Mellow Yellow [Import]

Donovan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 20, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• ASIN: B000026CET
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,600 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Mellow Yellow

2. Writer In The Sun

3. Sand And Foam

4. The Observation

5. Bleak City Woman

6. House Of Jansch

7. Young Girl Blues

8. Museum

9. Hampstead Incident

10. Sunny South Kensington

Editorial Reviews

2005 Digitally remastered re-issue features nine bonus tracks 'Preachin' Love', 'Good Time', 'There Is A Mountain', 'Superlungs' (Second Version), 'Epistle To Dippy' (Alternative Arr), 'Sidewalk (The Observation) (Demo), 'Writer In The Sun' (Demo), 'Hampstead Incident' (Demo), 'Museum' (Demo). Drawing on a broad range of Donovan's material from his and past present, Mickie Most once again handles the production on Donovan's second album for EMI, while John Cameron provides a selection of exquisite arrangements, with the exception of Mellow Yellow which was arranged by John Paul Jones. EMI. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why we love Donovan in the first place, June 11, 2005

By 

T. A. Shepherd "tas50l" (Lancaster, Ca. 93536) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mellow Yellow (Audio CD)

Mellow Yellow. Early '67. Twas a great time to be alive--there are many fond memories here. While The Beatles' super single Penny Lane b/w Strawberry Fields Forever were whetting our appitite for Sgt. Pepper's L.H.C.B., I was digging The Supremes Sing H-D-H and the Mellow Yellow album. Mr. Leich had just come from the mountain top with his last album Sunshine Superman, only to burst on the scene with his second Mickie Most production. While some of the songs had a darker quality to them (Writer In The Sun, Sand and Foam and Young Girl Blues) there were some head-reeling tunes here as well. Sunny South Kensington (which is a street in Echo Park district) is a beat poem lovers' dream while the forboading Sand and Foam dealt with the paranoia of waiting on a shipment of crystal from Mexico. It wasn't long afterwards that Donovan renounced the drug world altogether and called upon the youth of the world to do likewise. But dispite the moody atmosphere of Young Girl Blues, M.Y. has some great upbeat moments. Bleak City Woman dives deep in the well of jazz and blues while House Of Jasch (another song in honor of Bert) has some hilarious word play. The Observation has Danny Thompson working the bass with some of Don's best beat poetry. Then there's Museum, a statement about indecision with a twist. Herman's Hermits (another one of Mickey Most's groups) almost had a hit with this one. If "Girl Child Linda" was the focus of Sunshine Superman, "Hampstead Incident" is Mellow Yellow's. One can hear the humble beginnings of these two songs in his earlier composition "Sunny Goodge Street" from 1965. Folk, jazz and blues mixed with just enough wit and wisdom is what made Donovan so easy to listen to and reveals just why we love him in the first place. The Epic label seemed a brighter yellow with his recordings than with the likes of Dave Clark and the Yardbirds. Not that these were bad bands (very good bands, they were, they just weren't Donovan). Within a year, Donovan took to writing excellent works for children and lighter songs that were easier to understand, but not nearly as intriguing. This re-issue is graced with bonus tracks, a few which I do remember--"Preachin' Love" in particular became a concert staple and an early incarnation of Superlungs My Supergirl. With music and production this good, one wonders why Most didn't mix these first two Epic albums in stereo, although Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch both appeared in a true mix for both ears on the Greatest Hits album.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Donovan at the absolute peak of his powers, December 29, 2004

By 

Michael Topper (Pacific Palisades, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mellow Yellow (Audio CD)

It's a shame that "Mellow Yellow" is only available as an obscure import, or as a two-fer with the stylistically different "Wear Your Love Like Heaven", for it remains perhaps his greatest work, eclipsed perhaps only by "Sunshine Superman" with which it shares the most similarity. Donovan was at the absolute peak of his powers in late 1966 when he went into a London studio to record the ten tracks on this album. Having
re-invented himself and pioneered a new brand of psychedelia on "Sunshine Superman", the artist felt at ease to create an effortless set of poems set to music, ranging from acoustic folk (the mesmerising "Sand And Foam" and "Young Girl Blues") to epic baroque ("Hampstead Incident"), swing jazz experiments ("The Observation", "House Of Jansch"), drugged out Swinging London pop ("Mellow Yellow", "Museum", "Sunny South Kensington") and
a hearbreaking balladic paen to writer's block ("Writer In The Sun").

The lyrics are among the most incisive and edgy in the songwriter's entire career, capturing the moment when he was temporarily banned from recording in the USA due to contractual entanglements. Many of the songs have a depressed, resigned feel to them, capturing a sense of ennui that is only occasionally brightened by the singer's still optimistic view that things will change (and change they did). The music is colored by similar instrumentation to that of "Sunshine Superman", with flutes, string quartets, vibes, clarinets and other additions mixing jazz, folk and classical music with ease. The major difference between the two works is the absence of the Indian influence of sitars and tablas--save on the closing "Sunny South Kensington" (which is as perfect an encapsulation of late '66 UK pop as can be found)--which makes the album a bit less psychedelic than its predecessor but no less richly textured. The preoccupation with medeival and magical imagery is here refined from a straightforward storytelling (as on "Legend Of A Girl Child Linda" from "Superman") to a more subtle lyrical touch mixed in with modern-day themes ("Sand And Foam", "Hampstead Incident"). The musical climaxes are no less dramatic, and the only misstep appears to be the singer's fascination with disposable 20s jazz themes on "The Observation" and "Bleak City Woman".

In short, "Mellow Yellow" is an essential purchase, not only as a snapshot of the experimental, pioneering phase of UK pop in late '66/early '67, but as a consistently strong and timeless work in its own right. A domestic remaster (perhaps with bonus tracks of outtakes and the concurrent single "Epistle To Dippy"/"Preachin' Love", which fits right in with the style of the record) is sorely needed.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, September 21, 2005

By 

Morten Vindberg (Denmark) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mellow Yellow (Audio CD)

"Mellow Yellow" was Donovans's second electric album, and his second produced by Micky Most. To call the album electric is probably a little misguiding, as many tracks are almost pure acoustic recordings; but compared to Donovan first two albums these songs are arranged with a great variety of instruments. Though Donovan is covering quite many different styles ( blues, jazz, folk, classical and pop ) the album works very well as a whole; a fact that arranger John Cameron deserves credit for. His arrangements are both tasteful and varied, creating the atmosphere that makes an album.

The list of guest musician features both classical players and well-known studio musicians like John Paul Jones, Harold McNair and Phil Seamen.

The extremely catchy title-track is well-known to everybody who was there in the sixties, and it still has the charm, so no wonder it made it to number one in the charts back then.

Other highlights are the moving "Young Girl Blues", the catchy "Museum" and the complex "Hampstead Incident".

The charming "Sunny South Kensington" works as a reminder of Donovan's first electic hit "Sunshine Superman" and has some amusing Dylan inspired lyrics.

No less than 10 bonus-track, make the CD-reissue quite a scoop. The two single hits "Epistle to Dippy" and "There is a Mountain" would be stand-out on any Donovan album, and here in particular they work extremely well, being recording during some of the same sessions. I always thought that "There is a Mountain" had the same optimistic feel as Traffic's "You Can All Join In"; both quite typical of the hippie way of thinking in the late 1960's.

The demos are mostly Donovan alone with his guitar, before the final arrangements. The swinging jazzy B-side "Preachin` Love" is another gem.

A CD that can only be highly recommended!