Donovan is a pretty unique 60s icon: absolutely huge in his day - up there with The Beatles and Dylan, no joke; a rack of top twenty singles - yet whose reputation never really recovered after the end of the 60s dream. Unlike other names wrapped up with the era, such as ISB and a host of lesser talents, Donovan has never been rehabilitated or "rediscovered". Shaun Ryder's brief attempt in the early 90s - bless - doesn't count. This is probably owing to the fact that he never actually went away or stopped recording. If he had upped sticks in the early 70s and gone off to a mountain top somewhere, there's no doubt he would now be a very hip name to drop and his music reckoned for what it is: unique and irresistible. Cast away doubt and preconceptions and tuck in to some Starfish On Toast.
Oddi wrth y brawd
hail atlantis
2 comments:
well so much of donovan's music is simply delightful to listen to. the lyrics are lightweight and fluffy, almost nothing more than a soufflé of words, none of the heavy verbal cut-outs of a dylan or the self-important triteness of a jim morrison, not much of the beatles or stoneses effort to achieve some unique expression. and yet, he is totally his own man, and his songs HALF THE TIME are totally wonderful. half the time too they are pretty inane. his 70s output is great -- if you toss some of the stuff to one side. but then even the great dylan produced a score of LPs with nary a single listenable song on each one of them. donovan i never tire of, he is the one true master of british psychedelia along with the beatles, the one whose plagiarism was always eclectic and selective, never just a plain steal. no, a grand master of the art, even if his own opinion of himself appears a little inflated. but he's quite wonderful, really.
agreed. must investigate his 70s stuff...kind of lose track after HMS Donovan.
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