Album Notes

In 1974, as CBGB was just preparing to open its doors, there were few places for an original band to play in New York (and virtually none in New Jersey). The Electric Circus had closed. The Filmore East had closed. The Mercer Arts Center collapsed. The original Max's Kansas City had been dark for nearly a year. Meanwhile, a band called TV Toy was taking shape in a basement in Dover, New Jersey -- a decaying town in the state's mini-rust-belt just west of Manhattan.

From the liner notes by Michael Townsend:

Back when it was happening I knew I was witnessing authentic rock and roll with a brainy "prog" edge, an ultra-modern post-suburban attitude. But now what I hear is great musicianship mixed with true passion and commitment. It was, and is, heartbreaking that not enough people ever noticed. Maybe this compilation can change that...

Contemporary press notices:

"Deliberately intense, slightly twisted, thinking-man's rock and roll..."
TROUSER PRESS

"American Euro-Men with a natural affinity for electro-mechanical melodrama..."
NEW MUSIC EXPRESS

"Interesting New Jersey deconstruction..."
MELODY MAKER

"These guys are good and they know what they are doing..."
TRASHLAND

"Clean and inventive..."
OP MAGAZINE

"Streamline, dedicated and professional..."
NY ROCKER

"A trio with a refreshing difference..."
VARIETY

"Somewhere in a newly discovered ionosphere..."
DAILY RECORD

"Great songs. Immaculate production. Nice packaging. Quirky lyrics. What more do you want?..."
THE AQUARIAN

"TV TOY is 'a little bit of all of the above'..."
NY DAILY NEWS

"Sufficiently impressed with TV TOY to do a cover of their cover ('For What it's Worth')..."
STEREOLAB

From THE TV TOY CHANNEL at www.raybrazen.com:

"Starting with their legendary first session at the studios of the world-famous Vanguard Records, touching upon each of the band's four unforgettable singles, and sealing the deal with several highlights from their iconoclastic performances at their live alma mater, the Showplace in Dover, New Jersey, this disc makes a truly convincing argument that this unfairly overlooked band should rightfully be considered legendary. As the
long-awaited release of this disc should surely hope to prove, it's not too late to acknowledge that fact. For here was a band whose sound was truly original, a sound that was of its time yet utterly timeless. Few bands could cite both Be Bop Deluxe and the Ramones as influences; fewer still could successfully marry the energy and musical sensibilities of both bands. TV
Toy excelled in doing that, and a whole lot more."

[note: Hilly Kristal's history of CBGB was a valuable source of information on the NY club scene in 1974: www.cbgb.com/history1.htm ]