Venus

Marquee Moon is one of the greatest guitar albums ever made — Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd creating a dual-guitar approach unlike anything in rock, more indebted to jazz and the avant-garde than to blues, technically dazzling without being showy.

Venus demonstrates the Verlaine approach at its most melodic: lines that develop and return, unexpected intervals, the rhythm section of Fred Smith and Billy Ficca creating a groove that allows the guitar work to breathe. The song is understated in the way of something that knows it doesn't need to be otherwise.

Television dissolved in 1978 and reformed twice. Verlaine's death in 2023 ended that possibility permanently. Marquee Moon remains his monument: a record that rewards listening as closely as you're willing to listen.