Sunshine Superman,Mellow Yellow,Hurdy Gurdy Man and Barabajagal - Donovan Albums Review

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Albums Review

One singer,one name,four CD's.Acclaimed sixties 'flower-power' icon Donovan(Leitch)now 59 years-old,gets a long overdue overhaul with the release of some back-catalogue classics.Dusting down the archives,his flowery philosophy,considered passé in the 70s and 80s,are now seen as superb examples of folk-rock hippie mysticism.Sunshine Superman was his second album from 1966,spawning the title track single(his biggest hit-no.2 UK chart)laying the path for a succession of imitators,influencing the budding Mark Feld aka Marc Bolan,who morphed into Tyrannosaurus Rex then T.Rex.Some even believed Bolan was a Donovan reincarnation.

Donovan came to prominence after dropping out of college,and began recording his songs at the age of 18 years.Talent scouts from seminal tv programme Ready Steady Go soon picked on him,and he became a regular on the show.Working with legendary producer Mickie Most until 1969,Donovan explored folk-like refrains and exotic instrumentation (flutes,cellos,sitarsand harps),scattered over this huge collective tracklisting,they combined to make him a household name.In the interim years he's continued to tour,written poetry and scored films.Apart from the original song titles we're given an abundance of bonus tracks,some demo versions,first versions and alternative arrangements.

Elly Roberts