Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
When Don McLean was recording his second album, American Pie, in 1971, he was a little-known singer/songwriter whose first album, Tapestry, had had little commercial impact. Only a year later, when he came to make his third LP, Don McLean, he was attempting to follow up a chart-topping album that had spawned two chart-topping hits, "American Pie" and "Vincent" (the latter going to number one in the U.K. and the Top 20 in the U.S.). Yet he remained the same artist he had been before the epic "American Pie" created a sensation with its long allegorical verses and catchy chorus. His worldview continued to reflect a '60s hangover, in which disappointment and failure had replaced hope and struggle. That view had been expressed in "American Pie" and "Vincent," as well as on the rest of American Pie and Tapestry, and it continued on Don McLean, which began with the rocker "Dreidel," a harsh description of life that included lines such as "No trust in tomorrow, it's a lie" and "I'm watchin' the future it's black." This was followed by the country-styled "Bronco Bill's Lament," sung in the voice of a Hollywood cowboy who considers his career a sham, another metaphor of loss and betrayal. And so it went. McLean did lighten the gloom with humor by covering the 1920s novelty song "On the Amazon" from the British musical Mr. Cinders, its nonsense lyrics employing multisyllabic words as if they were the names of animals ("On the Amazon the prophylactics prowl/On the Amazon the hypodermics howl"). And he offered hope in his love songs, notably "If We Try." That lovely ballad was released as the second single and became a minor chart entry. Had "If We Try" been the first single instead of "Dreidel" (which just missed the Top 20), the album might have been much more successful. (Beyond the song's odd musical structure and pessimistic lyrics, most people didn't know what a dreidel was. It's a Jewish children's toy.) As it was, Don McLean was rated an artistic and commercial disappointment as a follow-up to American Pie.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 13,50€/month
DON MCLEAN, Composer, MainArtist - Ed Freeman, Producer
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Ed Freeman, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Flye, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Ed Freeman, Producer
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Ed Freeman, Producer - Tom Flye, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Ed Freeman, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Ed Freeman, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Ed Freeman, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, MainArtist - Clifford Grey, ComposerLyricist - Vivian Ellis, ComposerLyricist - Ed Freeman, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Greatrex Newman, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Ed Freeman, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
DON MCLEAN, Composer, MainArtist - Ed Freeman, Producer
℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
Albumbeschreibung
When Don McLean was recording his second album, American Pie, in 1971, he was a little-known singer/songwriter whose first album, Tapestry, had had little commercial impact. Only a year later, when he came to make his third LP, Don McLean, he was attempting to follow up a chart-topping album that had spawned two chart-topping hits, "American Pie" and "Vincent" (the latter going to number one in the U.K. and the Top 20 in the U.S.). Yet he remained the same artist he had been before the epic "American Pie" created a sensation with its long allegorical verses and catchy chorus. His worldview continued to reflect a '60s hangover, in which disappointment and failure had replaced hope and struggle. That view had been expressed in "American Pie" and "Vincent," as well as on the rest of American Pie and Tapestry, and it continued on Don McLean, which began with the rocker "Dreidel," a harsh description of life that included lines such as "No trust in tomorrow, it's a lie" and "I'm watchin' the future it's black." This was followed by the country-styled "Bronco Bill's Lament," sung in the voice of a Hollywood cowboy who considers his career a sham, another metaphor of loss and betrayal. And so it went. McLean did lighten the gloom with humor by covering the 1920s novelty song "On the Amazon" from the British musical Mr. Cinders, its nonsense lyrics employing multisyllabic words as if they were the names of animals ("On the Amazon the prophylactics prowl/On the Amazon the hypodermics howl"). And he offered hope in his love songs, notably "If We Try." That lovely ballad was released as the second single and became a minor chart entry. Had "If We Try" been the first single instead of "Dreidel" (which just missed the Top 20), the album might have been much more successful. (Beyond the song's odd musical structure and pessimistic lyrics, most people didn't know what a dreidel was. It's a Jewish children's toy.) As it was, Don McLean was rated an artistic and commercial disappointment as a follow-up to American Pie.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:35:45
- Main artists: Don McLean
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92)
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 1972 Capitol Records, LLC ℗ 1972 Capitol Records, LLC
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.