Don McLean – American Pie (1971)

Some of the younger people might know the song American Pie because of Madonna's cover version, but if you haven't heard the original, you should immediately go and listen to it. This album, however, is not just the title track even if it was by far the most successful song by Don McLean and not many people can name other songs by him. First and foremost, this is a great album that includes some amazing tracks. It's a prime example of the great folk rock scene of the early 70's. I don't think that many people will even recognise Don McLean's name, which is a real shame. I only discovered this great album of his relatively late, maybe about six years ago. That was a time when I was really into new indie folk scene and it was great to familiarise myself with some of the old stuff that had influenced these bands. I bought this a couple of years ago on vinyl.

The title track is surprisingly long with eight and a half minutes considering it's quite a straightforward pop song. It doesn't feel long when you're listening to it though. It's an example of storytelling folk that Bob Dylan had represented already a decade earlier. It's as much about the lyrics and a story as it is about the music. The next song, Till Tomorrow sounds a lot like Nick Drake who was making similar kind of music around the same time. This song also shows the softer side of Don McLean and how his songs can be beautifully mellow. Vincent continues this style of music. The melody is really beautiful in this one.

Crossroads is more of a piano ballad and reminds me of yet another representative of this musical genre, Billy Joel. Winterwood sounds slightly happier with it's country and Americana folk stylings. Empty Chairs is one of the most beautiful songs on this album. It really compliment's McLean's vocals and there's some great acoustic guitar playing in that song as well. Everybody Loves Me, Baby takes the mood up with almost cheery pop song that reminds me of many 60's pop groups. This is probably the song that most resembles the title track of this album. The Grave is probably my favourite song on this album. It is a grand example of a political protest song that were written in the 60's and 70's. There's dark hopelessness in this song that beautifully illustrates the hopelessness of life in war. The album ends in a melancholic song Babylon that almost sounds like a hymn played on one banjo. There are some amazing vocal harmonies on this song.

Not that many musicians were making music videos as we know them before the 1980's. I think it's still good to link something in video form as well. This live performance of Vincent shows how amazing Don McLean sounded live. His performance is quite shy, but the music speaks for itself and he has a great sense of how to build songs from delicate to powerful just by himself. This video is a great inspiration to anyone who performs alone with their guitar.

I don't know why Don McLean isn't more widely known and why he became kind of a one hit wonder in the history of music, but I wish more and more people discover what a great artist he was back in the day.

Listen to the album on Spotify.