This Saturday no blues or jazz artist will be rediscovered. We shall deal with television, not the brain-killer device, but with the brain and leader of Television, a band considered influential in the development of punk and alternative music.
Famed for his trailblazing work as the singer and guitarist of the seminal New York punk band Television, Tom Verlaine also carved out an acclaimed and eclectic solo career. Born Thomas Miller in Wilmington, Delaware in 1949, Verlaine (who borrowed his name from the French symbolist poet) was trained as a classical pianist but gravitated toward rock music after an encounter with the Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown." In 1968, he and bassist Richard Meyers (later Richard Hell) moved to New York's Lower East Side, where they and drummer Billy Ficca formed the group the Neon Boys. After the addition of second guitarist Richard Lloyd, the band renamed itself Television. [allmusic.com]
The Miller's
Tale: A Tom Verlaine Anthology [1996 Compilation]
Any career retrospective of a man like Tom Verlaine was bound to be lacking in some respects, but The Miller's Tale is about as good as it could be, given that the man's career has spanned nearly 20 years and a large number of consistently good albums. All three Television albums are represented here, but for some reason "Foxhole" from Adventure is missing, as is "1880 or So" from Television. Choosing a fair selection of tracks from Verlaine's solo albums is a near-impossible task, but there's enough good material on The Miller's Tale to keep most fans happy. Everyone would have different favorite choices, but you can't argue with the quality of songs like "Postcard from Waterloo," "Lindi-Lu," and "At 4 A.M.." Unfortunately there's no new material here, meaning that dedicated fans will already own the songs, but it's a good introduction to the great man's career. [allmusic.com - review by Jim Harper]
If you like the work of Verlaine and Television or if you like to discover them, check "Miller's Tale"!!
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