RE: (TV) Tom Verlaine and drummers/Repetition/Tinariwen

[leif joley <leifjoley@hotmail.com>]

I can not understand how any Tom Verlaine fan in his or her right mind can
complain about the drumming (or the sound of the drumming) on the first solo
LP, "Dreamtime", "Words from the Front" or "Flash Light". Absolutely not! As
for "Flash Light", it's got what could be described as an 80's style
production, with the drums a bit more louder and perhaps slightly more
sterile, but to this day, that record, with *all* its ingredients, sounds
close to perfect to me, both in terms of engineering, mixing and playing.
"Cover" is a somewhat different matter, since half of the tunes have that drum
machine. But that record also contains some of Verlaine's greatest repetitive
songs -- "Dissolve/Reveal" and "Rotation" -- and the beat box fits these tunes
just fine (as does it "Let go the Mansion", "Swim", "O Foolish Heart" and
"Lindy Lu" as well). The reasoning behind that choice of accompaniment may be
be debated -- but if Verlaine wanted to try something different creatively,
I'd say that he succeeded in what he set out to do.
OT: I may be late again to discover something that this well-informed bunch
have already discovered... but anyway. After I recently saw a Tinariwen
session made by Swedish TV, I orded a couple of records by those north African
nomads. I think it's safe to say that if you like Tom Verlaine's monotonous
side (or if you like Kraut), then you'll like Tinariwen too, especially since
the lead guitarist seems to play a chrystal-clear Fender. These Arabs really
know how to put on a good repetitive groove.
Leif J, Sweden


> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:29:22 -0700
> From: pobbard@yahoo.com
> Subject: Re: (TV) Tom Verlaine and drummers
> To: tv@obbard.com
>
> To be fair, the 1980s were not kind to human drummers in terms of
> engineering/production, either.
>
> --Phil
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Bob Beatty <bobjb2002@yahoo.ca>
> To: "tv@obbard.com" <tv@obbard.com>
> Sent: Sunday, June 16, 2013 1:43 PM
> Subject: Re: (TV) Tom Verlaine and
> drummers
>
>
> Agree. I too miss hearing Ficca's drumming on Tom's solo albums.
> When Tom's
> first solo album came out I recall how plain vanilla boring &
> disappointing
> the drums, by Jay Dee & others, sounded compared to Television.
> To my ears,
> Ficca's drumming contributed a lot to the appeal of the band's
> sound. The
> "Cover" solo album I believe was all drum machine. I read some
> review of it
> where the reviewer disparaged  "the dreaded beat box" on it. It's
> one my fave
> Tom albums just 'cause it has so many first rate songs, imo - even
> if it could
> have been improved had Tom invited Billy to play on it.
> ________________________________
> From: Keith Allison <keith@thewonder.co.uk>
> To: tv@obbard.com
> Sent: Sunday, June 16, 2013 9:04:44 AM
> Subject: (TV) Tom
> Verlaine and drummers
>
>
> Does anyone else ever feel that Verlaine's '80's
> albums might have
> sounded "better" (whatever that means) with a different
> drummer (say,
> Ficca) in the band?
> I'm thinking of Richard's recent interview
> comment along the lines of,
> "If you listen to Tom's albums, ...could have
> been a drum machine!" Jay
> Dee D. is a great /driving/ live drummer, but quite
> an 'anonymous' one
> and I don't enjoy his playing as much as Ficca's, or
> Mitchell
> behind/around Hendrix.
>
> I'm listening to 'Prove It' as I write this
> and I love the way Ficca's
> drumming in that song is always on the spot but
> always busy enough to be
> interesting.
>
> I guess we'll never find out unless
> the new incarnation of Television
> should play some Verlaine solo songs.
>
> --
> -----------------------------------------------
> http://www.thewonder.co.uk/
> "The Wonder - Tom Verlaine, Television & Stuff"
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