''Tom Verlaine'' is the eponymous solo debut studio album by American musician and

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

guitarist/vocalist

Tom Verlaine Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television. Biography Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...

. It was released in 1979 through Elektra Records.

Production

Several tracks, including "The Grip of Love", "Breakin' in My Heart" 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 An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

''. Fred Smith, bassist for Television, also performs on the record. Ricky Wilson, at the time guitarist of

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...

, 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 David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

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 King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

guitarist,

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

Mix variations

The album was originally mixed by Verlaine, but this mix was rejected by Elektra Records.

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto (band), Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he ...

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 Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois, company originally primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact disc The com ...

inadvertently used the earlier, rejected mix for initial pressings fulfilled by mail order;Phil Obbard

'' ICE Magazine'', CD Watchdog column, January 2003 this was subsequently replaced with the approved Clearmountain mix by the time the CD was made available through traditional retail channels.

Reception

''Tom Verlaine'' was ranked at number 15 among the top "Albums of the Year" for 1979 by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''.

Track listing

All songs written by Tom Verlaine.

Side one

# "The Grip of Love" – 3:58 # "Souvenir from a Dream" – 3:47 # "Kingdom Come" – 3:42 # "Mr. Bingo" – 3:57 # "Yonki Time" – 3:54

Side two

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

Personnel

*Tom Verlaine – guitar, vocals; organ on "Kingdom Come" * Fred Smith – bass, guitar, percussion, vocals *

Jay Dee Daugherty Jay Dee Daugherty (born March 22, 1952) is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Biography Moving to N ...

– drums, percussion, vocals *

Allan Schwartzberg Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. He has been a member of the rock band Mountain, Peter Gabriel's first solo band, toured with Brecker Brothers' Dreams, B.J. Thomas, Linda Rondstadt, Stan Get ...

– drums, percussion on "Kingdom Come" *Tom Thompson – drums on "Last Night" *Deerfrance – vocals on "Red Leaves" * Mark Abel –

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

on "Last Night" *

Bruce Brody Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

– piano on "Last Night" * Ricky Wilson – guitar on "Breakin' in My Heart" ;Technical *Michael Ewasko – engineer * John Jansen – additional engineering on "Last Night" *Johnny Lee – art direction, design *

Joel Brodsky Joel Lee Brodsky (October 7, 1939 – March 1, 2007) was an American photographer, best known for his photography of musicians, particularly his iconic "Young Lion" photographs of Jim Morrison. In his lifetime, he is credited with photographing o ...

– front cover photograph

References

Tom Verlaine albums 1979 debut albums Elektra Records albums Albums with cover art by Joel Brodsky {{1970s-rock-album-stub