Sweet Talkin' Guys

Former WABC disc jockey Bruce Morrow is the host for this intermittently interesting story of the rise of rock 'n roll over the New York city radio waves. Though nowhere apparent on the packaging, the DJ's profiled here all hail from WINS, WMCA, and WABC, three NYC stations. While they may offer a good cross-section of rock evolution, the NY DJ's were by no means the whole story. Philadelphia DJ turned television idol, Dick Clark, for instance, is never even mentioned. The lion's share of the coverage is given to two legendary DJ's in NY: Alan Freed (the man credited with coining the phrase "rock 'n roll" and Murray ("Murray the K") Kaufman, who would--during the British Invasion--promote himself as "The Fifth Beatle." Interviewing a number of DJ's from the period, Sweet Talkin' Guys eventually becomes a relatively lifeless drama about the ratings wars between WMCA and WABC. Although "live," the endless sound bites of DJ's introducing songs are rarely more than a straightforward introduction. And while some of the good old boy stories are fun to listen to, I suspect that this program will only appeal to a rather select audience--diehard fans of the NYC DJ's of the 50s and 60s. Otherwise, this is not a necessary purchase. (Available from most distributors.)