Tom Verlaine
(Collector's Choice)
Tom Verlaine's two Warner Brothers albums are a study in his contrasting inclinations. Dreamtime, from 1981, came two years after his self-titled solo debut, and continues to explore taut combo guitar interplay. While lacking the audacious surprise that Television's Marquee Moon debut was, it is the concise nature of Dreamtime's songs and the directness of the sound and arrangements that makes this such an enduring work. When production flourishes do appear, they're head-turning (such as the piano blossoming at the end of "Penetration"). Slashing and angular at times, many of the songs sound like they'd have been hits in a smarter, braver world.
1982's Words From The Front suffers only by comparison, primarily by dint of its smaller, more condensed sound. It favors longer songs, with more oblique identities. Still a feast of guitars, aspects of the music were now pointing the way towards his instrumental and ethereal Warm and Cool a decade later.
Standout Tracks: "There's A Reason" (Dreamtime); "Present Arrived" (Words From The Front) DAVID GREENBERGER
