Customer Reviews

Donovan's Greatest Hits

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When Donovan first released his "Greatest Hits" album back in the sixties, it featured new versions of two of the songs, "Colours" and "Catch the Wind". Those versions were only available on the "Greatest Hits" album. This CD adds tracks to that album, and remasters all the songs, but replaces the "new" versions of those two songs with the original album versions. Both versions are really good, and I'd highly recommend this CD, but warn you that if you're expecting the "Greatest Hits" versions of "Colours" and "Catch the Wind", you won't find them here.

To be brief, Donovan was a sixties Icon. To have a sixties collection, Donovan must be a part of it, crossing boundries and providing further definition as to what the 60's were truly about.

This collection is an excellent introduction to Donovan's many "faces". From his Dylanesque (many people called him the "British Bob Dylan", to his Psychedelic phases where many of his hits came from, to the more mature and rock crafted phase, and then full circle to more introspective.

If you like is Folk music, (Colours, Universal Soldier, Catch The Wind, etc) you can branch out to his "Summer Day Reflection Songs" CD which provide a true example of his Folk phase. (This is one of my favorite CD's, and this area of his music is highly underated).

For others who wish to hear more of his latter period, the "Love Is Hot, Truth Is Molten" CD (Australian Import)is excellent with great sound quality and stereo versions and of course the all inclusive "Troubadour" Box set covers much.

Many people forget his impact, having written the hit "Museum" covered by Herman's Hermits, to his "backup session players" which included The Jeff Beck Group ad Ron Wood, Madeline Bell, Suzie Quatro "Barabajagal", Paul McCartney and George Harrison (Mellow Yellow), and the then developing Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones , (just listen to "Hurdy Gurdy Man"), Jim Gordon and Gabriel Mekler "Susan On The West Coast Waiting", "Atlantis". This CD is an excellent buy, with jems such as "There Is A Mountain", (very tropical) to Atlantis, (Great song and Lyrics").

A must buy you a collector. If you like this period of music, this is required. Worth it for "Sunshine Superman" alone. This CD is an excellent value, has all the major hits, with great good sound quality so you will not be disapointed.

Good Listening!

I grew up listening to this the LP of "Donovan's Greatest Hits", and I love it. However, THIS IS NOT THAT ALBUM. The LP release of "Greatest Hits" featured re-recordings of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" that were in step with Donovan's late 60's sound, and flowed better (in terms of ambience and sound quality) with the rest of the songs on the album. This CD features the original, folkier versions of those songs and it totally DESTROYS the flow and overall mood of the album. I do appreciate having the original, folkier versions of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" but I would have MUCH preferred to keep the flow of the original album. Why couldn't they have tacked the original versions on as bonus tracks??? I'd still like to have the re-recorded versions that I am more familiar with on a remastered CD.

In his updated liner notes to "Epistle To Dippy," Donovan writes, "Whatever you think this song is about, it probably is." Amid the flowery, quasi-mystical prose which decorated his songs and liner notes, it was a moment of clear truth.

It could also apply to the rest of the set, which joins catchy pop melodies to World Music rhythms breaded in organic, cerebral myths and ideology. Many keep their freshness: "Sunshine Superman" was recently sampled in a rap song, while "Season Of The Witch" (great line: "Beatniks striking to get rich...") and "Mellow Yellow" retain some self-mocking wit with the second-hand smoke. "Atlantis" and "Barabajagal" remain fun relics.

But Donovan the hippie troubadour trumps Donovan the folky, earthy poet. "Colors" and "Catch The Wind" (here on their original, Hickory Records singles from 1964) catch Bob Dylan's style but not soul. "To Susan On The West Coast Waiting" (which Donovan describes as "a Dear John letter in reverse") is too pretty and slight to be an effective anti-war song. Yet these, Donovan's other hits here, and his lyrical world-view (which, judging from the liner notes, he still has) are a basic thread of Sixties pop culture. This makes Donovan's music essential to studying that period, and "Greatest Hits" the most cost-effective way to do it.

If this is one of those albums you're looking to upgrade from LP to CD, beware. Though the title, graphics, and song listings are the same as the original LP (except the bonus tracks), three songs are presented in their folksie versions: "Colours", "Catch the wind", and "Lalena". Though you might consider them equally as good as the LP versions, they're not the same.

If there was anyone on the pop scene in the middle 1960s that rivaled the brilliance and flamboyance of both Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, it was English superstar folkie Donovan Leitch. With Catchy melodies and colorful lyrics, he caught the imagination of the sixties generations with his playful and imaginative takes on the contemporary scene. He caused a major stir with "Mellow Yellow", which touted the supposed hallucinogenic properties of banana peels, when he knew perfectly well it was all a joke, and lambasted in military involvement in Vietnam in "Universal Soldier" (unfortunately not included here). But wonderful songs like "Colours", "Hurdy Gurdy Man", and "Catch The Wind", a paean to Dylan's "Blowing In The Wind'. He was immensely popular, and thoughtful and hypnotic love songs like "Lalena" certainly helped his reputation as a charismatic troubadour.

So too did Donovan's imaginative tale of the long lost city in "Atlantis", a major hit for him. He specialized in sweet confections like "Sunshine Superman", "There Is A Mountain', and "Jennifer Juniper", and with each of these and with "Season Of The Witch", Wear Your Love Like Heaven", and a playful "To Susan On The West Coast Waiting", he spun tall tales that were more fun and games than serious poetry put to music. He will always be remembered by babyboomers for his lovely sound and his sweetness and presence on stage, where he seemed to personally embody the sixties' vision of the new and more intelligent and sensitive male human being, more interested in love and whimsy than in war. This is a lovely collection of a wonderful artist's music, and one I can easily recommend. Enjoy!

