Don Mclean [Import, Original recording remastered]

Don McLean | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Bgo - Beat Goes on
• ASIN: B0000011NT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,586 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Singer-Songwriters
  • #14 in Music > Imports > Folk
  • #15 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > Singer Songwriters

Track Listings

1. Dreidel

2. Bronco Bill's Lament

3. Oh, My What a Shame

4. If We Try

5. The More You Pay

6. Narcisissima

7. Falling Through Time

8. On the Amazon

9. Birthday Song

10. The Pride Parade

Editorial Reviews

When Don McLean was recording his second album, American Pie, in 1971, he was a little-known singer/songwriter whose first album, Tapestry, had had little commercial impact. Only a year later, when he came to make his third LP, Don McLean, he was attempting to follow up a chart-topping album that had spawned two chart-topping hits, "American Pie" and "Vincent" (the latter going to number one in the U.K. and the Top 20 in the U.S.). Yet he remained the same artist he had been before the epic "American Pie" created a sensation with its long allegorical verses and catchy chorus. His worldview continued to reflect a '60s hangover, in which disappointment and failure had replaced hope and struggle. That view had been expressed in "American Pie" and "Vincent," as well as on the rest of American Pie and Tapestry, and it continued on Don McLean, which began with the rocker "Dreidel," a harsh description of life that included lines such as "No trust in tomorrow, it's a lie" and "I'm watchin' the future it's black." This was followed by the country-styled "Bronco Bill's Lament," sung in the voice of a Hollywood cowboy who considers his career a sham, another metaphor of loss and betrayal. And so it went. McLean did lighten the gloom with humor by covering the 1920s novelty song "On the Amazon" from the British musical Mr. Cinders, its nonsense lyrics employing multisyllabic words as if they were the names of animals ("On the Amazon the prophylactics prowl/On the Amazon the hypodermics howl"). And he offered hope in his love songs, notably "If We Try." That lovely ballad was released as the second single and became a minor chart entry. Had "If We Try" been the first single instead of "Dreidel" (which just missed the Top 20), the album might have been much more successful. (Beyond the song's odd musical structure and pessimistic lyrics, most people didn't know what a dreidel was. It's a Jewish children's toy.) As it was, Don McLean was rated an artistic and commercial disappointment as a follow-up to American Pie. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely Sophomore Album After "American Pie"!, February 4, 2001

By 

Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don Mclean (Audio CD)

I was fortunate enough to see a very young and nervous Don McLean perform alone at a high school "performing artist" assembly on a wintry March afternoon in 1970, right after his debut environmentally conscious "Tapestry" album had been released, but before "American Pie" was released the next year. Anyone who saw him knew he would be a superstar if that's what he wanted. Sure enough, with the release of "American Pie" he got fame with spades, and promptly retreated from that kind of public attention ever since. He has had a number of excellent albums; but has never recaptured the sort of outrageous success he achieved with this one; indeed, he seems to be singularly uninterested in anything to do with it. Instead, he has spent the last 30 years following the whimsy of his own heart and artistic sensibilities.

Yet all the brilliant talent and ability is here, folks, in the next album after American Pie. From the dark and fateful look at human nature in the opening number of "Dreidel", a song that shows just how accomplished a lyricist McLean is, to the more tragi-comic flair of "Bronco Bill's Lament", from the poignant "Oh, My, What A Shame" to the lovely melody and lyrics of "If We Try". McLean was clearly stretching his wings here, and was unafraid to explore the limits of his style and substance without worrying baout whether his newfound fans would follow suit. And although some did not, many more did, and he continued to delve into his little treasure trove of talent to produce many more albums. My own favorites here, besides the ones already mentioned, are "The Pride Parade" and "Falling Through Time". All of these songs should still be getting FM air time over much of the poorly produced trash the producers seem to favor, but never have.

By the way, I have had to chuckle over the years at all the questioning and active efforts at second-hand interpretation that has gone on regarding what the title cut of "American Pie" is really all about. Such wondering and endless intellectual speculation really misses the point that McLean the incredibly gifted artist so singularly makes in the song itself; the music is the thing. It's the music that makes us smile. As did Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, so to with Don McLean. Listen to what he has to say, and how artfully and wonderfully he phrases it. All of McLean's work is timeless, and it will hopefully always be around. Enjoy!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The favourite recoding in my (large) collection, November 7, 2000

By 

Simon Phipps (Global Citizen) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don Mclean (Audio CD)

I bought this album on vinyl many years ago on my first trip to the USA (aged 17) on a whim. It proved to be one of my most prized possessions, and when it got scratched in the late 80s I was so sad. Finding it again on CD (on a British label?) was like finding a lost brother.

All the tracks have been the sound-track to parts of my life - the sense of being caught up by events in 'Dreidel', of the value of work in 'Bronco Bill', of how any romance can fail in 'Oh My', the hope of new love in 'If We Try' ... and so on. I return again and again to the music and lyrics here and regard this as Don McLean at his very best, capturing the essence of real life with lyrical and musical excellence.

My favourite track is 'Falling Through Time', and that's where I am in life and love right now. This is not 'American Pie', but if you like that and enjoy gentle, moving folk-pop, this will become your best friend too.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is no other album., November 27, 2000

By 

Ellen C Gill (Concord, North Carolina United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don Mclean (Audio CD)

If there were ten stars, I'd rate it an eleven. My favorite track is "More You Pay". The unusual guitar work and haunting melodies stir my soul. It's the next best thing to a time machine, but never really taking on a "dated" feel. The music is as refreshing today to new listeners as it is to people who've grown up listening to Don Mclean-especially THIS album!