Guitarist Richard Lloyd, who died at age 75 of bile duct cancer, was treated as punk rock royalty for his work with Tom Verlaine in Television, where they spiked punk’s sneer with art rock’s taste for the avant garde. His melodic but aggressive style was a crucial element of their sound.
After sitting out a good bit of the ’80s overcoming heroin addiction, he spent the first half of the ’90s as a sideman for Matthew Sweet, touring with him and playing lead on about half the songs from the power popster’s trio of ’90s albums.
Lloyd released nine solo albums over the years. The first, “Alchemy,” departed Television’s sound in favor of pop melodies and more commercial form. It failed to sell, but you can hear why he blended so well into Sweet’s power pop. “Misty Eyes” was the LP’s lead track.
“Alchemy” doesn’t lack for winning hooks, but the only single released from the album was “Blue and Grey.”
The songwriting didn’t support him, though – his guitar skills did. Here he is tearing it up on Matthew Sweet’s “Sick of Myself,” live on MTV’s “120 Minutes” in 1995.
