I absolutely loved everything about this series and am so sad it was only one season. In my opinion, it was a work of art. The acting was superb, the story engaging and edgy, and the music was breathtaking. Clearly a labor of love by the creators. I recommend that you ignore the hateful reviews and try it for yourself. Just watched it in 2017 and loved every minute of the story.

Some people here imply that good reviews on IMDb are paid critiques. Well I hope somebody paid me to write TV shows reviews, but it is not the case.I liked this show a lot and I regret that HBO has decided to kill it after a great first season.Many people complain of a clichéd depiction of the rock and roll 70s, with all the drugs, the sex, the deals and rising stars. Clichés come up in the first place because they represent an established perception or behavior, so if you set the action right at the time when those behaviors were taking shape, you can't really find fault at this. It is as if you watched a movie about the Belle Epoque and you complained that women look like flappers. It's simply not fair.I also find negative reviews are quite contradictory. While some say they have been bored, others point that the frantic atmosphere is excessive or that there are many parallel plot lines.I get the feeling that just because many people (myself included) lived through that period, they all consider they own the "real truth" about rock-and-roll and the 70s, and so they tend to measure up the show against their own memories or experiences, and they suppose the series should have reflected their subjective imprint about the time and the culture. This is also not fair.I liked the show quite much. The talented and experienced people who set their hands on the show did a fantastic job, the music, story, characters and performances were above standard from every point of view.Also, the cast was magnificent, particularly Bobby Cannavale whose performative skills I have come to appreciate, having seen him on Nurse Jackie and Boardwalk Empire. He is an extraordinary actor who filled the role and even offered more.If you are open-minded and fair, if you trust on the great team involved in The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire and other outstanding shows, please give this a try. Yes, there are drugs, sex, rock and roll, and excess everywhere, and the embrionary stages of the recording label industry which, in later years, would destroy the music we loved. It is, precisely, the whole point of the show. And it is wonderfully well portrayed.

In search of something to watch, I visited our local video store and spotted on the new-release shelf a DVD titled: Vinyl. It was the first two-episodes disc of a series highlighting the 1970's Big Apple music scene. The jacket blurb had it as an HBO network output and the names of Martin Scorcese and Mick Jagger as influential contributors in its production. Wow! You can't miss with those powerhouses---HBO, Jagger, Scorcese. Wrong! As I ran the disc through the first hour and a half, I stopped it. There was some difficulty with following the time line of the main characters and their roles; also the drug use, the foul language, the swaggering arrogance of the leads was ridiculous. As if, we the viewers are to be impressed by this overt and heavy handed portrayal of the 70's music scene. It fell short of my expectations. The good points were the cinematography and the music. But I could have gotten the same for free from other sources on the television. I never finished the viewing...

Let's be clear. This show is NOT an attempt in social realism. Nor, is it trying to present the viewer with an accurately documented history of the biggest rock stars of the 70's or actual industry insiders. What it does do, is take an interesting idea, create fictional characters and look at how they behave and react against each other, while referencing real performers from the period. Vinyl is no more of an attempt to convince its audience that what it portrays really happened than say House of Cards is in presenting a factually accurate representation of a US President or the American political system. Once you accept that, you can sit back and enjoy the real story. It is the story of a 'record man', Richie, and his conflicts, his demons, his dreams, his selfishness and his inability to seemingly make any good choices. The characters, like the clothes from the period are flamboyant and loud and colourful. Clichéd? Sometimes yes, and that is partly why it does work. This is not straight a rock 'n roll drama, how could it be with so many interwoven scenes where 'stream of consciousness' musical performances suddenly interrupt the plot? There is plenty of humour here too - perhaps a nod from the creators that they don't take it all too seriously. There is also some subtle and clever historical references (no spoilers), such as a throwaway comment about a food buffet while Mamma Cass is in a background scene, and a scene following a Vegas performance where a clearly unwell but pre-heart attack Elvis rubs at his left arm. It does not really matter that the rock stars portrayed do not mirror their real life counterparts as some reviewers on here seem to get upset about. They are incidental to the overall story and if the creators of this show had focused on that then this would have been a story about the greats of the 1970's music scene. Instead, we have something better, a fictionalised story that is set amidst the 1970's music scene. And it is a great story with good characters, over the top stories and excellent performances.