Customer Reviews

Solo

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had heard this recording back in 1976 when it was on 8-track and not easy to find. If you have never heard McLean in concert, you are in for a treat. McLean's voice is heavenly on his albums, but to hear him live is unbelievable. The timbre of his voice can send chills through you and if you don't already know it, this guy can play guitar and banjo like you wouldn't believe. It's delightful to hear McLean playing his songs with only himself for accompaniment. This is an album the likes of which will stay with you for a long time to come. Highly, highly recommended for true Don McLean fans.

Until I saw Don McLean in concert a few years ago, I didn't know a whole lot about him. Many years earlier (back in my high school days), I owned one of his albums, "Don McLean," the one with Dreidel on it, and I also had the 7" 45 RPM of "American Pie", but prior to the concert I hadn't thought of him in years.

However, in concert I found him to be a very magnetic performer, just himself and his guitar and banjo, and a few days later I searched the used record bins for more of his music. I came home with an LP copy of this set, and found it to be one of the best live preformance LPs I have ever heard, one that captured the magic of the live performance I had heard just a few days prior.

All too often it seems, live albums are just throw aways, put out to fulfill contractual obligations on the part of the artist, or to fill a gap during an artistic fallow period. This one is emphatically *not* one of those. Put this disc on, and be prepared for the next 100 mintues or so to fly by very quickly and enjoyably.

While I love Don McLean, it is unfortunate that this recording was done by BGO Records. They are trying to stop you from making/distributing MP3 files of their music by recording it in a non-standard format. You're not getting redbook audio on this CD. You can't play this CD on your computer. Further, they don't tell you this anywhere in the packaging. I have returned this CD and will not buy ANY music produced by BGO until such time as they get their act together, and give me what I'm paying for.

Whatever the possibilites for ripping off this music, or rather whatever the abcense of them, this is above all a great, great live album. Don McLean was once a genius, and although his creative downfall that was to happen in the eighties is already showing here a little in some of the compositions, the concerts recorded are so special, the playing and devotion of McLean so grand, and the album recorded so honestly, that this should be a minor remark. This, and not "American Pie", is the definitive release of McLean, and also one of the best live albums ever released.

Just wanted to respond to an earlier review that warned me that the CDs wouldn't play on my computer. The CD seemed to go out of print for about 3 months (that's how long I had to wait for it to come back into stock) and the CDs I got play just fine on my computer. Presumably ripping to mp3 would also be possible.

I should also warn people that this recording of Solo has been remastered in 1995.

I was lucky to get this as an LP version in adolescence. I wore the grooves out, found another at a flea market, and decided to save that one and buy a cd version. McLean is mesmerizing, sincere and funny in live performances, and this album captures that magic. The power of his live renditions of "Masters of War", "Vincent" and other great songs by McLean and his heroes (Dylan, Buddy Holly) are breathtaking. This album is the next best thing to attending a concert, as I was lucky to do a couple years ago, in the front row. His voice and presence are as rich as ever.

Don McLean / Solo / Don McLean Live (1976 release): Arriving as it did at the beginning of the Punk vs. Disco era, this double album, consisting of Don playing live with nearly no accompaniment except his own guitar or banjo, fell so far under the radar that most people don't know of it's existence. However, this is a Masterpiece effort. This one has terrific live versions of "American Pie", "Vincent", "Babylon", and "Homeless Brother". It also has such unique songs as the comic/tragic "Legend of Andrew McCrew" and the hilarious "Georgie's Lost His Penker". Don tells some great stories along the way as well. This live double CD deserves a Sixth Star! Highly Recommended.

I originally bought this back in vinyl days and just about wore it out. It is full of wit, fun and musicality. I wasn't at the concert, but there is something about if which makes you feel that you are.

Recordings of live performances can be great or not-so-great. This one is great for the energy despite the somewhat uneven sound quality. Don McLean knows how to interact with his audience to make a concert memorable. I wish I'd been there.

A beautifully captured live recording of Don McLean at his best, singing not only favorites but also material that hasn't been airplayed to death and even a few cuts exclusive to this two-disk release. The sound quality is wonderful and McLean is "on" throughout, delivering one great performance after another.

If you know McLean's music only through his studio albums, you're in for a treat. Indeed, you may come to prefer some of the live performances here to their studio equivalents! Worth listening to straight through, this set is the next best thing to a front-row center seat at a Don McLean concert.