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[Cornballer]

- Sepinwall's review

Through five episodes, there's an awful lot of excess in Vinyl, which perhaps makes sense for a show involving two icons of '70s rock in Jagger and Scorsese. But all of Richie's searching for the next idea, and all of the scenes involving the Nasty Bits or other rising forms of music, suggest a show that really wishes it could strip away all the glam and all the tropes and just do something simple and raw and powerful. With the talent involved, I'd love to see the punk rock version of Vinyl. As it is, this classic rock double album approach roars to life just often enough to work despite itself.

 

[Cornballer]

- Deadline review

With its once-in-a-lifetime behind-the-camera trio and power chord-strong cast led by Boardwalk Empire alum Bobby Cannavale as struggling and stormy label boss Richie Finestra, Vinyl is a near note-perfect swaggering re-creation of a time when the misfit-attracting music biz was at the center of American culture and at its most influential.

Still, it is also a fine ensemble story about bad choices and trying to smooth off the rough edges and nasty bits to find a comfortable moral middle ground. In a tale full of skin, sex, coke, violence, dirty deals and dirtier money, there’s stellar support from Ray Romano, who seems decades away from Everyone Loves Raymond as a duplicitous, coke-hoovering record promotions man; breakouts from Juno Temple and James Jagger; and another knock-it-out of the park performance from Andrew Dice Clay, as a radio exec with monster appetites.

- SF Chronicle review:

Vinyl is often mordantly funny and some of the most weirdly humorous moments are also among the series’ most violent, “a bit of the old ultraviolence,” to cite “A Clockwork Orange.” And like that Stanley Kubrick masterpiece, a defining film of the 1970s, “Vinyl” uses humor not to counterbalance the violence, but, in a carefully calculated way, to enhance it.

The performances are masterful on every level, beginning with Cannavale’s Richie Finestra, who is only occasionally capable of keeping his inner turmoil of rage, ambition and fear of failure from exploding to the surface. With his performance, Cannavale vaults to the top of the list of Emmy candidates.

 

[Cornballer]

- Olivia Wilde on Colbert last night (youtube)
- Rolling Stone: How 'Vinyl' Star Bobby Cannavale Won Over Mick Jagger

 

[Cornballer]

- Newsweek: Ray Romano Talks Vinyl and Regrettable '70s Fashion
- Washington Post review

If the point is to spare no expense in attempting to make a flawless, fascinating premium cable narrative about a set of people — mostly men with enormous egos — who have extreme and often criminal problems in a glamorous period setting, then this is precisely what HBO has accomplished — again. For all the thunder stolen lately by Netflix, Showtime, FX, Amazon and other comers, there’s still nothing quite as sensory and satisfying as when HBO brings out all its firepower.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

- Sepinwall's review

But for all that Richie is obsessed with finding something new and exciting — "I WANT WHAT'S NEXT!" he screams to his terrified A&R reps — Vinyl feels less like the next step in TV drama's evolution than a greatest hits collection. Richie Finestra wants to expose something new to the world when the show he's at the center of is more of a dinosaur rock album. It's capable of great moments but through its first five episodes, it's playing variations on tunes you already know by heart.

This seems to be par for the course these days for HBO and Showtime, unfortunately.

 

[Cornballer]

This seems to be par for the course these days for HBO and Showtime, unfortunately.

Overall, the reviews are positive, but the complaints from various critics revolve around this show being exactly what you'd expect from HBO based on their output for the last few years.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Looks like every other HBO series these days.

 

[Cornballer]

- Rolling Stone Video Series about 1973: Relive the Gritty Glory of CBGB

Nile Rodgers, rock journalist Legs McNeil and more recall the birth of punk and the gritty, gross glory of CBGB in the first installment of 1973: Shaping the Culture, a new video series from Rolling Stone, presented by HBO's new show Vinyl.

 

[Cornballer]

- Huffington Post interview: Terence Winter, Violent Chaos and HBO's Vinyl: This, Gentlemen, Is Rock 'n Roll

 

[Cornballer]

- James Jagger on punk, ‘Vinyl’, the Stones

 

[Kaladin]

The theme song is boss.

Sturgill Simpson - Sugar Daddy

It's not the sound you usually get from Sturgill...and it's a return to electric guitar for him.

 

[Cornballer]

- Warming Glow review:

These two hours, at least, are filled with memorable moments and the promise of more to come. It’s exciting just to see Scorsese’s cameras moving once again through the streets of ’70s New York, with its grit and its sense of danger. When Jamie walks through a subway station without a graffiti-free inch, its sign serves as a punchline: Times Square. And there are moments here as striking as anything he’s ever filmed, particularly the New York Dolls bookend sequences. To see the Dolls in New York in the ’70s is a classic rock-and-roll you-had-to-be-there moment. Scorsese makes it feel like we are. If the series can keep that going, and maintain the danger and immediacy of that bygone era and making it feel like it could easily swallow up those who live in it, it should be a thrill to watch. And a thrill to hear.

