The Vinyl Dialogues: Stories Behind Memorable Albums of the 1970s as Told by the Artists

This is a fun book to read if you were around when most of these albums were first released, even if you weren't (and perhaps still aren't) a fan of all of them. One of the nicest things about this collection is that the albums Morsch profiles are NOT the usual suspects when Seventies rock is mentioned. I wouldn't have guessed that I'd have gotten caught up in the travails of Brewer and Shipley's release of TARKIO ROAD and the dust-up they had with the White House over their single from that album, "One Toke Over The Line." I even found myself fascinated by the stories of albums by bands I never had any use for, because Morsch has a way with a story. The only profile that fell flat for me was of the Rascals' SEARCH AND NEARNESS, which mostly features Steve Van Zandt going on endlessly about how influential the Rascals were to American music and barely talks about the album at all....probably because there doesn't seem to be a lot to say about it. But that's the only, um, bad note in an otherwise fun book to read. If you're a fan of the period, pick it up..and put on Dr. Hook's SLOPPY SECONDS as the appropriate soundtrack (it's in here)!

This is a fun trip down Memory Lane for Boomers. If you don't remember the 70s, you will likely not appreciate this book. This is not a book about which bands were the greatest or best. It's a nostalgic look about some popular albums. It is not meant to be all inclusive, so for instance, you won't find an Eagles album covered. However, it is extremely diverse. The artists covered range from the Statler brothers to Joe Walsh, and everything in between. I dare you to try to read this book without digging out your old records, or at least searching old songs on Youtube. Each chapter features an interview with one or more members of the group. They talk about how it felt to have a hit, the progress of their career, and what happened in their lives and the lives of other group members. This is not meant to be taken too seriously. The trivia is fun.

Back in the late 60s and early to mid 70s I listened and bought a lot of record albums. Music was really becoming an important part of my life back then. I was just finishing high school and entering college in 1969. I loved all kinds of music back then but I especially liked soul and rhythm and blues. As a matter of fact my first real concert was James BrownIt was at the Minneapolis Auditorium in 1967. I was a 16 year old suburban white kid but to me James Brown was the man. It didn't matter that me and 3 of my friends were definitely a small white minority in the crowd. I just loved music,bands and live shows. I grew up watching American Bandstand, Ed Sullivan, The Lloyd Thaxston Show and even a locally produced show called Date With Dino that featured local bands. I would go to the local record store and go through the bins of all the old and new release albums. I would usually buy 3 albums for the price of about $18. I would read the lyrics, the players on each song and all the linear notes on the back of the album cover. I still have a lot of my original albums. Unfortunately they are showing the effects of too many parties. But boy do I have some great memories.

I could not give this five stars. This was due to some factual errors such as, Gram Parsons being an original member of the Byrds..he was not. Also, that it was written that Burton Cummings playing guitar and singing. He did play guitar, but his keyboard playing was the primary instrument he was known for, not the guitar. I have to wonder what other errors were presented.I really loved the various groups represented. I would not have thought about some of them unless I read this book.I found CCR's Doug Clifford's take on reasons there was so much turmoil in the group, having just finished John Fogerty's bio, "Fortunate Son."I particularly enjoyed Stevie Van Zandt's recollection and honoring of The Rascals. It made me view his induction speech at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: it was funny and first class. His debt to them clearly showed.Overall, this was a very pleasing book to read

The content of The Vinyl Dialogues is generally interesting to anyone with an appreciation of 70s era rock music, but the narrative is formulaic, and the writing less than compelling. The best parts the book are the snippets of interviews by many of the musicians involved in the creation of the music. There are many ideas that pop up in the stories that are not followed up on, and the point of each chapter often remains unclear at its conclusion. The book provides some good information, but the telling of the stories rarely rises to the level of compelling.

Some really interesting background information on some of the better and lesser known songs/discs.Not every personal story was interesting to me.You will learn more about the business side of music than you probably knew before. The business side is probably somewhat transparent to most listeners, as it was to me. However it greatly influences the music that the general public hears. I found this portion of the stories very interesting but may not appeal to others.

If you like the story of how a song came to be or the history of the musician, this book is for you. This book is so well written, I even read the stories about groups I did not care about back in the day. I won't say which ones. The book made me a little sad at the end. One because I finished it, and two, the interviews really made me want to meet some of these players, hang out, get to know them better. Well, well done book. It is not a book of one hit wonders in the least, certainly there are some in here. You won't be disappointed. I'll be looking for more books of this type.

This was a very enjoyable collection of stories behind music of my era, many of which I have heard very little about in decades. The author sought out as many of the characters involved in the music and captured their memories well. I breezed through this book as each chapter interested me. I recommend it to fans of 70’s music.

The subjects aren't really the type I'm interested in so I've only skimmed it so far. Had I realised the titles they were covering I probably wouldn't have bought it.

Some very obscure so called "classic" albums covered here. VERY USA biased. Disappointing read.

Really interesting series of book if you want to study history of music.

A must read for 70's music fans. Well written and full of facts you might not know! Worth a look.

Any fan of 60's and 70's music will LOVE this book. From Three Dog Night to the Faces and Flo and Eddie and everything in between the author takes a good look at albums and or particular songs by all these artists. I like how he also goes in depth about album covers as well.The price point is fantastic (4.33) if I remember correctly, and the writing is superb. This book just screams for a volume 2.This is a very solid 5 gold stars. Nice book. Good job Mike Morsch