Tom Verlaine-Words From The Front (1982)


 


Artist: Tom Verlaine

Title: Words From The Front

Label: Warner Bros.

Format: LP

Cat:  BSK 3685

Year of Release:1982

Country and Year of Edition: US 1982 Promo

Sell Price: $5.99 VG+/VG+ 1/29/23

Discogs Last Sold: 1/30/23 VG+/VG $9.00

Low:$3.80

Median: $8.00

Average: $9.95

High: $25.00

Current low price: $4.00 G/G

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 23

Have/Want: 920/93

Where Sold: Baltimore, MD

Time it took to sell:  8 years

Where and When Purchased: Boston early aughts $1.99 sticker still on it

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B+

Sad To See It Go: No

The grim reaper is perhaps one of the greatest salesmen of music.  I lazily forgot I had this as more expensive copies were snapped up after mine.  I bought this promo at Nuggets in Boston in the early aughts at a half price sale, so I think this was really a dollar find.  

Most of Verlaine's solo career didn't stick with me with the exception of Warm and Cool, the instrumental album that came out when I was interning at Rykodisc.  I saw him open solo for Sonic Youth in New York not too many years after that one.  The 3rd Television album and the show I saw were my favorites of the post-classic 70's era.  That said, this album is pretty damn good.

1982 was time for the third solo album after 1978's Adventure started a 15 year break.  Tom still sounds like Tom from Television.  Jimmy Rip (Ripp on this one) is in the band as he was the last time I saw Television without Richard Lloyd opening for Arcade Fire in 2014 and also Central Park a few years before that.  On this record, Fred Smith and Lene Lovich make cameos on bass ("Clear It Away") and vocals ("Postcard From Waterloo") respectively.

For me, the side openers are the best.  "Presents Arrived" and particularly the title track side 2 opener are my favorites.  :Coming Apart" and "Postcard From Waterloo" are good too.  Actually, everything is.  The album closes with an epic "Days On The Mountain."  Only 7 songs so there is really nothing to criticize except maybe an occasional keyboard or Lovich's sax that seems kinda grand on "Days On The Mountain."

It says something that Tom Verlaine was alive when I made the last post asking something to write about.  Next writeup is gonna be Jeff Beck, because the Gwiz, ahem, Grim Reaper is a relentlessly miserable fuck.

This month seems particularly brutal.

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