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Артист: Donovan Альбом: Sunshine Superman [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT] , 2005 Жанр: Folk, Pop, Psy Формат файла: EAC-Flac-Cue-Scans Ссылка: CD 8 clicks Нахождение: eDonkey/Kademlia

Upon his emergence during the mid-'60s, Donovan was anointed "Britain's answer to Bob Dylan," a facile but largely unfounded comparison which compromised the Scottish folk-pop troubadour's own unique vision. Where the thrust of Dylan's music remains its bleak introspection and bitter realism, Donovan fully embraced the wide-eyed optimism of the flower-power movement, his ethereal, ornate songs radiating a mystical beauty and childlike wonder; for better or worse, his recordings remain quintessential artifacts of the psychedelic era, capturing the peace-and-love idealism of their time to perfection. Donovan Leitch was born May 10, 1946 in Glasgow and raised outside of London; at 18 he recorded his first demo, and in 1965 was tapped as a regular on the television pop showcase Ready, Steady, Go! He soon issued his debut single "Catch the Wind," earning the first round of Dylan comparisons with his ramshackle folk sound and ragamuffin look; the single nevertheless reached the UK Top Five, with a subsequent meeting between the two singer/songwriters captured in the classic D.A. Pennebaker documentary Don't Look Back.

Donovan's follow-up single, "Colours," was also a hit, and after making his American debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he issued Fairytale, his second and last LP for the Hickory label. Signing with Epic in 1966, he released his breakthrough album, Sunshine Superman, which in its exotic arrangements and pointedly psychedelic lyrical outlook heralded a major shift from his previous work; the title track topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, with the enigmatic "Mellow Yellow" reaching the number two spot a few months later. Donovan remained a chart fixture throughout 1967, generating a series of hits including "Epistle to Dippy," "There Is a Mountain," and "Wear Your Love Like Heaven"; that year he traveled to India alongside the Beatles to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a journey which inspired him to renounce drug use and encourage his listeners to turn to meditation. The ambitious double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden followed, and in 1968 Donovan resurfaced with The Hurdy Gurdy Man, scoring a Top Five smash with the hallucinatory title cut; the record also yielded the hit "Jennifer Juniper."

Barabajagal from 1969 generated Donovan's final Top 40 hit, "Atlantis"; for the title track, he collaborated with the Jeff Beck Group, with whom he also worked on 1970's Open Road. He then retreated to Ireland, emerging from a period of seclusion by starring in and scoring the 1972 film The Pied Piper; a pair of new LPs, Cosmic Wheels and Essence to Essence, appeared the following year to disappointing reviews and little commercial interest. Following 1974's 7-Tease, he spent the next years living quietly in California's Joshua Tree desert, mounting only a small club tour to promote 1976's Slow Down; a self-titled LP appeared a year later, and in the wake of 1983's Jerry Wexler-produced Lady of the Stars, he essentially retired from writing and recording altogether. The Donovan revival began in earnest in 1991 when Happy Mondays titled a song in his honor for their groundbreaking Pills 'n' Thrills & Bellyaches; he later toured with the group as well. Five years later, Donovan released his comeback LP, Sutras, helmed by producer-du-jour Rick Rubin. ther album had the misfiortune to be released after Rubin's landmark Johnny Cash record, American Recordings and was virtually ignored or misunderstood by critics. Donovan toured briefly to support Sutras and then went missing once again, playing out only sporadically. In 2004, however, he reappeared with the intimate and stylish Beat Cafe, a collection of nearly all-original songs produced by keyboardist John Chelew. Donovan also enlisted bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Jim Keltner to round out his quartet. The album also featured a pair of covers, a spoken-word rendition of poet Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle," and a startling rendition of the traditional tune, "The Cuckoo." Sony released the double-disc CD/DVD Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan, the following year.

2005 Digitally remastered re-issue features seven bonus tracks 'Breezes Of Patchulie', 'Museum' (First Version), 'Superlungs' (First Version), 'The Land Of Doesn't Have To', 'Sunshine', 'Good Trip' (Demo), 'House Of Jansch' (Demo). Sunshine Superman marked the coming of psychedelia and utilised the production skills of already established producer, Mickie Most, whose bass heavy style complements Donovan's enigmatic lyrics and their beatnik delivery brilliantly. EMI.

