, almost Coltrane-esque guitar duel between bandleaders Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd on an incredible 15-minute version of "Little Johnny Jewel," plus an equally lengthy and tormented reading of "Marquee Moon." Sound quality is extremely variable, but the spirit of the originators of the New York punk loft scene shines through, even on a relatively ordinary rendition of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." Raw, dreamy, and ripe for rediscovery. --Everett True

revised review:
OK i was a bit harsh on this last time out. I have two gripes..sound quality on disc1, tightness of band, mostly on disc1. I would give disc1 2 out of 5, disc 2 4 out of 5. Little Johnny Jewel is flippin great. I have had the pleasure of seeing the boys in a live gig, just a few days ago, april 16th in Dublin. A great concert, which i am now kicking myself that i didn't record. They played 6 songs from their 92 album, 1 from adventure(glory), 4 from marquee moon also 'petit johnny jewel'. I'll probably never see them in action again

Wish I Was There!:
This is simply one of the greatest recorded live performances I've ever heard and I spend a good deal of my life listening to live music in person and on CD. The downer is that the sound quality is pretty poor in spots, but does get better on some tracks. Consequently, listening to this on headphones definitely beats listening to it in your car. In short, the sound quality will annoy you at times, but if you listen carefully, I believe you'll find it well worth it. On "The Blow-Up" you hear a band that is literally fearless. It's a bit like watching four incredibly gifted artists sprint back and forth on a tightrope. Not only is the collective performance incredible, but Verlaine's material ranks with the finest in rock history. Yes, the guitars are awesome, but the rhythm section of Fred Smith and Billy Ficca is equally incredible. Buy Marquee Moon first (everyone should own a copy of that), but get this too to hear what Television were capable of live. If you can find a copy, I'd also highly recommend Television - Live At The Old Waldorf: San Francisco, 6/29/78. This disc is a much shorter show, but it was professionally recorded and the sound quality is top notch. The performance is excellent, but perhaps not quite as incendiary as on "The Blow-Up." Sadly, Rhino Handmade only issued 5,000 copies of "Live At the Old Waldorf," so you'll have to do some hunting on Ebay, etc. However, if you love great rock and roll, it's worth the trouble and expense.

Some of the best guitar ever.:
This is an amazing live recording, and the iffy sound doesn't take away from it one bit. I like to think it adds charm and character, and I think a cleaned up version wouldn't be worth getting, if you allready have this. While Little Johnny Jewel is the centerpeice, every track on here is great, and shows off the flair of the band. Tom Verlaine's guitar work is just as amazing as anything Hendrix, Young, or Marsch has done.

Fab!:
Stop whingeing about the sound, guys. Ever been to the Brixton Academy? 'Little Johnny Jewel' is indeed sublime. It would have been even better if he could actually play. "We're just tuning our guitars. Not that that matters." -Tom Verlaine, Glastonbury.

An excellent companion to Marquee Moon:
The first Television album is all tension and restraint -- beautiful guitars slashing at each other over Verlaine's wavery voice and a thumping rhythm section. "Marquee Moon" is the sound of a world class garage band, and one of the great guitar bands of all rock music playing majestic music, nearly losing control at each curve, but catching themselves before they fell apart. This album strays at every opportunity. It's loud and indulgent. The playing is sometimes ridiculously sloppy, but when the band gets it right, as with the 15 minutes of "Little Johnny Jewel," it's as breathtaking as anything on "Marquee Moon." I still prefer the studio versions of every song on this album to the live ones, but this is the perfect companion to "Marquee Moon." Even though the album was recorded after "Marquee Moon" was released, it works well as a backdrop for that album. Compared to the insane experimentation here, the solo on the studio version of "Marquee Moon" sounds tame and structured. The full-blown feakout of "Friction" is compressed into a tight single in the studio. Which isn't to say the album doesn't stand on its own. As a double live album with low quality sound, it doesn't have much going for it in principle, but the guitars are fantastic. Very raw, very loud, and a lot of fun. Any fan of rock music owes it to themselves to buy "Marquee Moon" first (THAT'S the essential album), but this works well for those of us who can't get enough of a good thing.

• Blow-Up
• See No Evil
• Prove It
• Elevation
• I Don't Care
• Venus de Milo
• Foxhole
• Ain't That Nothin'
• Knockin' on Heaven's Door
• Little Johnny Jewel
• Friction
• Marquee Moon
• (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction