Classic Albums Don McLean American Pie

Forty-five years after its release, there has never been another album quite like American Pie.
While a product of its era pinpointing a precise moment of cultural change in the shattered hopes of baby boomers, its impact continues to reverberate down the years with a poignancy and relevance that hasn’t diminished.
As part of the esteemed Classic Albums series, this film tells the story of story of Don McLean’s second album American Pie. Crowned by its titular overture and “Vincent”, McLean’s equally moving tribute to Van Gogh, American Pie is a classic of the folk-rock genre, earning its place alongside Carole King’s Tapestry, Joni Mitchell’s Blue and Neil Young’s After The Goldrush as one of the landmark singer-songwriter LPs of 1971, a year recently celebrated in a book by award-winning journalist David Hepworth as “Rock’s golden year”. Don McLean features in extensive new interviews, discussing the intricacies of his songs, the sometimes fraught recording process, and the album’s legacy.
The questions it raises about its country’s past, present and future are as much a part of our cultural dialogue in Trump’s 2017 as they were in Nixon’s 1971. “I had most of the album written without American Pie,” explains McLean. “But I wasn’t happy with that. I knew it wasn’t finished. I had more to say. I had this this really big song I needed to get out.”
Interviewees include Producer, Ed Freeman and musician Jake Bugg whose musical path was initiated when hearing Vincent for the first time on the TV and a poignant archive performance of George Michael performing the Grave.
Director George Scott
Producers Nick de Grunwald & Celia Moore
Classic Albums Documentaries FilmsFeb 2nd, 20180 comments
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- February 2018
- November 2014
- February 2014
- June 2013
- May 2013
- March 2013
- December 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- October 2011
- August 2011
- May 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- May 2010
- March 2010
- December 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- April 2009
- January 2009
- October 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- November 2007
- October 2007
- April 2007
- February 2007
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- November 2005
- October 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- October 2004
- September 2003
- June 2003
- March 2003
- December 2002
- November 2002
- June 2002
- December 2001
- October 2001
- June 2001
- May 2001
- October 1999
- July 1999
- May 1999
- April 1999
- April 1998
- February 1998
- June 1997
- May 1997
- April 1997
- December 1996
- November 1995
- July 1994
- March 1993
- June 1992
Categories
Meta