![\"dave_morrell_1974\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/dave_morrell_1974.jpg\")
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I haven’t seen the current HBO series Vinyl<\/i>. Among those whom I know who have seen it \u2013 those whose aesthetic judgment I place some faith \u2013 the consensus is that it’s not all that great; I leave others to decide. But what I do know \u2013 and what the existence of such a series confirms \u2013 is that there’s an audience for stories about the music business in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
Apparently Dave Morrell<\/b> agrees. His latest book \u2013 a slim volume with the unwieldy and clumsy title 1974 The Promotion Man New York City: The Morrell Archives Volume 2<\/i> \u2013 chronicles his firsthand experience as a young record company promo man in that era.<\/p>\n
Morrell’s book (for the sake of clarity and brevity, let’s call The Promotion Man<\/i>) is a self-published affair, and it shows in the design and overall visual aesthetic. But it’s a well-written if highly episodic account of his early days in the business. Morrell got to spend up-close-and-personal time with Ron Wood<\/b>, John and Yoko<\/b>, and other lesser figures in rock history. His stories are warm, well-told, and interesting. At times, he ventures far into the weeds, as in the chapter in which he reproduces notes he took in a 1974 meeting at Warner Brothers Records. The eyes of the casual reader might glaze a bit while reading passages such as those; readers with a deeper interest in the inner workings of music promotion forty years ago will find it more interesting.<\/p>\n