Don McLean - American Pie

Few albums open with a song as famous as the one on Don McLean's American Pie, an eight-and-a-half-minute elegy that turned a folk singer into a household name.

Released in 1971, McLean's second album followed the modest reception of his 1970 debut and was recorded in May and June of that year at the Record Plant in New York with producer Ed Freeman. A protégé of Pete Seeger, McLean had bigger ambitions this time, picturing a unified record in the spirit of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and he dedicated it to Buddy Holly. It went all the way to number one on the Billboard album chart, carried by two chart-topping singles.

The title track, heard here in its full-length version, is the reason most people come, a sprawling, allusive walk through rock and roll history that McLean famously declined to explain. "Vincent", his gentle portrait of Van Gogh, is its quiet twin, all fingerpicked guitar and aching melody. Dig past the hits and the album keeps giving: "Empty Chairs" is a hushed study in loneliness, and "Crossroads" is one of his most quietly affecting ballads.

This pressing keeps the focus where it belongs, on the songs. It is a cornerstone of the American singer-songwriter canon, and a record that still rewards a full, uninterrupted listen.