Don McLean at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Living legends, the serious list of those steeped in folklore and certain amounts of musical mythology, gets smaller and reduces in size every year. It is the way of things that for the generations past the heroes they grew up with, that they hummed alongside and perhaps even learned to play in some honorary fashion some of the gentle chords that turned them on to life, will all pass into the great gig in the sky and leave a huge musician sized hole in their wake.
American legends such as Crosby and Nash, Springsteen, Parton and their like all have the one signature tune that people flock to a venue to hear. Their musical contribution to the world extensive and near absolute and yet deep down sometimes it feels as if an audience as a whole only truly want to hear one particular song and will wait patiently all night to hear. At that point, at the moment the guitar hits the opening note, a wall of anticipation is broken down, smashed to pieces and with the rubble still smouldering and the dust slowly disappearing into the ether, the song, its heartbreak and the musician baring their soul is to be seen as not only an idol, but some sort of talisman that might never be seen the likes of again.
For Don McLean, that song sits in the background, it is aware if its role assigned to it by the audience inside the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and it understands patience as much as those who had made their way in the opposite direction to Sound City, up the hill and into the almost serene, laid-back atmosphere in which the American Troubadour was to perform.
It would wait patiently, other songs opened the evening with beautiful effect and the Philharmonic crowd savoured each note. Tracks such as Everyday, Botanical Gardens, And I Love You So, Castles In The Air and Jerusalem were greeted warmly and as if an old lover had walked into the room, single, alone but with the mystery missing as the one person wanted to see was waiting to make their grand entrance.
There can be no doubt as Mr. McLean strides towards his 70th birthday that the impact he has had on the psyche of the music lover is enormous, for even the audience member making their debut in front of him cannot but help notice the aura that surrounds the man as he plays with gentle affection songs such as the very enjoyable Homeless Brother, Crossroads, Oh My What A Shame and the fabulous folk song The State of Arkansas. It is that deference to the songs that come before the classic American Pie which prove that the music will never die, audiences may in truth come to hear one song but they come away knowing a whole lot more and remembering the reason why legendary is moniker that can never be taken away from the likes of Don McLean.
With the hauntingly beautiful Vincent (Starry Starry Night) and a well received cover of Roy Orbison’s Crying bringing up the rear, the music played before the Philharmonic Crowd was of a gentle, almost soothing temperament and yet no matter what, the audience knew that underneath it all still raged the heart of a tiger, one determined to keep his own territory intact and well preserved. It is that demeanour which ensures his own place in the hearts of fans world-wide and in which the music will never pass away.
Ian D. Hall