A standout track from The Blow Up, a ’78 live show released as an official release cassette on the ROIR label in the early ’80s, followed by an unauthorized CD. Previously, vinyl LP & cassette bootlegs of the show had circulated. It’s a recording of a March 20, 1978 Television show at the Long Island, NY club “My Father’s Place”. Discography trivia: I’ve seen “The Blow Up” sometimes described as a compilation of songs from various ’78 shows, but my impression of its origin’s different. ‘Cause, when The Blow Up first came out on cassette, I was sure (was I mistaken?) the whole tape was identical to a bootleg cassette I already had of one specific ’78 show from My Father’s Place club, except The Blow Up inexplicably left out the song “Poor Circulation” the bootleg tape included. More trivia: A small section of the song never got recorded, as the audience member taping it had to change cassettes before the song ended. Can you hear where Tom’s solo near the end stops abruptly, & then they’re already into the last section of the song? It was more noticeable on cassette bootleg circulated in the late ’70s, as a short, silent gap was left on the bootleg tape versions. By the time it was issued on The Blow Up, they’d edited it together tidily. It’s too bad the unreleased song “Poor Circulation” found on bootleg tapes of this show was not included in ROIR’s “The Blow Up” release. But I’ve uploaded “Poor Circulation” taken from another live show. See my YT upload titled …
Jan
28
Television – Little Johnny Jewel, Live ’78 (from The Blow Up)
25
comments
@acadx Hahah never thought of that, it’s plausible
LOVE siouxsies ATB’s version too
One of the best jams of all time, live!
@RICARDOnotcool Through The Looking Glass.
yeah siouxsie’s cover is cool! mind telling me the name of the covers album?
@RICARDOnotcool It’s Television’s song. Tom Verlaine wrote it, & the band issued it as a single in 1975. But I love Siouxsie’s cover the Banshees included on an all-covers album they once did. You Tube has two versions of Siouxsie doing it. One’s from a BBC session recording (my fave).
did siouxsie & the banshees cover this or was it vice versa?
I’m sorry, but with all due respect to Built To Spill, I think that Doug and company aspired to be these guys… They’re pretty good and all, but a bit too stoned to come to the glory and excitement of Television. Don’t try to be Tom Verlaine…
It’s so amazing. I’ve always imagined these brittle guitars as… the sound of strings on an egg sharer… do you know what I mean? Maybe it’s alocal invention, but it’s like five (or six, that would be great) strings of tin and a plastic thing you put the egg in, and then you press…
If ROIR is violating their agreement, they’re doing it pretty blatantly, and Verlaine wouldn’t have much difficulty obtaining legal relief. That these reissues remain in print, and have gone through multiple editions, indicates ROIR feel they are on strong footing.to put them out.
@Bobjb999: Thanks for the clarification. I was not aware of this issue at all. Obviously, we’d need to see the contract to actually understand what was agreed to, but generally licensing is for the work itself, with a limitation imposed to a specific period of time, but a limitation of release format to just tape would be unusual. Possibly ROIR’s later reissue on CD and vinyl could have violated that time period limitation. But my guess is that Verlaine didn’t understand what he was agreeing to.
@orpheussf Let me more specific. I have an old Tom Verlaine print interview where he says the ROIR cassette release was legit but that the later CD release was “completely illegal”. Just because the same company released both, doesn’t mean ROIR had legal rights to release both. So, I was just quoting Tom’s (& his lawyer’s?) view. But maybe you have a “more accurate” legal opinion about it?
This has been released in two legit CD editions by ROIR. You’re misinformed.
did duran duran rip off this song for girls on film?
WOW
Holy shit…..this is fantastic.
The greatest guitar solo of any one, any time, any where.
I know the word underrated gets used alot, but the musical talent of television is greatly underrated, and unappreciated.
Awesome version of my favorite takes-2-sides-to-hold-it single; nice pics, too
My god ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so great.
WOW!! this is amazing
Splendid stuff
class !
my guitar heroes