Tapestry - DON MCLEAN ***

Castles In The Air/General Store/Magdalene Lane/Tapestry/Respectable/Orphans Of Wealth/Three Flights Up/ And I Love You So/Bad Girl/Circus Song/No Reason For Your Dreams

Tapestry was the debut LP from the New York singer songwriter Don Mclean. This collection of introspective folk tunes has been overshadowed by the monumental success of his follow up album.

“This is my favourite album by Don. Castles In The Air is a real accomplishment, a great and lovely song. Magdalene Lane and Orphans Of Wealth are also fine tracks. This is a solid album with good classic old school folk tunes.”

“Not as good as American Pie, but still some gems can be found. Castles In The Air is a great introduction, and the disc is a capsule of late 60s folk from a burgeoning songwriter. Many tracks have an acoustic spookiness to them.”

“What a strange, moody, angst-ridden album. Dripping in depression, even the happy songs sound full of despair. And the unhappy songs, well, they're utterly dire. Yet I don't find it unpleasant to listen to, quite the contrary, I love it more every time I play it. I used to be a bit lukewarm towards it, but I'm beginning to think it's a masterpiece.”

“Tapestry is Don McLean's most socially conscious album, featuring songs about poverty, the environment, justice and race. It is a half and half mixture of topical folk music and introspective singer-songwriter material, and definitely has elements of the protest '60s era as well as the sensitive '70s.”

“Some wonderful songs, Orphans Of Wealth must be one of the most powerful songs ever written, whilst And I Love You So is a classic love song. However, their very diversity makes this a somewhat disjointed album.”

“Don's first album is full of great songs sung with terrific energy. Castles In The Air is the track most will know, but all of them stand up to examination.”

“Listen to his warm and clear voice, the way he plays his guitar, and the way he builds the language that he used in his songs, like a poet.”

“Don displays his incredible voice, his fantastic finger picking skills, his ability to write melodies and his poetic lyrics.”