Donovan - Donovan's Greatest Hits

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:09
Size: 114.8 MB
Styles: Folk-rock, Psychedelic pop
Year: 1969/1999
Art: Front

[3:39] 1. Mellow Yellow
[2:42] 2. Colours
[3:18] 3. Hurdy Gurdy Man
[2:53] 4. Catch The Wind
[2:54] 5. Lalaina
[3:10] 6. Epistle To Dippy
[4:31] 7. Sunshine Superman
[2:35] 8. There Is A Mountain
[2:41] 9. Jennifer Juniper
[2:23] 10. Wear Your Love Like Heaven
[4:56] 11. Season Of The Witch
[4:58] 12. Atlantis
[3:11] 13. To Susan On The West Coast Waiting
[3:17] 14. Barabajagal
[2:54] 15. Riki Tiki Tavi

Epic's Greatest Hits may not be a perfect collection -- for instance, it contains re-recordings of his earliest folk songs, "Catch the Wind" and "Colours," not the originals -- but for many casual fans, that may not matter since the remaining nine songs offer an excellent summary of his hit singles. And, as these songs prove, Donovan and producer Mickie Most could craft irresistible folk-rock and psychedelic pop singles. Some of the sounds and sentiments may sound a little dated, but the productions and the songs -- "Sunshine Superman," "Jennifer Juniper," "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," "Season of the Witch," "Mellow Yellow," "Hurdy Gurdy Man," "Epistle to Dippy," "There Is a Mountain," "Lalena" -- have proven to be classics of the era, and this is the best place to get them all on one collection. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Donovan's Greatest Hits

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Donovan - Beat Cafe

Styles: Vocal, Guitar, Rock
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:08
Size: 117,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:18)  1. Love Floats
(4:02)  2. Poorman's Sunshine
(4:13)  3. Beat  Cafe
(3:34)  4. Yin My Yang
(4:46)  5. Whirlwind
(3:40)  6. Two Lovers
(3:05)  7. The Question
(4:46)  8. Lord Of The Universe
(4:56)  9. Lover O Lover
(3:48) 10. The Cookoo
(4:26) 11. Do Not Go Gentle
(5:29) 12. Shambhala

Beat Cafe is Donovan's first record in nine years. His last, the Rick Rubin-produced Sutras was issued in 1993 and was hopelessly misunderstood especially coming as it did on the heels of Rubin's first collaboration with Johnny Cash. This side, produced by the rootsy yet eclectic John Chelew who has worked with everyone from Richard Thompson to the Blind Boys of Alabama and John Hiatt goes right to the heart of Donovan's particular musical esthetic. The title on this set is significant. The instrumentation is spare, with drums by Jim Keltner, acoustic , upright bass by the legendary Danny Thompson, and keyboards by Chelew.Donovan handled the guitar chores. In other words, small combo, cafe style. . . Atmosphere is everything in these songs; they are intimate, rhythm-conscious, tuneful, and lyrically savvy. In addition, they're inspired by that eternally present, romantically eulogized generation of poets, dope fiends, midnight travelers, and coffeehouse sages, the Beats. The set features 12 new songs; ten of them are Donovan Leitch originals. The covers include a compelling read of the mysterious and traditional "The Cuckoo,"and a jazzy spoken word take on Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle." There are some flashes of the hippy mystic of old here, but mostly, this is a fingerpopping set by Donovan the enigma as well as Donovan the songwriter. Chelew and band do a wonderful job of illustrating this juxtaposition. 

With this band tight, deeply in the groove at all times, the tunes open up and out as if the group were on the barroom stage, and extended the dancefloor jumping and jiving into the street on a delirious, humid moonlit night of uncontainable joy. "Poorman's Sunshine," with its skittering brushed snare drums and a B3 tracking the melody with Thompson's bass pushing the rhythm, jumps out at the listener, as does the title track with Thompson driving the whole engine. "Yin My Yang" may have a seemingly ridiculous title, but it's not in the context of what this album tries to achieve. Donovan is celebrating the self-referential, "anything-is-possible" revelation that fuelled the language and spirit of his heroes of yore, and propelled his own romantic, "everything-is-love" aesthetic. The shimmering, dark, Eastern minor-key psychedelic spoken word/sung ditty of "Two Lovers" is one of those poems that makes Donovan so unique (think, "Atlantis" here). The organic jazzed-up funk of "The Question" is one of those crazy moments that makes the whole world open and the body twitch in time. The album ends with the whispering "Shambala," a tender, blissful dirge that is utterly moving and hauntingly beautiful in its optimism and hope. If anything, if albums are "needed" anymore, the spirit in this one is. Donovan reminds listeners that possibility and hope are not passé, but as full of chance and wild grace as ever. Welcome back, Donovan; you've been missed. ~ Thom Jurek http://www.allmusic.com/album/beat-cafe-mw0000656001

Personnel: Donovan (vocals); Donovan Leitch (vocals, guitar); Danny Thompson (bass instrument, bass guitar); John Chelew (keyboards); Jim Keltner (drums, percussion).

Beat Cafe

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Donovan - The EP Collection

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:38
Size: 129.7 MB
Styles: Folk-Pop-Rock
Year: 1990
Art: Front

[3:09] 1. Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness)
[3:23] 2. Josie
[2:13] 3. Catch The Wind
[2:40] 4. To Sing For You
[3:01] 5. Remember The Alamo
[2:04] 6. Oh Deed I Do
[3:49] 7. Ballad Of A Crystal Man
[2:09] 8. Universal Soldier
[1:45] 9. Do You Hear Me Now
[2:42] 10. Colours
[3:28] 11. Turquoise
[2:32] 12. There Is A Mountain
[2:30] 13. Rambling Boy
[2:53] 14. Sunny Goodge Street
[3:13] 15. Hurdy Gurdy Man
[3:37] 16. The War Drags On
[2:11] 17. Jersey Thursday
[2:52] 18. Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do
[2:39] 19. Jennifer Juniper
[3:37] 20. Mellow Yellow

Donovan Philips Leitch (born May 19, 1946 in Maryhill, Glasgow), better known as simply Donovan, is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician. Originally a ’60s folk singer, as the decade progressed Donovan cultivated his own unique eclectic sound, mixing elements of folk, pop, jazz, world music and more, often with a twinge of psychedelia. His most well-known work was suffused with altruistic political overtones, making him an iconic figure of the “flower power” counter-culture of the ’60s.

Donovan came to fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with a series of live performances on the television pop series, Ready Steady Go!. He first hit the charts in 1965 with his single “Catch the Wind”, continuing on with a string of hits, most of them produced by Mickie Most. Donovan’s 1966 Sunshine Superman marked not only a transition to the burgeoning psychedelic scene, but is also viewed as a formative album in its genre, inspiring countless contemporaries. His 1967 double album A Gift From A Flower To A Garden—the first major album released as a boxed set—completed the transition from beat poet folkster to hippie troubadour.

The EP Collection

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