TWO FROM THE MCLEAN FOLK VAULT WHICH DESERVE A MODERN COUNTRY MUSIC RESURRECTION

https://youtu.be/6RqJNpe6otk?si=_7_xeuLZoRrR-yWN

Don McLean really makes a good compromise to write about. A compromise
between the electric folk of Bob Dylan and traditional country music.

That`s because McLean was just enough electric to appeal to the rock.audience and just enough acoustic to appeal to the folk audience. 

In the early 70`s, many traditional folk fans who felt betrayed by Bob Dylan`s conversion to electric had only Donovan and a few other one hit folk wonders to sing about if they could not bring themselves to
listen to Dylan`s crossover sound. 

Don Mclean only had a brief time.in the commercial sun, but in a short space of time, just like his hero Buddy Holly, he churned out a small but timeless body of work which continues to inspire many musicians today, although most will not admit to it. 

His one and only big hit, `American Pie`, which is a tribute to Holly even though McLean continues to deny it to this very day, is an epic masterpiece of lyrical complexity that I will write my own tribute to one day.

The grandiose storytelling did not end with American Pie, his other hit `Vincent`, was more subdued and personal but not lacking the same conviction. 

Two songs of McLean`s which I think have always been unfairly overlooked by radio as well as other musicians is the immensely melodramatic `Empty Chairs` as well as the more upbeat and rockabilly inspired `Winterwood`. 

Both songs should have been recorded by other artists over the years, I find it unbelievable that mainstream rock and country artists have not saw the potential to resurrect these two songs, albeit with a few hefty re-arrangements to give them a more cohesive structure, to give them a new lease of life to a wider audience. 

The story of lost love and sheer loneliness in Empty Chairs is almost enough to bring a tear to anyones eye, and Winterwood is certainly up there with the likes of Vincent in the folk fusion stakes, both lyrically and musically.

I think it is about time that country musicians put aside their disdain for Dylan and folk rock from the 60`s and 70`s in general long enough to see the potential in bringing these two McLean gems back to life once more with some minor alterations.