Don McLean (album) explained

Don McLean
Type:	Album
Artist:	Don McLean
Cover:	Don McLean - Don McLean Coverart.png
Released:	November 1972
Recorded:	Fall 1972
Studio:	Record Plant Studios, New York City
Genre:	Folk rock
Length:	35:45
Label:	United Artists
Producer:	Ed Freeman
Prev Title:	American Pie
Prev Year:	1971
Next Title:	Playin' Favorites
Next Year:	1973

Don McLean is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released in 1972, peaking at number 23 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[1] It was reissued by BGO Records in 1996. The photo on the cover of the album was taken overlooking the Village of Cold Spring, NY.

Record World said of the single "Dreidel" that the "intelligent lyrics sustain interest."^[2]

Record World called the single "If We Try" a "ballad beauty."^[3]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Don McLean, except where indicated.

1. "Dreidel" - 3:45
2. "Bronco Bill's Lament" - 3:36
3. "Oh, My What a Shame" - 3:30
4. "If We Try" - 3:30
5. "The More You Pay (The More It's Worth)" - 2:51
6. "Narcisissima" 3:53
7. "Falling Through Time" - 3:44
8. "On the Amazon" (Vivian Ellis, Clifford Grey, Greatrex Newman) - 3:17
9. "Birthday Song" - 2:34
10. "The Pride Parade" - 4:31

Chart positions

Chart (1972/73)	Peak position
Australian (Kent Music Report)^[4]	15
Canada	15
Billboard 200	23

Personnel

• Don McLean - guitar, vocals
• Warren Bernhardt - piano on "Oh My What a Shame"
• Dick Hyman - piano on "On the Amazon"
• Ralph MacDonald - percussion, conga
• Ed Trickett - hammered dulcimer
• Don Brooks - harmonica
• Howard "Buzz" Feiten - guitar
• Neil Larsen - piano
• Tony Levin - bass on "Dreidel" and "Birthday Song"
• Chris Parker - drums
• George Ricci - cello
• Bob Rothstein - bass, vocals
• Russ Savakus - bass, violin, vocals
• Ed Freeman - string arrangements
• West Forty Fourth Street Rhythm and Noise Choir - chorus

Technical

• Tom Flye, Dennis Ferrante, Ed Sprigg, Rod O'Brien - engineer
• John Olson - cover photography

Releases

• CD Don McLean Beat Goes On / BGO Records 2011

Notes and References

1. Web site: Don Mclean: Don McLean -- Charts and Awards . Allmusic . November 28, 2011.
2. Record World. December 16, 1972. 2023-03-27. Hits of the Week. 1.
3. Record World. March 17, 1973. 2023-03-23. Hits of the Week. 1.
4. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 187.