Sutras

Donovan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002MAV
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,083 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Please Don't Bend

2. Give It All Up

3. Sleep

4. Everlasting Sea

5. High You Love

6. The Clear-Browed One

7. The Way

8. Deep Peace

9. Nirvana

10. Eldorado

11. Be Mine

12. Lady of the Lamp

13. The Evernow

14. Universe Am I

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Must Hear This, July 11, 2005

By 

M. S. Sabol "blazing ferret" (Washington, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sutras (Audio CD)

I bought Sutras and didn't know what I was getting in to. I'm fairly new to Donovan though I'm learning fast. The songs here are so tight it is unbelievable that this CD is not more widely known or talked about!! It was only after many listens that I delved into the liner notes and discovered some of the sources that the artist used for inspiration, such as lines from classic spiritual texts, poetry, etc. But, this is somehow even beside the point. The songwriting here is like a spell, a beautiful culling of many spiritual traditions that Donovan distills through his ever entrancing guitar work and lyrical prowess. A freakin' masterpiece. I did some looking around on Donovan dedicated sites and found press articles relating to the release of this record. I encourage you to do the same just to fact check me, but if I remember correctly Rick Rubin contacted Donovan because he felt compelled to work with him and they ended up hanging out in L.A. for quite a while going to all sorts of fantastic bookstores and having some deep philosophical converstaions. Anyway, Donovan wrote 100 songs during this period and they brought it down to what, something like 14? Incredible. The production is very subtle, with a soft and whole accoustic resonance with the exception of one song ("out of nothing comes the one(?)") that has a very bright yet straight forward texture (somewhat George Harrisonesque sounding I think). It seems that the more this work is listened to, the deeper it goes!!! Enjoy this ride!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUSTAINED INNER BEAUTY, August 19, 2002

By 

Kerry Leimer (Makawao, Hawaii United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sutras (Audio CD)

Whatever you may think of Donovan, his is a unique voice, both in the beauty of his singing and in the care he takes with his lyrics.

"Sutras" is the perfect example. It is stunningly subtle, coherent and expansive. It is music you can leave on all day and continue to wish to hear again. It is music that will strike you differently at different times of day. In fact, it has a persistent presence that will stay with you long after the playing has stopped. Stay like the memory of a perfect day, not like an anonymous top twenty tune or advertising jingle that gets lodged in some primitive, no-longer needed part of your brain.

Sutras stays with you the only way anything of real beauty can. That's because there are no contortions to the music, nothing strained or startling, seeking attention. The music offers a frank tranquility, unadorned and free of distraction and expertly assembled. What would you expect from a guy who had most of Led Zeppelin playing rhythm for him, before there was a Led Zep? Or a man who used ambient recordings as parts of his songs as early as the mid 1960s?

"Sutras" is what you would expect from someone who has matured in music as he has in life. Someone who knows a thing or two that the rest of us may have already forgotten. This is simply music that matters, that helps you instead of distracts you. If you appreciate music, set aside any prejudice you might have and spend time with this. Out of the thousands you can buy here, this CD is truly worth owning.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sutras is super..., August 18, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sutras (Audio CD)

I read a review about Sutras (not on Amazon) where they were criticizing Rick Rubin's production on Sutras for having "too much compression" and sounding "too modern." I'm sorry, but I think Rick is a genius and everything he did on this album sounds great. Actually, if you want to hear "too much compression" on a Donovan album, go back and listen to the Mickie Most-produced albums from the 60's, especially the Sunshine Superman LP which has some great brick-wall limiting on it. Mickie Most was as much a genius at producing as Rick Rubin. Donovan is so gifted at songwriting that his producers are really just there to "enhance" the music. Rick Rubin has a way of making the performances sound very natural. Warm and natural. I wish he had been producing albums in 1982 when everyone was drowning everything in reverb gates and wobbly chorus effects and making the music to sound like it was recorded in a large concrete garage. My review is really just to stress two points. Donovan is a brilliant singer and songwriter and Rick Rubin is a top-notch and technically skilled producer who crafts fine examples of brilliant audiophile. This album will not fail you. It's a shame that a follow-up or sequel never materialized. Rubin encouraged Donovan to compose a large number of songs so that the cream of the crop could be chosen for a final album. It would be nice to hear what wasn't chosen.