Homeless Brother [Import, Original recording remastered]

Don McLean | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Bgo - Beat Goes on
• ASIN: B0000011NU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,236 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don McClean the storyteller does what he does best., March 10, 1999

By 

Steve Thomas (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Homeless Brother (Audio CD)

This album, released in 1974, was not a huge commercial success for Don, but artistically it is very representative of his work. And, true to form, it is a bit quirky at times. Like "The Legend of Andrew McGrew", the story of a hobo who was killed by a train near the turn of the century, and was mummified and displayed as a carnival attraction for 50 years!

A very special tune is "Wonderful Baby". A good tune, and one that should have become a standard.

All-in-all, one of Don's better works, and a must for a serious collector.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More to this singer than "American Pie.", January 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Homeless Brother (Audio CD)

People who dismiss Don McLean as a one-hit wonder forget that, 1) he had more than one hit ("Vincent," "Dreidel" and his cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying") and, 2) making hit records was never his be-all and end-all. The best thing "American Pie" ever did for McLean was make it possible for him to make the albums HE wanted to with little regard for the suits, and HOMELESS BROTHER is a great example of a "loose" concept album that holds together quite well.

The concept--exploring the stories of the down-and-outers of the road--could've been overly-romantic in the hands of someone else, but McLean is careful to show the dark side. "Legend of Andrew McCrew" is the best example, a macabre and apparently true story of a traveling carnival's exhibition of the mummified corpse of an anonymous hobo found dead and unclaimed by railroad tracks. McLean's retelling of this is sardonic without being too heavy-handed and the song and performance work. The title song is in the same vein as songs like "Hobo's Prayer" and "Hobo's Lullaby," and covers of George Harrison's "Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away, Raymond)" and a terrific acapella version of "Crying In The Chapel" (featuring the Persuasions on backup!) are excellent and serve this overview well.

The songs that don't fall into this concept are a mixed bag; McLean is capable of more than a little schmaltz and in a couple of songs it's a little too much, but "Wonderful Baby" is a great Thirties-style crooning tune sung for a newborn that swings and soothes.(I understand that Fred Astaire later covered this--I can believe it!) Overall, this album shows Don McLean as a troubador in fine form, which is what it ought to be all about.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally got it, March 21, 2006

By 

Wendy Tull "sparky" (Newcastle, NSW. Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Homeless Brother (Audio CD)

I have been after this cd for a long time, it is not available in Australia. One song on this album is not on any of his other albums (The Legend of Andrew McCrew). It is excellent quality too.