Nothing else on the album is as effective as the hits, but the other eight original songs range from sensitive fare like 'Till Tomorrow' to the sarcastic, uptempo 'Everybody Loves Me, Baby.' American Pie - the album - is very much a record of its time it is imbued with the vague depression of the early '70s that infected the population and found expression in the works of singer/songwriters. Of course, the album also included 'Vincent,' McLean's paean to Van Gogh, which has been played two-million times. There may not be much more to note about it, then, except perhaps that even without a crib sheet to identify who's who, the song can still be enjoyed for its engaging melody and singable chorus, which may have more to do with its success than anything else. 'American Pie' has remained as much a cultural touchstone as a song, sung by everyone from Garth Brooks to Madonna, its title borrowed for a pair of smutty teen comedies, while the record itself has earned a registered three-million plays on U.S.
Don McLean's second album, American Pie, which was his first to gain recognition after the negligible initial sales of 1970's Tapestry, is necessarily dominated by its title track, a lengthy, allegorical history of rock & roll, because it became an unlikely hit, topping the singles chart and putting the LP at number one as well.
