After being bored by ep 1, I decided to bingewatch it this week and am enjoying it.
I agree that Richie is not exactly someone to root for. I don't care for Devon either but now that she's back in the city, her character may improve.
It's the younger women who are more interesting. The girl who discovered Nasty Bits (who I've also liked in the movie "Afternoon Delight") and Cece, the African American secretary are why I'm continuing to watch. And yes, the music, too. The music of my childhood. "Pillow Talk" was one of the first records I ever purchased.
Hannibal is also enjoyable and it stinks that he may not be on the show anymore. I think of him as a stand in for Sly Stone.
I agree that Richie is not exactly someone to root for. I don't care for Devon either but now that she's back in the city, her character may improve.
It's the younger women who are more interesting. The girl who discovered Nasty Bits (who I've also liked in the movie "Afternoon Delight") and Cece, the African American secretary are why I'm continuing to watch. And yes, the music, too. The music of my childhood. "Pillow Talk" was one of the first records I ever purchased.
Hannibal is also enjoyable and it stinks that he may not be on the show anymore. I think of him as a stand in for Sly Stone.
1
OK, we get it. Ugly era, ugly business, ugly city, ugly clothes, ugly hair, ugly music, with ugly people killing each other to be in charge of it all. We also get that every time Richie does coke, he turns into the Incredible Hulk.
Nothing to see here folks, now move along, move along....
Nothing to see here folks, now move along, move along....
1
I couldn't agree more with the first paragraph. You watch it and after it's over, you wonder what actually happened.
The Nasty Bits subplot was weird. I think (after watching it a few times), that TWO people were fired. First, they had to trim down from 5 to 4, and Richie also hated Duck, the guitarist. The lead singer makes reference to this when saying he barely knew the one guy they let go; but Duck was his friend. Next week, it looks like they audition a guitarist to replace the two let go.
The Nasty Bits subplot was weird. I think (after watching it a few times), that TWO people were fired. First, they had to trim down from 5 to 4, and Richie also hated Duck, the guitarist. The lead singer makes reference to this when saying he barely knew the one guy they let go; but Duck was his friend. Next week, it looks like they audition a guitarist to replace the two let go.
1
Did Julian Fellows write this show? After a great first episode, it's slowed to a Downton Abbey crawl. The pace of the story lines is abysmal. I think the show has so much potential, but it's time to get moving. Will Lady Edith, er Devon, ever find happiness?
It's a train wreck, but I can't not watch.
It's a train wreck, but I can't not watch.
2
A bizarre number of uninteresting plots. Is this show a murder mystery? A rise and fall? Scenes from a decadent marriage?
The appearance of "Andrea" - zzzzz.
I actually hated the scene with Devon and Hannibal, considering it phony baloney. Way too much of this show is bombast.
New York in the 70s was really interesting - a high crime rate, loads of drugs, seedy glamour and everybody hustling. Why this show can't make that interesting is curious.
Someone mentioned that Bobby Cannavale is the problem. Maybe. He's a good actor but the Richie character isn't attractive or sexy or sympathetic or particularly bright. There doesn't seem to be any reason to root for him, and if we don't root for anyone in the show, isn't it a waste? At least there was plenty funny and sexy about Tony Soprano and much of the audience rooted for Walter White - at least for a while.
I may ride this out to the final episode - and I may not.
Absent something incredible happening, I can't imagine watching season 2.
The appearance of "Andrea" - zzzzz.
I actually hated the scene with Devon and Hannibal, considering it phony baloney. Way too much of this show is bombast.
New York in the 70s was really interesting - a high crime rate, loads of drugs, seedy glamour and everybody hustling. Why this show can't make that interesting is curious.
Someone mentioned that Bobby Cannavale is the problem. Maybe. He's a good actor but the Richie character isn't attractive or sexy or sympathetic or particularly bright. There doesn't seem to be any reason to root for him, and if we don't root for anyone in the show, isn't it a waste? At least there was plenty funny and sexy about Tony Soprano and much of the audience rooted for Walter White - at least for a while.