This re-release of Sunshine Superman might well be titled "The Ultimate Experience," or "The Total Immersion Version" - expanded to 67 minutes, it contains a new 24-bit remastering of the U.S. version of the album (the U.K. version, though it contained Donovan's preferred cover art, was compromised in its content by its extended delay in release, into the following year, owing to legal wrangling of the artist's management and recording contracts in the U.K.), plus seven chronologically related bonus tracks, "Breezes of Patchulie," "Museum" (in an early, lighter-textured version than its officially released recording from the next album), "Superlungs" (in the first of three distinctly different renditions); the longer stereo mix of "Sunshine Superman," and four never-before-heard tracks - "The Land of Doesn't Have to Be" and demo versions of "Good Trip" and "House of Jansch." The upgraded sound is a wonder, bringing out the full nuances in the playing and overcoming the compressed sound with which American audiences have had to put up with on the U.S. version of this album for decades - coupled with the sheer diversity of sounds, from the bold psychedelic pop of the title song to the reflective folk of "Legend of a Girl Child Linda," to the raga-folk of "Three Kingfishers" and "Ferris Wheel," the bluesy resonances of "Bert's Blues," and the ominous, full-electric sound (with the band, and the electric guitars especially, right in your face here) of "Season of the Witch" - the latter's tone may suddenly remind you, just a little bit, of "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield, and considering how much time Donovan had spent recording in L.A., it's difficult to believe he hadn't at least heard the latter song; and juxtaposed as it is with "The Trip," his song about his first performing sojourn to L.A., the comparison seems more than apt; the latter song also rocks harder than ever, with a killer bassline and the electric and acoustic guitars more exposed than ever. "Guinevere" sounds like a live cut now, it's so expanded and rich, and "The Fat Angel" is now a perfectly produced piece of blues/raga/folk-rock. And "Celeste" now shows all of the details and nuances of the playing on the backing instruments, as well as presenting Donovan's voice in a rich, expansive playing that gives it more beauty and resonance than ever. This record didn't do badly when it was released originally, but if even just the original ten songs could've sounded half this good in the U.S., Sunshine Superman might well be thought of today as being of a piece with the Beatles' Revolver, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, and the Byrds' Fifth Dimension - it had the music for it, if not the mastering or the press behind it. And coupled with the bonus cuts (which also sound better than any prior Donovan material on CD) and detailed annotation, this is essential listening, almost off the scale for quality.



1. Sunshine Superman
2. Legend Of A Girl Child Linda
3. Three Kingfishers
4. Ferris Wheel
5. Bert's Blues
6. Season Of The Witch
7. The Trip
8. Guinevere
9. The Fat Angel
10. Celeste
11. Breezes Of Patchulie
12. Museum (First Version)
13. Superlungs (First Version)
14. The Land Of Doesn't Have To Be
15. Sunshine Superman
16. Good Trip (Demo) (Mono)
17. House Of Jansch (Demo) (Mono)

Also have,
Mellow Yellow [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT]
Hurdy Gurdy Man [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT]
Barabajagal [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT]

thanks, KillerRips!
I would also like to thank you for all the other releases which would never appear on netlab without your help. Keem 'em coming, my friend

Maybe 4-11-06 something new come.

Mellow Yellow [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT]
Donovan

Audio CD (June 7, 2005)
Format: Original recording remastered, Import
Label: EMI Int'l

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.

