Track Listing

1. American Pie
2. Till Tomorrow
3. Vincent (Starry Starry Night)
4. Crossroads
5. Winterwood
6. Empty Chairs
7. Everybody Loves Me Baby
8. Sister Fatima
9. Grave
10. Babylon
11. Mother Nature
12. Aftermath

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8574 in Music
• Released on: 2004-11-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
Be careful what you wish for--you just might get it. Don McLean, like any other singer/songwriter, no doubt wanted a hit or some degree of success. "American Pie" gave him that and too much more. McLean's ode to Buddy Holly begins with a folky intro that sounds like a protest song. Almost nine minutes later, the tune finally ends. Sure, the song's poetic; sure, it's a touching tribute; and sure, it's undeniably a classic. But it also became the bane of McLean's existence for many years, as it was the only song of his that people wanted to hear. The album American Pie sold well on the strength of the title track, and even propelled the comparatively weak "Vincent" into the Top 20. A fine release rooted in folk, American Pie is a classic, whether or not one actually pays attention to the other songs. --Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews

A Classic Album
Lots of people tend to miss out on the depth of this album simply beacuse of the over exposure of the title track.

If that is in fact the case, there are many people missing out on an album full of emotions and songs that will evoke all kinds of memories for each individual listener.

Empty Chairs and 'till tommrow are almost too joyously painful to listen to and Crossroads is a most wonderful creation that stirs past, present and future.

Don't listen to the hype about Don Mclean.

Try him out for yourself and then decide.

I recomend it...

A Classic Album Let Down By Packaging
American Pie is a piece of classic nostalgia to sit back and relax to, or even wind down after a long day. This release of the album is only let down by the cardboard packaging which does not protect the CD sufficiently. With a two and a half year old at home, a plastic CD case would have been far preferable.

A bit of touch and go, but ample of quality.
Arguably, some of the picks on this record is a bit of touch and go, in terms of quality. Certainly, there is more than a handful I could have lived without, but hey, that's they beauty of modern day programmable players and CD burners.

I have made my own selection of 14 songs from this CD which is not only of incredible quality, but also has an almost haunting beauty which you will be hard pressed to find elsewhere. I'm thinking of the beautiful acoustic set of Winterwood, Empty Chairs, Croosroads and of course Vincent, one of the best known tracks here - but also of the delightful traditional Mountains Of Mourne, with the humerous lyrics about longing back to where one comes from, which McLean does an absolutely stunning take on. The longing in his voice almost moves me to tears. And special mention goes to the amazing war-protest song The Grave, which is one of the most chilling songs I've ever heard; opening with the chilling statement "The grave that they dug him had flowers", and including the heart-wrenching monologue of the soldier in speak, "He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear. >>they can't let me die! the can't let me die here! I'll cover myself with the mud and the earth. I'll cover myself! I know I'm not brave! The earth! the earth! the earth is my grave.<<" Classic.

But the album has an equal share of more upbeat moments. Of course, the all-dominant title track, but also the intriguing Dreidel, the songs that keeps morphing into something new, is high on my list of favorites, the rocking Going For The Gold is an interesting diversion in style, and the more folk-oriented Respectable, Castles In The Air, Fool's Paradise and If We Try all make for pleasant listenings. And of course, the remake of Boy George's Crying might have been made with a smile on the lip, but is none-the-less pretty darn good.

Highly recommended.