Tom Verlaine (album)

Tom Verlaine is the solo debut studio album by American musician and Television guitarist/vocalist Tom Verlaine. It was released in 1979 through Elektra Records.

Tom Verlaine
Studio album by
Tom Verlaine
Released1979
StudioBlue Rock Studio, 29 Greene Street, New York City
GenrePost-punk
Length36:45
LabelElektra
ProducerTom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine chronology
Tom Verlaine
(1979)		 Dreamtime
(1981)

Production

Several tracks, including "The Grip of Love", "Breakin' in My Heart", "Last Night", and "Red Leaves" trace their roots to unreleased Television songs. In the case of "Red Leaves", the verses are drawn from "Adventure", the unfinished title track of Television's 1978 album Adventure. Fred Smith, bassist for Television, also performs on the record. Ricky Wilson, at the time guitarist of the B-52's, plays guitar on "Breakin' in My Heart"; it is the only song Wilson recorded that did not involve other B-52's members.

David Bowie covered "Kingdom Come" the following year on Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps). Verlaine was originally set to play lead guitar on this version; however, Bowie was unhappy with his part and instead used King Crimson guitarist, Robert Fripp.

Mix variations

The album was originally mixed by Verlaine, but this mix was rejected by Elektra Records. Bob Clearmountain subsequently remixed the album, and it was this version that was released by Elektra in 1979. In 2002, a CD reissue by Collectors' Choice Music inadvertently used the earlier, rejected mix for initial pressings fulfilled by mail order;[1] this was subsequently replaced with the approved Clearmountain mix by the time the CD was made available through traditional retail channels.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[5]
OndaRock7/10[6]
Record Mirror[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[9]
The Village VoiceA−[10]

Tom Verlaine was ranked at number 15 among the top "Albums of the Year" for 1979 by NME.[11]

Track listing

All songs written by Tom Verlaine.

Side one
  1. "The Grip of Love" – 3:58
  2. "Souvenir from a Dream" – 3:47
  3. "Kingdom Come" – 3:42
  4. "Mr. Bingo" – 3:57
  5. "Yonki Time" – 3:54

Side two
  1. "Flash Lightning" – 3:52
  2. "Red Leaves" – 2:49
  3. "Last Night" – 4:37
  4. "Breakin' in My Heart" – 6:06

Personnel
Technical
  • Michael Ewasko – engineer
  • John Jansen – additional engineering on "Last Night"
  • Johnny Lee – art direction, design
  • Joel Brodsky – front cover photograph

References
  1. Phil Obbard, , ICE Magazine, CD Watchdog column, January 2003
  2. Cleary, David. "Tom Verlaine – Tom Verlaine". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. Martin C. Strong (1998). The Great Rock Discography (1st ed.). Canongate Books. ISBN 978-0-86241-827-4.
  5. Gary Graff, ed. (1996). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (1st ed.). London: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-0-7876-1037-1.
  6. "Television". OndaRock (in Italian).
  7. Coyne, Peter (October 6, 1979). "Tom Verlaine: Tom Verlaine". Record Mirror. p. 23.
  8. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Tom Verlaine". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 848–49. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Television". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 398–99. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  10. Christgau, Robert (October 8, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  11. "1979 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. October 10, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.