Elevator In The Brain Hotel - Part 1 - All The Donovan Albums Ranked

ALL THE IMPORTANT DONOVAN ALBUMS RANKED WORST TO BEST: Part 1

by Stuart Penney

Want to know where to start listening to Donovan?  Maybe you already own most of his records but are interested in seeing how they stack up today or perhaps how strongly you disagree with our assessment?  This album-by-album guide should give new fans and the undecided alike some idea where to begin with the tousled troubadour who influenced the Beatles (even though he really doesn’t like to talk about it much) and along the way gave us a run of albums virtually unparalleled in the late 60s.  

Donovan’s golden era was undoubtedly 1966-73.  The moon was in the seventh house, Jupiter had aligned with Mars and peace was guiding the planets. It was the dawning of the age of Aquarius. Acid rock and psychedelia had captivated an entire generation and... (Get on with it!! Ed). 

During that period, aided and abetted by the combined genius of producer Mickie Most and arranger John Cameron, he made records the equal of almost anyone in popular music.  His importance naturally faded in the 70s as the scene changed around him and the world became a very different place.  But even so, there are still many gems to be found scattered throughout his later work. 

So, here, cherry-picked from this extraordinary body of work are what I consider the 26 most important Donovan long players ranked worst to best (or least-best to most-best, if you prefer).  Sorry vinyl fans, a few titles are CD-only releases, but that can’t be helped.  And you’ll find most of them on Spotify, anyway.

Sue Me, Sue You Blues

First, a word of explanation regarding the huge discrepancy between Donovan’s early UK and US discographies.  In December 1965 Billboard magazine carried a story confirming that he had severed ties with his trio of managers Geoff Stephens, Terry Kennedy and Peter Eden to sign with Ashley Kozak.  Around the same time, he also struck a deal with producer Mickie Most and the notorious business manager Allen Klein, soon to become infamous for his association with the Stones and the Beatles.  

Most’s productions were licensed exclusively to CBS in America (EMI in UK) and this in turn led to a US record deal with Epic (a Columbia / CBS subsidiary) for Donovan.  The deal was signed in June 1966, and it’s claimed that Donovan was the first artist brought to the label by Columbia / CBS Vice President Clive Davis.

But since his UK label Pye already had a US licensing deal with Warner Brothers / Reprise* this created all manner of legal problems, causing Donovan's British releases to be virtually frozen for more than a year as the writs flew thick and fast.  

*Ed. Note: Warner / Reprise in the US had the right of first refusal for UK Pye releases, leaving smaller independent labels such as Kapp, Laurie, Cameo and Hickory to pick up the leftovers.  See part two of this piece for the story of Donovan’s Hickory releases.

The management situation was finalised in February 1966 with Stephens, Kennedy and Eden receiving a financial settlement, but the label problem dragged on.  By the time the legal shenanigans were ironed out, Donovan’s UK catalogue was in disarray with several records delayed or not released at all in Britain.  

In the end Donovan stayed with Pye records (and their progressive affiliate label Dawn) in the UK until 1973 at which point Cosmic Wheels became his first album to be released worldwide on the Epic label. 

Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s crack on with part one of the list. Part two will follow very soon.

25. Lady Of The Stars 

UK RCA PL 70060

US Allegiance AV 437

Producer: Jerry Wexler, Dee Rob, Bruce Robb

Released: October 1983 (UK) / January 1984 (US)

This was his first LP to gain a US release since the self-titled Donovan in 1977 and it was indeed a strange and confusing album.  Five of the ten tracks were shameless re-recordings of older songs including the title track, “Sunshine Superman,” “Season of the Witch,” and “Local Boy Chops Wood.” 

The album sank without trace, and it proved to be Donovan’s last recording for 12 years.  

Record Collector Notes:

Lady of the Stars has been reissued countless times on numerous labels with different titles and assorted covers.  In 1993 it appeared on CD as Till I See you Again with a 1965 era cover photo.  A year later it was retitled (confusingly) Sunshine Superman, this time with a variation of the For Little Ones album sleeve photo taken at Bodiam Castle in East Sussex.  Some of the endless reissues even suffered the indignity of being sold in the Pound / Dollar / Euro stores.

In 2022 a vinyl reissue re-titled Golden Tracks (Cleopatra CLO2578LP BM) appeared.  Pressed in Canada, the original back cover photo was moved to the front, and it was available in blue marbled vinyl.

  

24. Neutronica 

France - Barclay 200 149

W. Germany - RCA 28429

Italy - Bubble BLU 19602

Australia - Interfusion L37811 

Producer: Donovan, Peter Walsh

Released: 1980

Things had reached a pretty pass by 1980 when, for the first time ever, a studio album by Donovan was not released in either the UK or US.  Following a European record deal with RCA, Neutronica was issued only in France, West Germany, Italy and, surprisingly, Australia.  These were dark times indeed for Donovan.

Much of the album directly related to Donovan’s political views concerning world hunger, war, military spending and the like.  The synth-based rock tracks were most un-Donovan like, but they were tempered by a handful of softer acoustic songs which were more successful. 

Best of all was a version Eric Bogle’s moving WWI ballad “No Man’s Land” (aka “Green Fields of France”) and the traditional “The Heights of Alma.”  Donovan plays a cittern / octave mandolin on this rousing Crimean War song. 