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club review

If ever an actor, a writer, and a director were destined to work together, it’s Cannavale, Winter, and Scorsese, and Cannavale’s all-consuming intensity shows the collaboration’s explosive potential. They’re clearly like-minded artists, and watching Vinyl is like hearing them drunkenly repeat stories Jagger told them at a stag party. But that’s precisely why Vinyl feels narratively hemmed in by its nostalgia. Boardwalk Empire took a more layered view of the Prohibition ’20s, whereas Vinyl’s main takeaway is that everything used to be cooler, sexier, and more fun. That message will resonate for some, and strike others as a sermon about the redemptive power of rock delivered directly to the choir.

Grade: B+

 

[Cornballer]

More reviews:

Mr. Cannavale’s performance reaches the heights of magnificence. There’s much more that’s stellar both in the cast--Olivia Wilde is outstanding as Devon, Richie’s hopelessly loving wife--and in the writing.... For its creators and its fine cast, this exuberant, hard-eyed and altogether wonderful evocation of an era gone by seems also to have worked out as planned.

The best parts of the occasionally overwrought Vinyl depict the whirlwind of hustling required to keep American Century solvent and relevant, with funky, sometimes funny subplots.

Vinyl, the greatly anticipated HBO series about the record industry in 1970s New York, is ambitious, riveting, brilliant, addictive, kaleidoscopic, gonzo, cartoonish, kitschy, obvious, indulgent, awkward, and bloated.

The show is as expertly shot and acted as its pedigree would suggest, with each episode serving up a few scenes of frightening tension. But the overarching plot of a man trying to rediscover purity in a corrupt world is not a complication of the already over-documented milieu Vinyl exists in. It is exactly the story rock has told about itself time and again, and not a ton is gained in the retelling here.

 

[Cornballer]

- Deadline: ‘Vinyl’s Terence Winter Talks Mick Jagger, Season 2 Plans, Olivia Wilde & Scorsese

 

[Jonm1010]

Seems like this is another HBO show with some high ambitions but once again falling short of expectations. Kinda like Boardwalk Empire TBH.

I keep waiting for that next great HBO drama but I am wondering if it will actually ever come?

Seems HBO is more obsessed with collecting Hollywood elite pet side projects then actually finding some truly great dramas.

 

[Cornballer]

Series premiere tonight:

Pilot

Spoiler

Richie Finestra considers selling his struggling record company; Richie takes a detour to an unplanned reunion with Lester Grimes; Richie orders his A&R department to find new acts; Richie jeopardizes his relationships with his wife and children.

The two hour episode was directed by Martin Scorsese.

 

[Linius]

Seems like this is another HBO show with some high ambitions but once again falling short of expectations. Kinda like Boardwalk Empire TBH.

Talking about falling short and naming Boardwalk as an example doesn't add up.

 

[Jonm1010]

Talking about falling short and naming Boardwalk as an example doesn't add up.

Boardwalk never hit the level it was setting out to hit. It was meant to be the next great HBO drama. A flagship drama that would swallow up awards and put HBO back in the discussion as having the best drama on TV.

It was solid for what it was. I wouldn't call it great though.

I think that is reserved for the Deadwood's, The Wire's and Sopranos of the HBO family.

Boardwalk never reached that and sustained it IMO.

EDIT: Also, I mentioned Boardwalk because it was Winter's last show and based on critical reception seem to be meeting a similar reception.

 

[lamaroo]

Holy fuck this starts tonight?

Boardwalk was uneven imo, but had some stellar episodes and performances. It's a shame Jack Huston never got any mainstream recognition for that role.

 

[Phinor]

Would you call Boardwalk "great"? It was well made and had some good performances, but I don't think it ever transcended greatness.

I don't think it's unfair to say a lot of people agree with that. It had all the ingredients and it was good, at times even great, but with all it had going for it, it should have been a masterpiece. For many people it fell below very high expectations but it remained a good show they watched every week anyway.

I've a feeling VInyl will be the same. Regardless, I'm all in.

 

[PushTheButtonMax]

Six minutes.

 

[KingKong]

Its shocking how dull and bland Boardwalk was and honestly I don't have a lot of expectations for a bunch of old men trying to recapture the 70s

 

[JABEE]

Every reviewer must use the words punk, glam, raw and compare the show to the history of the musical sub-genres featured on the show.

 

[UltimaPooh]

This was fucking awesome. Loved it.

Boardwalk was good but this is the best... Mostly because it has a Wolf of Wall Street stint to it... It doesn't take itself too seriously.

 

[Cornballer]

- Sepinwall: Did all the mayhem at the end of the 'Vinyl' pilot really happen?