Review by Bruce Eder
The second album of Donovan's psychedelic/rock phase (as distinct from his earlier folk phase), Mellow Yellow was always a mystery to British audiences (who never saw the LP, thanks to the nearly year-long lay-off that Donovan's legal woes imposed upon him in his own country), and a kind of vexation to American listeners, available as it was for many years in a wretched "rechanneled stereo" version from Columbia Special Products that offered scratchy sound and not much else. The CD version was a partial improvement, but was done so early that it wasn't even representative of state-of-the-art digital sound at the time it was issued, Columbia Records often being a day late and several dollars short in the audio sweepstakes of the mid- to late '80s. Now this CD, from British EMI, is state-of-the-art down to the last note, taken from the original master tape (in real stereo) and transferred in 24-bit digital, so that even the solo acoustic guitar on "Young Girl Blues" is kind of imposing, to the point where you can almost hear the action on the strings - with Donovan's voice richer and more resonant than ever in this new transfer, and the arrangements by John Cameron and John Paul Jones now fully exposed and heard in all the timbres that were present in the studio; this is a sonic delight as well a spellbinding mix of psychedelia, blues, folk, Eastern music, and pop like nothing else that Columbia or any other major label - except EMI and Capitol with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album - was releasing in 1967. It's been augmented with ten bonus tracks, three previously released ("Epistle to Dippy," "Preachin' Love," "There Is a Mountain"), but making their debut with truly killer sound so that you can even hear the action on the strings of the acoustic guitar deep in the mix of "There Is a Mountain," and six previously unissued demos, solo acoustic, and some works-in-progress, including early incarnations of evolving songs such as "Good Time" and another attempt at "Superlungs," where Donovan gets into some surprising pop and garage rock grooves, respectively, and there's an alternate arrangement of "Epistle to Dippy" (with violin in lieu of guitar). Any of the bonus features would be worth the price of the CD, and the combination of all of them makes this a must-own piece, and not just for Donovan fans, but anyone who wants a glimpse of the kind of creativity that was bubbling up and over in 1967 and has already run through Sgt. Pepper and the like. It's intense enough that you may find yourself - no joke - getting a little bit high at 40 minutes in, with 25 still to go.


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
11. Epistle To Dippy (Stereo)
12. Preachin' Love
13. Good Time
14. There Is A Mountain
15. Superlungs (Second Version)
16. Epistle To Dippy (Alternative Arr) (Stereo)
17. Sidewalk (The Observation) (Demo) (Mono)
18. Writer In The Sun (Demo) (Mono)
19. Hampstead Incident (Demo) (Mono)
20. Museum (Demo) (Mono)
DonMel.rar 7 clicks

Hurdy Gurdy Man [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT]
Donovan

Audio CD (May 24, 2005)
Format: Original recording remastered, Import
Label: EMI Int'l

2005 Digitally remastered re-issue features six bonus tracks 'Poor Cow', 'Lalena', 'Aye My Love', 'What A Beautiful Creature You Are' 'Colours' and 'Catch The Wind'. The album forshadows the coming discontent which eventually drove Donovan out of the music business. The title song, 'Hurdy Gurdy Man,' combines what are upbeat lyrics with a very dark performance. This ambivalence continues in a set of songs with a very bitter edge like 'Teas', 'Tangier', and 'Hi It's Been a Long Time', 'Yet 'Jennifer Juniper' & 'Peregrine', among others, stand in stark contrast. EMI. 2005.

Hurdy Gurdy Man, released in the U.S. in October 1968, was the first really good sounding Donovan album to come out through Epic Records in America, as well as being the most advanced and sophisticated of the artist's albums he'd made up until then. A product of several contacts between Donovan and Eastern culture, principally growing out of his discovery of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the album also reflected the product of several infatuations and a highly experimental mindset, and all of it flows forth here in ravishing detail - the chants, ragas, and drones heard in between the more folk-oriented ballads - all in high-resolution digital audio, which now makes this album sound like one of the most delightfully spacey and intoxicating releases of its era, and there was no shortage of records shooting for those effects; but heard here the way they were meant to be, these songs now strike a careful balance between substantive, defined ballads, and bolder "effect" pieces that work more directly on the psyche. It's all not unlike the effect of drugs, and makes this one of the truest products of its era in terms of its effect on the listener - and those are just the tracks from the original LP. The bonus tracks include the contemporary single sides ("Lalena"), the movie-related tracks ("Poor Cow"), the B-side ("Teen Angel"), and contemporary re-recordings of "Colours" and "Catch the Wind" (intended for use on a greatest-hits package). The annotation is thorough and revealing, and the disc is nothing less than essential for fans of the artist or the period represented by the music.

