 "Donovan's music still shines bright !!!" | 2009-04-24 |
| - Reviewed By ma1963 |
Donovan's Greatest Hits has a lot of great music by one of the major artists of the 1960s, Donovan. Donovan's music was simply incredible; and when he sang it was terrific. He always threw himself into whatever he performed to make his performances so special; and it's a shame that he isn't better remembered these days. The quality of the sound on this CD is excellent and I really like that artwork, too.
The CD starts with one of Donovan's major hits ever, "Mellow Yellow." "Mellow Yellow" features Donovan in his natural element; he does this awesome number with loads of style and I love every minute of it! The percussion and the guitars work wonders for this number; but wisely they never steal the show away from Donovan's vocals--his singing is squarely front and center! The musical interlude is very pretty as well. "Colours" is extremely pretty and the melody reflects good judgment; Donovan's excellent diction enhances his performance all the more; the guitar work again enhances the natural beauty of "Colours." In addition, there's "Hurdy Gurdy Man;" this somewhat psychedelic sounding ballad flows very well and Donovan bats this straight out of the ballpark!
"Catch The Wind" is excellent folk music that Donovan delivers faultlessly; I really like "Catch The Wind." "Epistle To Dippy" is quite well done; the music that accompanies Donovan as he sings this fits in well with his vocals. In addition, "Sunshine Superman" is yet another major, major highlight of this album. "Sunshine Superman" stands the test of time; this tune really impresses me and Donovan scores a huge goal in my book for "Sunshine Superman."
"Wear Your Love Like Heaven" is also very easy on the ear; the keyboard work enhances the number and the musical effects work wonders for this number. "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" is sure to please any Donovan fan; and it's a prime example of his creativity, too. "Season Of The Witch" has some mighty fine organ playing as Donovan sings this with all his heart and soul; and there's another gem in "Atlantis." The vocals that Donovan speaks on "Atlantis" make it a stronger ballad and that's grand.
"To Susan On The West Coast Waiting" is Donovan's song about a man writing the equivalent of a "Dear John" letter to a woman in the USA when he's fighting in the Vietnam War--it's powerful and yet pretty at the same time. That's quite a feat! "To Susan On The West Coast Waiting" is easily a highlight of this album. "Barabajagal" features Donovan working with The Jeff Beck Group--and together they make this number shine! The album also ends strong with Donovan performing "Riki Tiki Tavi." "Riki Tiki Tavi" uses the percussion well and it makes a fine ending for an album that leaves me wanting more.
All in all, Donovan's Greatest Hits is a must-have album for anyone who wants a truly comprehensive collection of 1960s music. Donovan was a great artist and these songs prove it. Diehard fans may already have most if not all of these songs in their collections; for them I recommend the box set entitled Troubadour and/or other albums by Donovan.
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| "All Great Folk-Rock experiments" | 2008-11-21 |
| - Reviewed By User: A39GW5CBWTIWAZ |
Some Amazon Reviewers say that the original hit versions are found elsewhere. Single versions, album versions, what do I know? I see that Donovan wrote every single song on this collection, and although he may have been looking back to "Atlantis", he was looking forward to "Zeppelin". Also to Bon Jovi? (Could "Blaze Of Glory" be a tribute to Mr. DL?). To Mark Bolan and T-Rex? That one goes without saying.
Actually, names like Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck, and John Bonham do figure in the proceedings.
Beautiful poetry set to tasteful arrangements. Bubble-gum Dylan? Why not? "Catch The Wind" is as good as "Blowin' In The Wind"!
[I wonder if the Stan Laurel estate is aware of the album cover photo?]. |
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| "Memories " | 2008-11-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: AFGDWILY5BE5U |
| What great memories from days gone by. It is said that he is going back on tour. He may have been forgotten but no longer. I should have gotten this years ago. GREAT |
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 "All his hits" | 2008-10-30 |
| - Reviewed By gordwalter |
| A fine collection especially with the inclusion of 4 bonus tracks. With these this one CD captures all of Donovan's charted hits with the exception of Universal Soldier (1965/53) and his two songs from 1971 and 1973. All his top ten hits are included here when Atlantis is included as a bonus. Sound quality is superb. A great value buy. |
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| "Very good CD" | 2008-10-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A38YYEQOXTE5W1 |
| Enjoying this CD very much. Nice collection of songs, most of which I remembered from back in the day. Sounded great. |
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 "Donovan's Greatest Hits-Expanded" | 2008-06-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A276M3NSIY9B82 |
Donovan Leitch was an icon, of sorts, of the sixties. He was a part of the hippie/folk music movement that began back then. Bob Dylan was one of the big movers & shakers of this movement & many, including Donovan, took up this banner. Donovan was definitely at the front of this movement for a period of time & had some major hits, some of them classic & timeless. This is supposedly the original version with bonus tracks added. Well, it is & it isn't; at least two of the tracks that were on the original vinyl version, as many others have stated, aren't the versions that was on that vinyl record.
In 1969, when the original vinyl version was released, this album went to #4 on the album charts, which was the highest any of his albums ever charted. I was never that much of a Donovan fan so I never owned any of his albums with the exception of this. Actually, I never fully bought into the folk movement, it was generally too mellow for my tastes. Normally, artists of this nature, those that would later be renamed as soft rock, never appealed to me. But, invariably, they would release singles that I thoroughly enjoyed. Such is Donovan, he had several hits that I enjoyed.
This version has the eleven songs that were on the vinyl release plus four bonus tracks that came a little later. "Mellow Yellow" opens the album, it was a #2 hit. "Colours" only made it to #61 & this isn't the version that was on the vinyl. It's pleasant enough but I really miss the background vocals that echo some of what Donovan sang. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was a #5 hit & is one of my absolute all-time favorite songs. Donovan dispensed a large portion of his folk sound in doing this song, ala Dylan. Donovan is often lambasted for being an imitator of Dylan & I can't completely disagree. The liner notes lists the musicians that play on each track & offer some insight also. On this particular track Donovan mentions that he wanted Jimi Hendrix to play lead on this song but he wasn't available. He ended up with Jimmy Page, also on this track is John Paul Jones & John Bonham before Led Zeppelin was ever formed. So, I guess, in a sense, we can blame or credit Donovan, somewhat, for the creation of that band. "Catch the Wind" follows & this, also, isn;t the version that was originally on the vinyl, it was a #23 single. "Lalena" is next & was a #33 single, a pretty good song. "Epistle to Dippy" went to #19 but it;s on the lame side. "Sunshine Superman", along with "Mellow Yellow", are probably the two songs most associated with Donovan, it went to #1. "There Is a Mountain" went to #11. "Jennifer Juniper" (I cringe hearing this song) was a #26 single. "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" is a pleasant ballad & went to #23. The final song on the original record was "Season of the Witch", a unique song for Donovan as he put aside some of his folk/hippiedom.
The four bonus tracks pick up on the tail end of Donovan's commercial career. Donovan was fading pretty fast by this time in 1969. "Atlantis" is the first bonus track & the last great single of his career, at least domestically. It's one of his best songs & peaked at #7 on the charts. "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting" was an anti-Vietnam war song & is better off to be forgotten; it peaked at #35. "Barbajagal" peaked at #36 & was one of the first songs to feature a reggae feel. The final bonus track is "Riki Tiki Tavi" that only made it #55.
This pretty much covers all of Donovan's charting singles in the U.S. except for three: "Universal Soldier" (#53), ""Celia of the Seals" (#84) & "I Like You" (#66). This is probably all the Donovan you'll ever need. |
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