Don McLean Collection, The - Don McLean

Advantages: Just listening
Disadvantages: It ever has to end

...Everyone has heard of ‘American Pie’, (the song, not the movie). Her Madgeness even did a cover version of it. But not everybody will have heard of Don McLean, the genius behind the song. And even fewer people will have bothered to listen to any of his other songs. Nowadays, we live in a world where beauty is everything, where the better looking you are, the more attention is lavished upon you. We live in a time where trends are fleeting, and music changes so rapidly that it’s practically impossible to keep up, and when you lag behind you are pilloried as a loser. Don Mclean was not a ‘beautiful’ man. He was never going to make it onto the front covers of glossy magazines. Don McLean did not produce music for the masses, his style was simple and unaffected by the changes in the music scene going on around him in the late 1970... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The artist at his very best
Disadvantages: For me personally...none

...Mention the name Don McLean and I bet you think “Oh yea…American Pie…great!” And it was great, of course. But there’s much, much more to McLean than this one hit. On this album there are some of his best ever songs; the haunting, melodic “Winterwood”, the mysterious “Sister Fatima”, and the thoughtful “The Grave”. Plus McLean’s version of Roy Orbison’s classic “Crying”. Also the wonderful “Castles In The Air” which was a hit for McLean in 1982.I particularly like McLean’s version of the trad Irish ballad “Mountains of Mourne”, which is sung with feeling. Also included is perhaps McLean’s second best-known song,”Vincent”, dedicated, as we all know, to the artist Vincent Van Gogh.Oh…and yes, the album does include “American Pie”. You couldn’t really have “The Best of Don McLean” without it, could you now?... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Vincent & American Pie.
Disadvantages: Lots of naff tracks.

...American Pie - Don McClean This album was originally released in 1971, this is the 1988 CD version, or at least the CD of the 1988 version (says 1988 on CD sleeve, though I do not remember CD's in 1988! Or maybe I just did not have any then, lol). According to various sources this album is amongst the 'best ever' American albums, really? McClean was/is primarily a folk singer and this album, by all accounts was a 'one off', he certainly has little fame apart from this album. The album itself is quite an epic, particularly the title track 'American Pie', a song of over eight and a half minutes that tells a story that is a mix between psychedelia, Americana folk and angsty ballad. The famous line 'The day the music died' is referring to the air crash that killed Buddy Holly. This album should not include 'Sister Fatima' according... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful