Donovan

81
Donovan

Donovan

Epitomizing the flower power movement, Donovan’s trippy musings are redeemable from ‘60s nostalgia not only by his belief that there’s nothing funny about peace, love and understanding, but also by the sheer pop charm of his songs. Coming on as Bob Dylan’s breathlessly sincere Costs twin, Donovan was a quintessential folkie- acoustic guitar, harmonica, story songs, benign rebellion and making him distinctive, a Celtic romanticist. Dewy with hope, confident and ambitious, the title track of Catch the Wind and “Ramblin’ Boy” radiated mythic, wide-eyed yearning. As Dylan had done, Donovan went electric. But if Bob’s work was tough and bluesy, Donovan’s was pop, spun from sassy tunefulness of his mod peers. And it was psychedelic. Indeed, “SunshineSuperman” bounced along as wry, ultrahip manifest, its winking delivering hinting at all manner of illicit pleasure. “Mellow Yellow” (apparently about smoking banana peels) outright broadcasts the theme of blow-your-mind wisdom. With its cover shot of the maharishi and swooning ditties like “Wear Your Love Like Heaven” A Gift From A Flower to a Garden delivered the Donovan persona to the max- a troubadour Saint Francis who filled his lyrics with exotic and blissful poetry. After a string of late-‘60s hits- “Jennifer Juniper,” “HurdyGurdy Man,” and “Barabajagak” (with Jeff Beck)- Donovan’s moment passed. The 70’s gave us: ‘70’s Open Road, ‘73’s Cosmic Wheels, ‘73’s Essence to Essence, '74's 7-Tease, and ‘76’s Slow Down World. Rick Rubin produced an album in the ‘90s, 1996’s Sutras, in an attempt to resurrect his career, have a late-career renaissance, a la Johnny Cash, but it didn’t catch (into a ring of) fire. For those new to Donovan’s music, you can’t go wrong with Sony’s 2004 compilation The Essential Donovan. Donovan was one of the kings of Flower Power… and rightfully so. The music still holds up.

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Donovan