We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago….
Where were you in October of 1971 when you heard American Pie for the first time? The 45 that was played on the radio had the song split into two sides and until your local station received the LP, the DJ had to flip the single over to hear the entire song. Even with that, we knew we were hearing an instant classic. The dissection of the song and the detective work to determine off of the cultural touchstones that are referenced was another treat. The song was a pretty obvious ode to the loss of innocence from the late 50’s through the late 60’s and the idea that McLean preferred the 50’s and early 60’s was cemented later in the decade with his covers of various tunes from that era.
Also, don’t sleep on the music of the song. McLean’s earnest tenor is accompanied by his acoustic but what really drives the song is the piano of Paul Griffin. That Griffin had played with the “Jester” (Dylan) during his hey-day just adds to the symmetry. Studio ace David Spinozza adds the electric guitar flourishes…and the choir at the end reportedly included Pete Seeger, James Taylor and Carly Simon.
The only problem with writing and recording such a powerful song is that the rest of the LP gets short shrift. You’ve probably heard the other single…”Vincent” his ode to Van Gogh. It’s a beautiful song and could been the centerpiece on any other LP.
The other songs range from the quite introspection of “Crossroads” which features the piano of Warren Bernhardt, a jazz guy who was born in Wausau back in 1938 before his family moved to New York, to the quiet desperation of “Til Tomorrow” or “Empty Chairs….to the smart-ass wit of “Everybody Loves Me, Baby” which foreshadows some of his other ascerbic songs like Prime Time and Color TV Blues that will make their appearance later in the decade.
But the stunner for me is “The Grave”. It’s a scathing look at the horrors of war focused on the death of one soldier. I would imagine it’s a tough listen for those who have experienced a firefight…and for those of us who haven’t…its gives us a glimpse at what we (or anybody else for that matter) hope we never have to.
George Michael did a great cover of this near the Gulf War years…
If you’ve only heard the title track (as great as it is) or maybe “Vincent”…give the rest of the LP a listen. McLean would be hard pressed to top this…and as good as some of his later stuff was…he never did.
