The Television "Friction" Controversy...An Examination

Television's debut LP Marquee Moon is a masterpiece, and I love the song "Friction" (as well as the other tracks), but when playing the new Rhino Hi-Fidelity LP, I noticed something was missing!
Special thanks to Mazzy for checking out his OG copy for me. You can view his videos here: / @mazzysmusic
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I do not own the music excerpts played in this video. Sound samples are for comparison and research only. This video has been de-monetized.

[@megaterius]

That's the sound of poor digital decoding of the high frequencies that you can hear on the other LPs. At some point in the digital transfer the guitar feedback at the end of the track became an aliasing/low bitrate sound, similar to a swirling synth. I'll look for known examples of this type of production error.:D

[@johnryan3913]

Well that would not be on the original analog copy. And isn't.

[@mazzysmusic]

Are you talking about that little whirling sound at the very take end of the track? Don’t think there a synth in the studio there, but maybe it was some sort of audio artifact with the digital mastering ? Hmmm strange. Fun though 😎😵‍💫

[@usquebaugh1]

First time hearing this and I agree; as someone who did a lot of CD burning and DAW multi-track recording (and troubleshooting) through the late 90s into the aughts, this sounds to me like a digital artifact / glitch / error that snuck through.

[@aleccumming4436]

I was thinking the same - it doesn't sound like a planned choice by the band that is not audible in any version *other* than the CD one. There must've been a digital glitch when the CD version was created or printed.

[@highrantdistrict]

Bill, I've only got an OG vinyl, 1977, Elektra green label with the butterfly and that little "synth" sound present on your CD version is not on my vinyl version. Man, you've got an ear for detail! Cheers, Tom

[@billybremner5967]

Very interesting, I'd never noticed this. I checked out Amazon music and there are two versions of the album, although there's no info regarding which is which. However, one definitely has the synth (?) sound at the end of Friction and the other doesn't. The version of the album without the synth also sounds slightly better so I assume this is the 2012 Rhino version.

[@saintbrando]

Excuse my ignorance when I say I’ve never heard of this band, and I’m very familiar with classic rock and most bands from the 70s… I am familiar with Tom Verlaine and because of you I’m listening to this album right now and it’s really really good. I thank you for this.

[@Jonny_C73]

Well, I just checked out what they had on Spotify, and it’s definitely there. I’m guessing someone grabbed the wrong tape to create the CD way back when.

[@rixvspinner]

I got the Rhino Hi Fi Marquee Moon ordered from Warner Music Canada. Their shipping package was great, no damage to the record jacket. The vinyl is mint, no non fill or warp; nice Optimal Germany pressing. I have the OG of Marquee Moon to compare and I think Kevin made some improvements that make it more listenable overall. He removed some of the upper mid vocal shrill, with Tom's voice prominent in the mix as close to the original. Andy John's mixed this album but I think Tom made most of the choices in the mixing. Kevin also slightly trimmed the upper freq harshness and his all tube signal path from the console to the cutting lathe is evident to my ears. Fred Smith's bass sound a bit tighter with more detail. I have owned tube preamps in the past and find at east a tube front end only improves the sound. This is yet another really good Kevin Gray reissue. What a classic album that I bought the week it came out. TV was over shadowed by Elektra label mates, Queen and others- so many great albums came out in 1977

[@scottboundy1739]

It's just a bad digital transfer on the CD. It's not a synth

[@Donyourmom]

It’s not though

[@JWD1992]

Woah, never heard this ending before!

[@Vince_Tasciotti]

I only hear a synth at the end of the CD version. What I think I hear on both LPs is a guitar note rising and fading with the drum fill ending.

[@johnryan3913]

Agree 👍🏼

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

That might be aliasing!

[@dbronx347]

Good catch. I didn't even noticed. I have a 2002 CD reissue and the synth is there. On my Rhino HiFi, its not there. I don't have any other vinyl reissues to check.

[@johnryan3913]

Those 2002 remasters are imo terrific. CDs at their peak.

[@SupraWes]

Sounds like an error in the mastering process on the CD. I have the 2003 Elektra CD with bonus tracks that includes an alternate version of Friction and neither the album track or the alternate version have the synth.

[@donyoung7874]

I have a copy of a red label Electra version that I think I picked up in England around 1987. The back cover has "Made in Germany by WEA Musik GmbH". Andy Johns and Jim Boyer are listed as Engineers, Mixed by Andy Johns, with Mastering done by Greg Calbi. My copy does not have the synth part at the end. No one is credited with playing the synth, but the bottom left corner of the back cover has Tom credited for keyboards (no songs specifically), then guitar solo credits for Tom and Richard on the songs they played lead on.

[@BillsBoxOfSound]

Yep. A synthesizer would qualify as a keyboard, and I hear piano and organ parts elsewhere on the album.

