Tom Verlaine

Tom Verlaine made his lifelong reputation in a few years of '70s punk glory with Television; since then, he's taken a leisurely approach to his role as a New York guitar god. His trademark sound is exploring the intricate modulations of his Fender Jazzmaster's upper register, giving his guitar that distinctive lunar quiver, and along with his strangled Richard Widmark voice, it goes with the enigmatically pretty songs Verlaine writes whenever he's in the mood. His first solo album is still his best, dusting off the old Television live staple "Breakin' in My Heart," which features a killer rhythm guitar line from the B-52s' Ricky Wilson. It's an example of how high Verlaine could soar with a little instrumental kick from a real band, although since he was a natural-born control freak, it's a side of his music that he never explored very far.

Dreamtime was a more conventional singer/songwriter album: Verlaine wrote and sang some poetic mid-tempo sketches with a backup rhythm section. Unfortunately, the sound is shrill and thin -- there's no producer credit, and who would want one? -- so even when the songs are pretty great, they sound like badly recorded demos. Words from the Front was mostly filler, despite one magnificent tune that should have been a hit, the sweetly foppish loverboy ballad "Postcard from Waterloo." Cover was so subtle that it disappeared instantly on release, and has stayed disappeared ever since, but in fact, side two is a kick-ass synth-pop suite, with four powerful songs in a row. With touches of Byrne/Eno in the vocals and a light hand at the keyboards, Verlaine blends his distinctive guitar twang into the liquid synth grooves of "Dissolve/Reveal," "Rotation," and "Swim" for his most impressive solo music. The man was born to shimmer, and this music shimmers.

Flash Light returned to guitar-with-backup rockingness, with punchier songs and production than usual. It was a comeback of sorts, earning Verlaine his biggest acclaim in years. But he hasn't made a proper solo album since, even though recent gigs (solo and with the reunited Television) reveal that he hasn't lost a stroke as a lead guitarist. The Wonder and Warm and Cool are dull diddling, while The Miller's Tale is a bungled anthology -- the first disc is a good 1982 live gig, the second a mishmash of solo and Television tracks, apparently selected at random and leaving out almost all of his studio work. Tom Verlaine remains a legendary rock crackpot who, despite his hermetic habits and sketchy work ethic, has managed to record some gorgeously inspired moments. (ROB SHEFFIELD)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide