Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese light up HBO with ‘Vinyl’

By Kyla Brewer TV Media

I t’s only rock ‘n’ roll, but he likes it. In the 1970s, The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was one of the most recognizable and influential figures in the music industry, rubbing elbows with other icons of the day. So who better to consult for a TV series about the hedonistic era?

Jagger serves as an executive producer for HBO’s much-talkedabout new series “Vinyl,” which premieres Sunday, Feb. 14. Set in 1973, the gritty drama created by Terence Winter (“The Sopranos,” “Boardwalk Empire”) stars Bobby Cannavale (“Boardwalk Empire”) as Richie Finestra, the founder of a record company on the brink of collapse.

In the debut episode, Finestra experiences a personal crisis after a meeting with a German company interested in buying his American Century Records label goes awry. As he sets out to revive his business and rediscover his love of rock ‘n’ roll, he has an epiphany of sorts about the kind of music he’s after.

“It’s fast, it’s dirty, it smashes you over the head — that’s rock ‘n’ roll,” states Cannavale’s Finestra in a promo for the series.

“Vinyl” has created a lot of buzz, and not just because of Jagger. Academy Award-winning director and Hollywood heavyweight Martin Scorsese (“The Departed,” 2006) is also linked to the project as both an executive producer and director of the show’s cinematic two-hour premiere.

The two men worked together on the 2008 documentary “Shine a Light” about The Rolling Stones, during which he and Jagger discussed the singer’s idea for a film about the music industry, an idea that had been years in the making for Jagger.

“Vinyl,” however, isn’t biographical. At the Jan. 15 premiere of the series in New York, Jagger told the U.K.’s Daily Mail MailOnline: “It’s a fictional series, but, of course, there’s an amalgam of people that I knew, characters that existed — we took a lot of real characters, made amalgams of them, mixed them all up and came out with the ones we did.”

Real-life early punk rock group New York Dolls factors heavily in the premiere as Finestra discovers their unique sound when he wanders into the Mercer Arts Center.

Noah Bean appears as David Bowie in episode 6, which has a memorial card at the end to honor the late singer and friend of Jagger’s. Other artists rumored to be represented in the series include Lou Reed, Elvis Presley and John Lennon.

Real and fictional, it’s quite a cast of characters. In addition to Emmy winner Cannavale as Finestra, the period drama stars stunner Olivia Wilde (“House”) as Richie’s wife, Devon, a former model and actress who was once a part of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene. Emmy winner Ray Romano (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) makes a departure from comedy as Zak Yankovich, a partner at American Century who works in Finestra’s shadow. Ato Essandoh (“Elementary”) plays Lester Grimes, a former singer who has a history with Finestra.

None other than Mick Jagger’s son, James Jagger (“Sex & Drugs &

Rock & Roll,” 2010), plays Kip Stevens, lead singer of cutting edge band The Nasty Bits scouted by ambitious A&R assistant Jamie Vine (Juno Temple, “Atonement,” 2007), while Andrew Dice Clay (“Entourage”) appears in a recurring role as Frank “Buck” Rogers, the owner of a chain of radio stations who causes Finestra grief when he threatens to boycott American Century.

Led by Cannavale, the ensemble cast brings to life a cross-section of the 1970s rock ‘n’ roll subculture. Featuring a heady mix of sex, drugs and violence, “Vinyl” is not for the faint of heart, even for fans of the often-controversial HBO. The carefully created sets and lavish costumes give the series a genuine 1970s vibe, and are reminiscent of the movies that defined Scorsese in that same era, such as “Mean Streets” (1973) and “Taxi Driver” (1976). In fact, the director even inserted previously unseen footage from “Taxi Driver” into a scene in which Finestra drives through New York to give it authenticity.

That kind of nostalgia is intoxicating, and few do it better than Scorsese, big screen or small. “Vinyl” has an unmistakable big- screen feel, which makes sense given Scorsese and Jagger initially tried to develop the concept as a film entitled “The Long Play.” Without funding, they switched gears to television and, with Winter’s help, began work on the project’s final iteration.

Scorsese has worked with Winter before. He previously directed the debut episode of Winter’s critically acclaimed “Boardwalk Empire,” which earned a whopping 57 Emmy nominations over the course of its five-season run. (Incidentally, Cannavale won a 2013 Emmy for his role as Gyp Rosetti in that series.) Even coming from HBO, the combination of “Vinyl’s” Jagger, Scorsese, Winter and Cannavale is huge.

The ambitious series is nothing short of a trip back in time that — in Finestra’s words — “[shows] people how rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to make you feel.” Don’t miss a beat — check out “Vinyl” beginning Sunday, Feb. 14, on HBO.

Ato Essandoh as seen in “Vinyl”

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