[@rixvspinner]

I have Greg Calbi's mastered and cut Zeppelin II. He used RL's notes in addition to his choices, it sounds excellent.

[@tomeisenmenger6475]

"Friction" is my favorite track on what is one of my top-10 albums. I purchased my copy of MM when it came out in 1977. I NEVER heard a synth on that track at all. What you claim to be a synth on that CD sounds more like some tape noise/artifacts to me.

[@janistransbian]

i'm listening to john and yoko right now.

[@johnryan3913]

What specifically? Life With the Lions? Haha haha ah ha oh jeez. No really. I like Yoko's Fly.

[@festersuncle6298]

Digital noise..,...?

[@RichardRound-og7wr]

It's not on my UK vinyl which I purchased in the early '80s. Could be a digital mastering flaw. But it sounds like a worn or stretched tape to me. I used to play around with reel-to-reel tapes and I remember when a reel had been rewound and fast-forwarded too many times, I'd get a whistling sound like that. Cheap cassettes would do the same thing. The sound came off the tape, not the machine. Maybe the CD was mastered from such a tape. The 2003 remaster and the audiophile vinyl cuts would be taken from tapes in better condition. BTW I really enjoyed your video. It sent me back to Marquee Moon and made me realize I need a new copy. My old UK copy either has sibilance baked into it or was damaged by a poor quality stylus back in the day. I might go for the Bellman or the Gray.

[@kenrogers1948]

I disagree on the sound being a synth... but not certain what it is... my first thought was a Leslie rotating speaker cabinet with some high/mid feedback, so I went looking for proof that they used one when recording... Richard Lloyd interview tells of the band wanting a Leslie in the studio at the time but, not getting one and their producer trying to mimic one by twirling an open mic on a cord, sort of like a cowboy... could be... here's the quote (from part 8. Recording Marquee Moon) "So, for example, on “Elevation,” that guitar solo is me playing twice, double tracked verbatim, except for at the very end: you can hear it separate slightly in the last bar as I go off. We wanted to rent a rotating speaker to get the sound for that track, but the rental people wanted way too much. So Andy came up with an idea. He took a microphone, and while I did the guitar solo to “Elevation,” he stood in front of me in the studio, swinging this microphone around his head like a lasso. He nearly took my fucking nose off. I was backing up while I was playing.".... and the link... damienlove.com/writing/friction-the-making-of-televisions-marquee-moon/

[@skoolbus]

I just listened to the 2003 CD and I don't hear it there.

[@vinylrichie007]

I didn’t buy Marquee Moon until a couple of years ago.

[@gregorytu100]

Sounds like digital phasing !

[@RoninKurosawa]

It's not on the Apple Music lossless stream. Instead, you can hear a split second of what sounds like a post-take chuckle by either Lloyd or Verlaine. That's not on the Spotify stream.

[@johnryan3913]

The CD from 2004 or so is excellent, with bonus material. I have the original 1977 LP as well. Don't recall a synth in the coda. Just guitar feedback. Love Adventure and the third album and the Rhino Handmade live set is quite spectacular as well. Really, don't think it is a synthesizer. Oh most of Verlaines solo stuff is excellent. Dreamtime (1981) and Flashlight (1987,) are favorites. And Richard's 1979 Alchemy! See you again!

[@guidoroemer81]

I've tried this out. No synth on my 1977 vinyl original pressing. Yes synth on original pressing cd, synth also on Spotify stream.

[@JeffersonDD]

Nice Oppo! I’ll need to check my rips for the synthesizer.

[@michaelpdawson]

That is weird!!!

[@ozsaint2112]

Could only hear something different on the CD version you played - but may be that is KZbin poor sound quality.

[@BillsBoxOfSound]

I would not have kept the video up if the sound on the video was not what I wanted to illustrate. Only the CD has the synth on it. Thanks for your concern, though!

[@dixielandfarm]

In my top ten, and definitely one of the best side 1s ever. I have the Bellman vinyl (and used to have an original that I should have never sold). I listened to that cd WAY more with the synth noise and the way I know it as well.

[@Dogan1960]

Hot damn! I never noticed this before. The squiggly little oscillator sound at the end of the ‘80s CD version sounds intentional- the 2003 Rhino CD reissue has ‘alternate takes’ which are more or less different arrangements of songs with basically the same backing tracks. I would guess that the squiggly bit is in the mix somewhere but discarded for the final release. It’s not present in either takes of the 2003 reissue or the 1978 vinyl copy I purchased back in the day. So it appears some uncredited remastering engineer decided to take some liberties back in the ‘80s and now I’m glad I hung on to my copy!

[@revelry1969]

Hmm. I have never heard that synthesizer before. Interesting . I wonder if that was some CD mastering. Interetsing