...with his song, and wit

Rip It Up, Issue 17, 1 November 1978, Page 16

...with his song, and wit

Peter Thomson

Don McLean

Auckland Town Hall It was the last night of the tour and Don McLean felt loose. “Anything could happen here tonight,” he warned us. What we got was

over 1 1/2 hours of music and wit which rambled, was occasionally ad-libbed, suffered abrupt changes of pace, yet was always entertaining. It is only because McLean is such an experienced and highly talented performer that he got away with it. I can think of no other popular singer who could push away troublesome microphones to perform unamplified, confident that a full Town Hall would strain, absolutely silent, to catch every note; or casually convince a stodgy Auckland crowd into singing a threepart rendition of a hymn. Admittedly there was a fair contingent of folkniks but among the beards and granny dresses were many who regarded this American Pie joker as basically a pop star. The raving response to that hit attested as much despite McLean’s perfunctorily tossing it off mid-set. Nor did he perform all his most popular songs but pointedly featured work by other writers. A Buddy Holly selection was prefaced with the comment: “Here’s a few that even Linda Ronstadt doesn't know.” A booming

guitar mike prompted some off-the-cuff Johnny Cash renditions, complete with goofy lyric changes. McLean’s knowledge of America’s popular music heritage is wide — two of his three encores consisted of a cowboy song and a 1953 R & B vocal hit. Most famous performers, particularly soloists, present an on-stage persona, or at the very least a cultivated stance. McLean on the other hand, is either a consummate actor or, as he claims, simply a guy with no cool. On the Auckland stage he continualfy played at the edge of candid spontaneity. Of course, knowing that edge is the mark of a true professional. His humour, whether in the patter or songs, is a valuable asset. Numbers such as "Building My Body" were funnier live than on record. This was McLean’s third New Zealand tour. He is a strong, controlled singer with an intelligence that is highlighted by the simplicity of his musical accompaniment. He is also a brilliant, if uneven, songwriter. Since the media overdose of "American Pie” and the selfconscious cleverness of some of his subsequent work, Don McLean has fallen into critical disfavour. That is a pity because he can be an extremely satisfying artist.