Donvan: Donovan's Greatest Hits

Donvan: Donovan's Greatest Hits

1969

Epic Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Epistle to Dippy  2. Sunshine Superman  3. There Is a Mountain  4. Jennifer Juniper  5. Wear Your Love Like Heaven  6. Season of the Witch  7. Mellow Yellow  8. Colours  9. Hurdy Gurdy Man  10. Catch the Wind  11. Laléna

Man, whatever...I'm a hippie...This album is awesome..."Epistle to Dippy" is one of my all-time favorite songs...How does something so gentle rock so much? I honestly believe that "Look on yonder misty mountain, See the young monk meditating..." is one of the greatest opening lines ever and Donovan's vocal phrasing is masterful...Syllables and breaks occur in unexpected places, leaving you hanging on every word...If you're curious as to why I think so highly of Donovan (who is usually dismissed as a fluffy also-ran) then check that track out....

This is also a good place to find his great, flower-power-y, bubblegumtastic 60's singles like "Sunshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow"...As a kid, I just assumed that "Mellow Yellow" was written about the popular brand of sodee pop, but it turns out it must have been the other way around...The teeth-rotting Mello Yello beverage didn't debut until 1979...

We used to have a cat named Mello Yello which was probably named after the pop...If I remember correctly, the cat looked something like this...

"Sunshine Superman" is one of the few good songs about Superman (who has had more shitty songs written about him than anyone else), so as a Superman fan, I'm grateful for that...

 But beyond that, it's probably the quintessential 60's pop song...It has that same kind of stringy "Day Tripper" riff that you can really imagine Austin Powers dancing to...

That's kind of my gauge of how 60's-ish something is...Can I imagine Austin Powers dancing to it...

There's also plenty of the acoustic-mystic Dylan-ish stuff on here too, if you're into that sort of thing...I tend to lean toward his more straight-up pop or reaaaallllly far out shit, but it's hard to argue with  stuff like "Catch the Wind"...I can't speak too much on what should or shouldn't be on here, since I haven't delved very deep into Donovan's discography...But what's here is flippin' great if you're into capital "6" 60's...I wasn't even born yet and it gives me flashbacks...

Sorry to cut this short...I have to go to work...Trust me, I'd much rather sit around and talk about Donovan all day, but....*sigh*...

Here's "Epistle to Dippy" by Donovan...Enjoy...