1. Hurdy Gurdy Man
2. Peregrine
3. The Entertaining Of A Shy Girl
4. As I Recall It
5. Get Thy Bearings
6. Hi It's Been A Long Time
7. West Indian Lady
8. Jennifer Juniper
9. The River Song
10. Tangier
11. A Sunny Day
12. The Sun Is A Very Magic Fellow
13. Teas
14. Teen Angel
15. Poor Cow
16. Lalena
17. Aye My Love (Mono)
18. What A Beautiful Creature You Are
19. Colours
20. Catch The Wind
DonHYGY.rar 5 clicks

Thanks!

Barabajagal [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [IMPORT]
Donovan

Audio CD (June 7, 2005)
Format: Original recording remastered, Import
Label: EMI Int'l

2005 Digitally remastered re-issue that features twelve bonus tracks 'Snakeskin', 'Lauretta's Cousin Laurinda', 'The Swan' (Lord Of The Reedy River), 'A Poor Man's Sunshine' (Nativity), 'New Years Resolution' (Donovan's Celtic Jam), 'Runaway' (Demo), 'Sweet Beverley' (Demo), 'Marjorie' (Margarine) (Demo), 'Little White Flower' (Demo), 'Good Morning Mr Wind' (Demo), 'Palais Girl' (Demo), 'Lord Of The Universe' (Demo). On Barabajagal, Donovan made his first steps away from the folk rock of before towards an acid rock sound, with songs such as the title track and Trudi. EMI.

Donovan was in a tremendously creative phase during the latter part of 1968, owing to both a tour of the United States (which yielded a live album) and the chemical and social stimulation of his surroundings. Amid all of that activity and his subsequent recordings, his European performances, and the slightly late catch-up of his British career to his American success, Donovan's work blossomed in several different directions on the resulting album, Barabajagal. He still sounded like a folkie, but on the title track as well as "Superlungs My Supergirl," he was backed by the Jeff Beck Group and an outfit that included Big Jim Sullivan and John Paul Jones, respectively. With Barabajagal, Donovan intermingled soft, lyrical, spaced-out folk, hard psychedelia, children's songs, anthems to free love (along with a lusty appreciation of the fairer sex that runs throughout the album), and even antiwar sentiments ("To Susan on the West Coast Waiting"). The result was the most challenging album then issued by Donovan, but also one of his most successful, with album sales driven by the presence of the U.S. hit "Atlantis." This expanded disc not only upgrades the sound by eliminating any hiss and bringing the whole sound palette into the listener's lap, but throws on more than a dozen bonus tracks from chronologically connected sessions. Standouts include "Stromberg Twins," which sounds like a cross between the Beach Boys and the Bonzo Dog Band (though it actually has Jeff Beck and Nicky Hopkins on it), the rocking outtakes "Snakeskin," "Lauretta's Cousin Laurinda," and A Poor Man's Sunshine" (the latter reportedly featuring Stephen Stills and Nils Lofgren), and various folk- and Celtic-themed demos, many of which would surface in finished form anywhere from two to 30 years later.

1. Barabajagal
2. Superlungs My Supergirl
3. Where Is She
4. Happiness Runs
5. I Love My Shirt
6. The Love Song
7. To Susan On The West Coast Waiting
8. Atlantis
9. Trudi
10. Pamela Jo
11. The Stromberg Twins
12. Snakeskin
13. Lauretta's Cousin Laurinda
14. The Swan (Lord Of The Reedy River)
15. A Poor Man's Sunshine (Nativity)
16. New Years Resolution (Donovan's Celtic Jam)
17. Runaway (Demo)
18. Sweet Beverley (Demo)
19. Marjorie (Margarine) (Demo)
20. Little White Flower (Demo)
21. Good Morning Mr Wind (Demo)
22. Palais Girl (Demo)
23. Lord Of The Universe (Demo)
DonBarb.rar 4 clicks