Album Review:
Favorites & Rarities
- Release Date: 1992
- Genre: Rock
- Label: Alliance
- Total Time: 143:48
- Artist: Don McLean
- Flags: Compilation (best of)
- Type: Compilation
- Rating:
- Styles: Soft Rock, Singer/Songwriter
- Similar Albums:
Very Best of Crosby Stills & Nash ,Collection , Greatest Hits,At His Best , Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day, Vol. 11, Can I Have My Money Back?, The Great Puzzle, Capitol Collectors Series, Tell Me the Truth, Encore: More Greatest Hits
Review
Spanning two discs and 42 tracks, Favorites & Rarities really is directed toward diehards, not casual fans looking for a thorough overview. Although all his biggest hits are here, they're surrounded by material that will delight only the dedicated, including alternate versions and no less than 18 previously unreleased tracks. This material, while interesting to the converted (there is a question to just how interesting it actually is, though), makes this a rather tedious listen for anybody that's just looking for "American Pie" and "Vincent," plus a couple other tunes in the same vein. Not an unnecessary compilation, since it's filled with rarities, but not definitive, either. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | iTunes | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Castles in the Air [Mediarts Version] | Don McLean | Don McLean | (2:54) | |
| And I Love You So | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (4:17) |
| American Pie | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (8:35) |
| Vincent (Starry Starry Night) | Don McLean | Don McLean | (4:01) | |
| Babylon | |
Traditional | Don McLean | (1:43) |
| Empty Chairs | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (3:25) |
| Dreidel | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (3:46) |
| If We Try | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (3:33) |
| Fool's Paradise [Single Version] | Norman Petty, Horace Linsley | Don McLean | (3:51) | |
| Sitting on Top of the World | |
Walter Vinson, Lonnie Chatmon | Don McLean | (1:58) |
| La La Love You | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (3:45) |
| Wonderful Baby | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (2:06) |
| Crying in the Chapel | |
Artie Glenn | Don McLean, The Persuasions | (2:21) |
| Magdalene Lane [Live] | Don McLean | Don McLean | (4:05) | |
| Crying | |
Roy Orbison, Joe Melson | Don McLean | (3:43) |
| Since I Don't Have You | |
Wally Lester, Joe VerScharen, Janet Vogel, Joseph Rock, James Beaumont, Jackie Taylor | Don McLean | (2:36) |
| Castles in the Air [Millenium Version] | Don McLean | Don McLean | (3:43) | |
| He's Got You | |
Hank Cochran | Don McLean | (4:51) |
| Superman's Ghost | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (4:47) |
| You Can't Blame the Train | Terri Sharp | Don McLean | (3:05) |
CD 2
| Track Title | iTunes | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Good Old Wagon [#] | J.W. Smith | Don McLean | (2:24) | |
| Milkman's Matinee [#] | Don McLean | Don McLean | (5:21) | |
| Aftermath [#] | Don McLean | Don McLean | (4:05) | |
| Mother Nature [#] | Don McLean | Don McLean | (6:57) | |
| Every Day [BBC Version][#] | Buddy Holly, Norman Petty | Don McLean | (2:32) | |
| That's All Right [#] | Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup | Don McLean | (3:22) | |
| Profiteering Blues [#] | Al Wilson, Irving Bibo | Don McLean | (3:01) | |
| Hit Parade of Love [#] | Jimmy Martin | Don McLean | (2:34) | |
| The Carnival Is Ended [#] | Scott Fagan | Don McLean | (5:39) | |
| I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome (Blue and Lonesome Too) [#] | Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, J.W. Smith | Don McLean | (2:14) | |
| Nature Boy [#] | Eden Ahbez | Don McLean | (1:07) | |
| Black Sheep Boy [#] | Tim Hardin | Don McLean | (2:43) | |
| Mountains Of Mourne [Live in England][#] | Houston Collisson, Percy French | Don McLean | (5:13) | |
| And Her Mother Came Too [Live in England][#] | Don McLean | (2:44) | ||
| Yonkers Girl [Live in England][#] | Patrick Sky | Don McLean | (3:05) | |
| Turkey in the Straw [#] | Traditional | Don McLean | (:39) | |
| Dubuque [#] | Traditional | Don McLean | (:50) | |
| Medley: Sally Ann/Muleskinner Blues/Old Joe Clark [Live at the Bottom] | Jimmie Rodgers, Traditional | Don McLean | (3:26) | |
| If We Try | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (4:00) |
| Perfect Love | |
Don McLean | Don McLean | (3:21) |
| Little Child [#] | Don McLean | Don McLean | (3:04) | |
| Gotta Make You Mine [#] | Don McLean | Don McLean | (3:15) |
