I remember how the music used to make me smile
4 Out Of 5 Stars
To this day, all you have to do is sing "And good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye," and someone will either smile or sing the next verse. Don McLean recorded a defining moment in American songwriting history when he delivered "American Pie" to radio in 1971, which remains his magnum opus. A sprawling metaphysical poem that covered the pop-music scene through the 60's but starting at the death of Buddy Holly, the near nine minutes of "American Pie" rivals the likes of "Let It Be" or "Subterranean Homesick Blues" for epic singles.
It also kind of dwarfs Mclean's same titled album. he described it as a collections of songs about the USA and people he'd known, and the music reflects that. While mostly folk-rock in the singer-songwriter vein, McLean also visited the realm of war protesters (the poetic "The Grave"), the flirtatious ("Everybody Loves Me, Baby") and the spiritual ("Babylon," a traditional hymn McLean re-arranged for this album). This is also the album that contains McLean's second best known hit, "Vincent." Also known as "Starry Starry Night," "Vincent" was a tribute to Van Gogh and misunderstood artists everywhere, and reached number 15 on the charts after "American Pie" ended its 17 week stay at number one.
McLean had a couple more hits after this ("Dreidel" and a cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying" probably the best known), but never again reached the immaculate creation that is this album. Still, what better way to be remembered than a song that will make an entire bar full of people break into song if the jukebox brings it up? It's also worth noting that this 2003 remaster sounds fantastic.
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