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Upon his emergence during the mid-'60s, Donovan was anointed "Britain's answer to Bob Dylan," a facile but largely unfounded
comparisonwhichcompromised the Scottish folk-pop troubadour's own unique vision. Where the thrust of Dylan's music remains its bleak
introspection andbitterrealism, Donovan fully embraced the wide-eyed optimism of the flower power movement, his ethereal, ornate songs
radiating a mysticalbeauty andchildlike wonder; for better or worse, his recordings remain quintessential artifacts of the psychedelic era,
capturing the peace andlove idealism oftheir time to perfec ...read more
Upon his emergence during the mid-'60s, Donovan was anointed "Britain's answer to Bob Dylan," a facile but largely unfounded
comparisonwhichcompromised the Scottish folk-pop troubadour's own unique vision. Where the thrust of Dylan's music remains its bleak
introspection andbitterrealism, Donovan fully embraced the wide-eyed optimism of the flower power movement, his ethereal, ornate songs
radiating a mysticalbeauty andchildlike wonder; for better or worse, his recordings remain quintessential artifacts of the psychedelic era,
capturing the peace andlove idealism oftheir time to perfection. Donovan Leitch was born May 10, 1946 in Glasgow and raised outside of
London; at 18 he recorded hisfirst demo, and in1965 was tapped as a regular on the television pop showcase Ready, Steady, Go! He soon
issued his debut single "Catch theWind," earning the firstround of Dylan comparisons with his ramshackle folk sound and ragamuffin look; the
single nevertheless reached the U.K.Top Five, with a subsequentmeeting between the two singer/songwriters captured in the classic D.A.
Pennebaker documentary Don't Look Back.
Donovan's follow-up single, "Colours," was also a hit, and after making his American debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he issued
Fairytale,hissecond and last LP for the Hickory label. Signing with Epic in 1966, he released his breakthrough album, Sunshine Superman,
which in itsexoticarrangements and pointedly psychedelic lyrical outlook heralded a major shift from his previous work; the title track topped
the charts onboth sides ofthe Atlantic, with the enigmatic "Mellow Yellow" reaching the number two spot a few months later. Donovan remained
a chartfixture throughout 1967,generating a series of hits including "Epistle to Dippy," "There Is a Mountain," and "Wear Your Love Like
Heaven"; thatyear he traveled to Indiaalongside the Beatles to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a journey which inspired him to renounce
drug use andencourage his listeners to turnto meditation. The ambitious double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden followed, and in 1968
Donovanresurfaced with The Hurdy Gurdy Man,scoring a Top Five smash with the hallucinatory title cut; the record also yielded the hit "Jennifer
Juniper."
Barabajagal from 1969 generated Donovan's final Top 40 hit, "Atlantis"; for the title track, he collaborated with the Jeff Beck Group, with
whomhe alsoworked on 1970s Open Road. He then retreated to Ireland, emerging from a period of seclusion by starring in and scoring the
1972 filmThe Pied Piper;a pair of new LPs, Cosmic Wheels and Essence to Essence, appeared the following year to disappointing reviews and
littlecommercial interest.Following 1974's 7-Tease, he spent the next years living quietly in California's Joshua Tree desert, mounting only a
smallclub tour to promote 1976'sSlow Down; a self-titled LP appeared a year later, and in the wake of 1983's Jerry Wexler-produced Lady of
theStars, he essentially retired fromwriting and recording altogether. The Donovan revival began in earnest in 1991 when Happy Mondays titled
asong in his honor for theirgroundbreaking Pills 'n' Thrills & Bellyaches; he later toured with the group as well. Five years later, Donovan
releasedhis comeback LP, Sutras,helmed by producer du jour Rick Rubin. (The album had the misfortune to be released after Rubin's landmark
JohnnyCash record, AmericanRecordings and was virtually ignored or misunderstood by critics.) Donovan toured briefly to support Sutras and
thenwent missing once again, playingout only sporadically. In 2004, however, he reappeared with the intimate and stylish Beat Cafe, a
collection ofnearly all-original songs produced bykeyboardist John Chelew. Donovan also enlisted bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Jim
Keltner toround out his quartet. The album featured a pairof covers, a spoken word rendition of poet Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle," and a
startlingrendition of the traditional tune "The Cuckoo." « hide |
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