Terence Winter on the blurring of history and fiction in the episode's climax

 

[Cornballer]

HBO vids:
- Liner Notes - Glam Rock
- Inside the Episode
- Weeks Ahead Trailer
- Promo for episode 2

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club review

 

[RDreamer]

Just finished and I thought it was pretty solid. A bit slow at times, but I think that's to be expected from a 2 hour setup episode. I'm pretty decently invested now and want to know where it goes. Really well directed, as expected. The acting was pretty great, too, all around.

The ending was a bit iffy, though, I'll say that.

 

[robotrock]

Oh god, this premiered tonight? For some reason I thought it would start with Girls next Sunday. Gotta check it out.

 

[PushTheButtonMax]

Loved the representations of different music genres and how they were injected throughout the episode. Musical porn.

I have to say, I did not expect a murder plot at all. That really took me by surprise for some reason.

Also HBO Now is a fucking nightmare whether I'm using the web version or the app on my tablet. Buffering every ten minutes.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Still watching but Dice is def the standout here so far. Also wtf were they thinking with that Plant casting? Kinda looks like him, but voice and cadence is totally off.

Spoiler

goodbye Dice lol, hardly knew ye

 

[NYR]

Don't think this one makes it, show was pretty boring for the first hour.

 

[zeeaykay]

Gotta say I was pretty disappointed. Felt a bit cold and forced to me, especially since it was about music that makes you feel something.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Overall pretty average, was expecting something with a bit more grit to it for all the press was hyping that aspect. I dunno Cannavalle is good but I don't think he's really compelling enough here as a lead.

 

[Vanillalite]

I loved it.

I thought that the initial trailers sucked ass too.

It helped that they seemed to try and fully capture the early 70s vs honing in on a particular genre or period piece of music.

 

[Sean C]

At times this feels like Mad Men on drugs -- less subtlety, more in-your-face attitude. I like the music industry insider stuff; the murder plot feels like something from a much pulpier show. But I guess we'll see; I'll stick with it for a bit to see how it develops. I do feel a bit exhausted with anithero dramas about middle-aged white guys, though.

Man, 70s New York was disgusting.

 

[Turin]

That was cool. Not super into the premise but I can dig this.

 

[Schattenjäger]

This premier was amazing


Awesome and addictive

Hope it lasts

 

[Steelyuhas]

I was surprised at how little narrative ground it covered given the near 2 hour run time, but there's interesting narrative threads being set up, and the "weeks ahead" trailer at the end looked promising.

Andrew Dice Clay was brilliant, what a great performance.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

I was surprised at how little narrative ground it covered given the near 2 hour run time, but there's interesting narrative threads being set up, and the "weeks ahead" trailer at the end looked promising.

Andrew Dice Clay was brilliant, what a great performance.

Spoiler

They really should have kept him around longer, dude put everyone else to shame.

I agree with the covering ground part, seemed way lighter on shit happening for a pilot than I was expecting, was hoping for some Goodfellas/Wolf of Wall Street narrative density, but obv that would've ballooned the budget. But shiet with Scorcese and Jagger's coffers they prob could've pulled it off.

 

[Haxan]

I liked the pilot, but I'm heavily invested in the subject matter, so it's difficult to judge the show with any objectivity. With that said, my big negative sticking point is that I don't like Bobby Cannavale, which could be a big problem. He doesn't project much of a personality in anything he does, but this role seems to have a certain ennui that might be served by that quality/lack of quality.

Will tune in next week.

 

[TheOddOne]

- Vulture: That Huge Building Collapse on HBO’s Vinyl? True Story. Mostly.

 

[Vanillalite]

I was surprised at how little narrative ground it covered given the near 2 hour run time, but there's interesting narrative threads being set up, and the "weeks ahead" trailer at the end looked promising.

Andrew Dice Clay was brilliant, what a great performance.

Yeah it set out a ton of different sub threads to be followed up upon as we go down this series.

 

[Linius]

Really liked the pilot, down for more. As expected.

 

[dead souls]

Another swing and a miss for HBO.

It's Boardwalk Empire 2.0. Once again Winter takes a decent cast, an obviously high budget, and a setting that interests me and turns into a dull bore. Just prestige drama cliche after cliche after cliche. Embarrassing for HBO. Maybe someday they'll have a drama worth getting excited over again, but this isn't it.

 

[Ryce]

Another swing and a miss for HBO.

It's Boardwalk Empire 2.0. Once again Winter takes a decent cast, an obviously high budget, and a setting that interests me and turns into a dull bore. Just prestige drama cliche after cliche after cliche. Embarrassing for HBO. Maybe someday they'll have a drama worth getting excited over again, but this isn't it.

Boardwalk Empire was fantastic.

 

[the_firewithin]

i was expecting the building to be a dream / epiphany from the coke.

then he got up lol

 

[dead souls]

Boardwalk Empire was fantastic.

As a cure for insomnia? Sure. As a top notch prestige cable drama? Not a chance.

 

[jett]

That was...kinda bad, I guess? Seemed really unfocused and not at all something that should've lasted two hours.