I may ride this out to the final episode - and I may not.
Absent something incredible happening, I can't imagine watching season 2.
4
They still haven't really adequately explained why Richie even decided to end the deal with Polygram. He just lost it on the plane back and changed his mind. I know it was necessary to launch the show; but they could have done it in a much better way.
1
Wizard Fist was awesome. Lots of bands like that popping up at Cons these days. Sadly, they were innovators, but 30 years too early.
I agree with the author that I don't know where the show is going, but I know where I am going--elsewhere! Episodes 2-5 featured just more of the tiresome mainstays of episode 1--slimy execs snorting coke; egomanical music stars snorting coke; the same 70's fashion and hair styles we have seen already; and witless namedropping of 70's bands.
3
The show has the kernel of something really interesting but they're not exploring it enough - Don Draper was the best ad guy in the business. Walter White was a criminal mastermind and genius chemist. Tony Soprano was always outsmarting his rivals. Same with Nucky from Boardwalk. Conversely, Richie is failing miserably. He knows he needs something "new' but has no idea what it is. It's the first show where the hero isn't particularly good at his job. Giving passionate speeches isn't enough. It could be a really interesting angle....
4
Well there is this to be said for a second season.
It can't be as bad as this one.
It's as if it is stuck in it's own false equivalency, "A visionary with an ear!" That's not how vision works!
1,680 people murdered in NYC in 1973, and the coke snorting cops are going to spend how much time and resources on this one, why? BTW, NYC is teetering on bankruptcy (75, Ford "Drop Dead") Puleese!
"He called your house."
"Yeah he was drugged out like mad! He asked me if I knew where he could get more. I told him 'No!'"
"OK, Thanks. We'll just mark this as a drug buy gone wrong. NEXT!"
And what good is a vision if you can't articulate it? The only time he came close was when he said "...fast..." in passing as he was describing what he wanted the A&R dept to find.
On the meta side, this show seems to be Jagger trying to build an excuse for the Stones becoming a Disco act in the '70s! Like it was our fault because we lost our connection to "the intestines" of the rock 'n roll experience. Our fault because we went to Prog Rock (With deep RIPs to Keith Emerson) or Supergroup with Jeff Beck Bogert and Appice. And of course Led Zepplin.
I have bad news for Nasty Bits. Apostasy though it maybe, The Ramones stunk! Sex Pistols, Stunk! PIL, Stunk! As if S +T = P!
And granted, bands were having this same fight. Entwistle and Townshend were constantly battling over "Basic RnR" vs "Rock Opera."
That Mick went Disco is no reason to watch this execrable program. (But I prolly will.)
It can't be as bad as this one.
It's as if it is stuck in it's own false equivalency, "A visionary with an ear!" That's not how vision works!
1,680 people murdered in NYC in 1973, and the coke snorting cops are going to spend how much time and resources on this one, why? BTW, NYC is teetering on bankruptcy (75, Ford "Drop Dead") Puleese!
"He called your house."
"Yeah he was drugged out like mad! He asked me if I knew where he could get more. I told him 'No!'"
"OK, Thanks. We'll just mark this as a drug buy gone wrong. NEXT!"
And what good is a vision if you can't articulate it? The only time he came close was when he said "...fast..." in passing as he was describing what he wanted the A&R dept to find.
On the meta side, this show seems to be Jagger trying to build an excuse for the Stones becoming a Disco act in the '70s! Like it was our fault because we lost our connection to "the intestines" of the rock 'n roll experience. Our fault because we went to Prog Rock (With deep RIPs to Keith Emerson) or Supergroup with Jeff Beck Bogert and Appice. And of course Led Zepplin.
I have bad news for Nasty Bits. Apostasy though it maybe, The Ramones stunk! Sex Pistols, Stunk! PIL, Stunk! As if S +T = P!