The 60s were such fun years, and Donovan was part of the fun. As the 60s wore on his music went from folk to psychedelic rock, stopping along the way at pop and ultimately ending up with music that had a faster beat with a harder edge ("Barabajagal", as an example).

I tend to divide Donovan's music (probably incorrectly, but it helps me to organize the scope of his music) into folk, hippie/psychedelic, and rock. The second category spans a large range in its own right, but generally includes peace, love and flower power songs with the slightly surreal.

Donovan's folk music might include "Colours", "Catch the Wind", "Lalena", "There Is a Mountain", and "Jennifer Juniper". Some of this music could also fit into the next category down, which takes no great stretch of the imagination because many folk singers ended up as part of the hippie movement.

The hippie/psychedelic music would include "Mellow Yellow", "Colours", "Hurdy Gurdy Man", "Epistle to Dippy", "Sunshine Superman", "Wear Your Love Like Heaven", "Season of the Witch", "Atlantis", and "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting". This last song is also an anti-war song relating to the Viet Nam war.

The faster paced music would be "Barabajagal" and "Riki Tiki Tavi". These two songs anchor one end of Donovan's music. I generally remember Donovan more for his hippie/psychedelic music, so I'll not spend any more time are these two songs.

Donovan did a very good job as a folk singer. Moving on to more surreal music was very little of a stretch for Donovan. Included in his music is a variety of styles and influences. "Catch the Wind" sounds a lot like Bob Dylan. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is very psychedelic, and could owe influences to people like Jimi Hendrix. The Beatles have been credited with influences on songs like "Mellow Yellow".

My own personal favorite is "Atlantis". There was a strong desire in the 60s to ascribe a mystical origin to all civilizations, one which included a civilization greater and more peaceful than any in existence any time since; a sort of Eden of civilization, where arts and sciences were predominant and the people had nothing to fear from other civilizations or from each other. Where there was plenty for all and people were happy. This theme was a strong part of the hippie movement, which for some seemed to be a desire to recapture a past that as far as we know never existed.

I suppose every era would like the claim of being unique, and unlikely to be repeated. Looking back over the last six decades, certainly each was unique, but for most of those decades, while technology, education, political conditions and so on have changed significantly, the human condition has kept a remarkable similarity during most of that time. However, the 60s were an exception. Large numbers of people attempted to create a different sort of society; to create a different standard of civilization. In the course of that attempt, wonderful art was created. Donovan was a part of that attempt, and created some of the most interesting and socially reflective music of the era.

I'm a big admirer of Donovan's. Listen to this CD and you most likely will be too. He's a great psychedelic folk-rocker. Songs such as Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman you're sure to recognize from classic rock stations. His two pure folk songs (on this CD at least), Colours and Catch The Wind, are very beautiful. Hurdy Gurdy Man is probably the most psychedelic song he's ever done. Jennifer Juniper, one of my personal favorites, is a very pretty love song. Atlantis is a simple, yet well-performed singalong. Donovan is a wonderfully talented songwriter and singer. He may not be up to Bob Dylan's level of genius, but hey, few are. It's great music. Enjoy.

I am sure glad that they re-released this CD the way they did. The original album version of the album (and even the first issued CD of this album) were released with (at the time) new 1969 versions of "Catch the Wind", and "Colours". The fact that these weren't the original (Hickory) Pye recordings, I was turned off from owning the whole CD.

Now, this "Donovan's Greatest Hits", is released with the original Pye recordings, and they even threw in some bonus tracks of a few more of his hit recordings after the initial release of this 1969 greatest hits collection.

What's more this collection was remastered rather well. I love every track on this album except "Lalena", and "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting", which are truly dull to me.

I've always loved "Hurdy Gurdy Man", "Epistle To Dippy", "There is a Mountain", and "Season of the Witch". Plus his other bigger hits are truly a must have for any psychedelic pop enthusiast. You just gotta have "Mellow Yellow", "Sunshine Superman", "Jennifer Juniper", and "Wear Your Love Like Heaven".

Plus, having "Colours", and "Catch the Wind" as the original 1964 folk recordings make having this collection so sweet. And having "Atlantis" as one of the bonus tracks is just the icing on the cake.

The only way this CD could have been better, is if they also included the British hit single of "Universal Soldier". That's almost an anthem song for Donovan.

So, be brave people, this CD is now exactly the way you would want it to be. It's everything you would want and more from Donovan. For the lack of "Universal Soldier", I still give this CD a five star rating, as opposed to four stars. In fact, I will rate this CD as 4.6 stars. I just came up one song short of my expectations.

Beware... The unremastered Greatest Hits EK 26439 had completely different versions of 2 of the best songs: Catch the Wind was 5:01 and orchestrated on the older CD; it's just folky guitar and 2:55 on this newer CD. Also, shockingly, the version of Colours is the solo, Dylanesque 2:44 version, whereas the earlier CD had a 4:10 version with backup vocals on the refrain ("that's the time...") which everyone learned at camp as a call-and-response. While the shorter versions on the newer CD are great to have, it's a misrepresentation to package this CD essentially the same way as it was with the more familiar versions of these tracks. It's great to get Atlantis as a bonus, though.