And granted, bands were having this same fight. Entwistle and Townshend were constantly battling over "Basic RnR" vs "Rock Opera."
That Mick went Disco is no reason to watch this execrable program. (But I prolly will.)
3
Richie snorting coke is getting very boring and obvious. The cut throat record business story line with spoiled brat artists is obvious. What would help the show is some insight into what makes a band successful. An example would be George Martin's work with the Beatles. But this show focuses too much on the negative stuff. Maybe they can turn the show around. At this point the Richie character will have to die off, go to jail or make a 360 turn around and turn the "Nasty Bits" into a raging success. The later seems too much of a stretch though... I will continue to watch out of curiosity for now...
3
This blend of fictional and historical universe has been distractingly predictable from episode one. Of course the deals with cool real world acts like Led Zeppelin and Alice Cooper go south, and next week I expect something will happen to turn off David Bowie from wanting to work with ACR. I guess the idea to include all that is, "wouldn't it be cool to see _____ make an appearance?" Maybe, but WHY?
3
Wizard Fist rocks!
1
The scene on the waterfront was bad but the scene with Jamie and her mom was worse. Even the parts spoken in English were hard to understand. This show does not need another subplot
5
Worst historical error. Lou Reed began 1973 playing at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, had his biggest hit single with Walk on the Wild Side, and ended with a well-known show at the Academy of Music.
But in Vinyl, he's playing at a dive.
But in Vinyl, he's playing at a dive.
4
I think that was supposed to be Max's Kansas City.
1
That's what I'm talking about! This mix of recognizable figures from our universe, interacting with the made up universe of Richie and American Century is all just for fun, but it comes off corny, and distracts from telling a good story. Ive been trying to just look passed all of it, and just enjoy it as a bit of rock n roll fan-fiction with a big budget.
1
the best part for me was the scene between richie and andie when he reflects back their mutual narcissism and why they couldn't work out as lovers. it was the most insightful interchange of the show....and trust me, i LOVE this series.
5
I have really tried to give this show a chance. Used to be in the music business, not in the 70's, but heard plenty of stories. In a word, the show's awful. In every sense. Over the top acting, horrible writing, and, as the reviewer says, bad but not bad enough to be entertaining (like Empire.)
It's not what I would expect from HBO, but then, HBO's been producing so much dreck lately (with a few notable exceptions: GoT, Togetherness, John Oliver) it doesn't seem like the channel I originally signed up for. And, the new shows coming up that haven't aired yet? YIKES. Got the opportunity to read some pilot scripts and they were just terrible. Amateurish, even. It seems like HBO's now more in the business of doing deals with famous (or quasi-famous) people vs. being an incubator for genuine talent. Sad.
It's not what I would expect from HBO, but then, HBO's been producing so much dreck lately (with a few notable exceptions: GoT, Togetherness, John Oliver) it doesn't seem like the channel I originally signed up for. And, the new shows coming up that haven't aired yet? YIKES. Got the opportunity to read some pilot scripts and they were just terrible. Amateurish, even. It seems like HBO's now more in the business of doing deals with famous (or quasi-famous) people vs. being an incubator for genuine talent. Sad.
4
That "fake band", complete with rock flute, was supposed to be a riff on Jethro Tull, no?
10
that's my guess, too.
3
More like a Tull wannabe
4
I thought the same thing. Coupled with the fact that "Memory Bank" from PASSION PLAY received short shrift from Mr. Finestra makes me wonder if the producers have a thing against Tull.
Although to be fair, Tull didn't explore that type of sound until 1977 with SONGS FROM THE WOOD.
Although to be fair, Tull didn't explore that type of sound until 1977 with SONGS FROM THE WOOD.
3
Finally caught up with watching the first 4 episodes and then tonight's episode, and with reading the recaps and comments.
Although the pilot did drag the first hour, it picked up the second hour with the NYDolls literally bringing down the house. (Loved that dramatic literalization.)
What has made each episode after worth watching is Bobby Cannavale's performance. He has so much personal charisma and high wattage acting that I am compelled to keep watching. (And makes me regret not seeing him onstage.)
I agree with some of the commenters' criticism, but will keep watching for, in addition to BC, the performances of Ray Romano, Juno Temple, Max Casella, and James Jagger. And for the nostalgia of the music of my youth (despite the wildly uneven quality of it). And for the very watchable Olivia Wilde.
However, I'll admit to being surprised that Vinyl has been picked up for a second season. How can they maintain this high octane level of crisis over another season? Both Mad Men and Breaking Bad were more modulated than this series thus far. It's like the show itself is on coke.
Although the pilot did drag the first hour, it picked up the second hour with the NYDolls literally bringing down the house. (Loved that dramatic literalization.)
What has made each episode after worth watching is Bobby Cannavale's performance. He has so much personal charisma and high wattage acting that I am compelled to keep watching. (And makes me regret not seeing him onstage.)
I agree with some of the commenters' criticism, but will keep watching for, in addition to BC, the performances of Ray Romano, Juno Temple, Max Casella, and James Jagger. And for the nostalgia of the music of my youth (despite the wildly uneven quality of it). And for the very watchable Olivia Wilde.
However, I'll admit to being surprised that Vinyl has been picked up for a second season. How can they maintain this high octane level of crisis over another season? Both Mad Men and Breaking Bad were more modulated than this series thus far. It's like the show itself is on coke.
4
An accurate review- this show seems a fantasy written by a guy who wasn't there. How could Jagger approve & Scorsese indulge ?
Cannavale's Richie is a pushed caricature. No one did lines of coke like popping a Xanax.Coke was a party high, not a fix for failure. cannavale is the central flaw in this mess. We don't like or care about him, don't root for him or worry about his company at all.
Juno Temple & Olivia Wilde are the most interersting on screen.
Worst of all- the faux-bands play faux music that lacks any vitality- lower than mediocre. The show comes to life a bit when REAL music is used on the soundtrack--like Pillow Talk.
Cannavale's Richie is a pushed caricature. No one did lines of coke like popping a Xanax.Coke was a party high, not a fix for failure. cannavale is the central flaw in this mess. We don't like or care about him, don't root for him or worry about his company at all.
Juno Temple & Olivia Wilde are the most interersting on screen.
Worst of all- the faux-bands play faux music that lacks any vitality- lower than mediocre. The show comes to life a bit when REAL music is used on the soundtrack--like Pillow Talk.
6
I mostly enjoy a program where the lead character shows something in his character I can admire unless they're a villain and even then, I can get into being interested in where it's going.
But, in the first episode of Vinyl, he beats up a character so badly that he thinks he's killed him and becomes so upset that he did such a thing. Two seconds later, that beat up guy awakens somehow and attacks him again and Cannavale beats him so savagely that this time he actually kills the guy and again feels that remorse about really killing the guy this time. I felt there was nothing about this character I could root for - he is a savage murderer and an idiot.
I turned it off then and never watched another episode.
But, in the first episode of Vinyl, he beats up a character so badly that he thinks he's killed him and becomes so upset that he did such a thing. Two seconds later, that beat up guy awakens somehow and attacks him again and Cannavale beats him so savagely that this time he actually kills the guy and again feels that remorse about really killing the guy this time. I felt there was nothing about this character I could root for - he is a savage murderer and an idiot.
I turned it off then and never watched another episode.
1
Uhhhh... Coke got really ugly fairly fast!
It stopped being about how you felt "on it" to how you felt "off it" that mattered the most.
It stopped being about how you felt "on it" to how you felt "off it" that mattered the most.
1
I was in the NYC record biz then.The coke segments are quite real, although that became more prevalent in record co offices in the mid-later 70s than in '73
5
https://soundcloud.com/wizardfist/agarttha-express