Erstwhile Keef Hartley band guitarist Miller Anderson guests on “We Are One.”

Record Collector Notes:

Neutronica remained unreleased in the UK until 2001 when Pilot Records issued it on CD with seven bonus tracks.  These comprised live recordings of “The Heights of Alma” and “Universal Soldier,” plus acoustic demos of “Only to Be Expected” and “Split Wood Not Atoms” and alternate versions of “Shipwreck” and “Madrigalinda.”  Also included was an a cappella song “Fair Ye Well.”

Key Tracks: The Heights of Alma, No Man’s Land

23. Donovan

UK RAK SRAK528

US Arista AB 4143

Producer: Mickie Most

Released: October 1977 (UK) / August 1977 (US)

He’d been with the Epic label for over a decade (in the US, at least), but by 1977 Donovan’s contract had expired (or possibly it was terminated) and he signed a one album deal with Mickie Most’s RAK label, home to glam and pop luminaries Suzie Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Mud, Smokie etc (in fact, three Smokie members even contributed backing vocals to this album).  With Most himself back in the producer’s seat and John Cameron returning to handle string and horn arrangements it was almost like old times.  Almost. 

Featuring a contemporary rock and pop sound, this was not the best record to release in the year of punk and it was not well received, failing to chart on both sides of the Atlantic.  Glimpses of the old genius shone though in places, notably “Lady of the Stars” and “Maya’s Dance,” but this is a long way down the list of essential Donovan albums.

Musicians included drummer Colin Allen (John Mayall, Stone the Crows, Focus etc) and virtuoso guitarist Isaac Guillory who had recorded with Al Stewart.  Sleeve images were provided by Gered Mankowitz who photographed virtually everyone worth photographing in the 60s and 70s. 

Record Collector Notes:

RAK records didn’t have much of a footprint in N.America where their releases were licensed to a number of labels.  As a result, Donovan was released in the US and Canada on Clive Davis’s Arista label with a rearranged track listing.

Key Tracks: Local Boy Chops Wood, Lady Of The Stars, Maya’s Dance

22. Sutras

EU American Recordings 74321 39743 2

US American Recordings 943075 2

Producer: Rick Rubin

Released: October 1996

And so, we reach the first Donovan album (other than compilations) to be released only on CD, with no vinyl option (to date).  

In the mid-90s Rick Rubin was arguably the hottest producer on the planet, having worked with everyone from AC/DC and Slayer to the Beastie Boys and Mick Jagger.  He also had a reputation for making veteran artists relevant again, most notably Johnny Cash.  The 1994 American Recordings album had been a great success for The Man In Black and so Rubin decided to try his hand with another 60s heritage artist whose vintage material was enjoying something of a resurgence at the time. 

His hip hop / thrash metal leanings notwithstanding, the producer had apparently been a longtime Donovan fan and persuaded him to revert to the meditative acoustic style of his early Pye recordings.  

Recorded during 1995 and 1996 with Danny Thompson (double bass), Nigel Kennedy (violin) and Benmont Tench from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (keyboards) providing sympathetic backing, it was Don’s first studio record in 13 years and his most retro sounding album in decades.  “Please Don’t Bend” was perhaps the strongest track and this was regularly performed in concert during the late 90s. 

Contemporary reviews of the album were mixed, with many finding it too one-paced and lacking in variety.  It was a brave attempt but sold poorly and is the only collaboration between Rubin and Donovan released.  Even so, Sutras served to re-establish him as a current artist releasing new material after a lengthy absence from the studio.  

Record Collector Notes:

The record company press release told us, presumably with a straight face, that Donovan “had prepared over one hundred songs for the Sutras recording sessions.”  In a scathing yet chucklesome 1996 review in Q magazine, David Hepworth picked up on this unlikely nugget and quipped “…just the hundred songs...which indicates he has much to learn about the virtues of concentration,” before concluding “extraordinary to consider quite how dull the 80 rejected songs must have been.”  

Regarding Donovan’s “florid enunciation” Hepworth declared him to sound “like a Victorian actor-manager reciting Chaucer.”  Q awarded Sutras a measly two stars out of a possible five.  Harsh but, under the circumstances, entirely fair.  27 years later only a pedant would point out that, allowing for the 12 tracks on the CD, the number of rejected songs would have totalled 88. 

A 1998 follow-up to Sutras, provisionally titled The Promise was planned but never materialised.  Presumably, this would have featured some more of those “one hundred songs” we heard so much about.

US pressings of the CD omitted the final track “The Garden” but, as if to compensate, the American version had a considerably more substantial booklet than the EU edition. 

For those wondering about the album title.  In Buddhism, sutras are like scriptures, containing the teachings of the Buddha.  Similarly, in Jainism, sutras are the sermons of a spiritual teacher.  In Sanskrit, sutra means "thread," and traditional ancient literary sutras attempted to weave knowledge, threadlike, around and into their few simple words or syllables.  It was good to see that, yet again, Donovan was not handicapped by modesty. 

Key Track: Please Don’t Bend

21. Love Is Only Feeling 

UK RCA 24872

Germany RCA 28472

Producer: Donovan

Released: October 1981 (Germany) / 1983 (UK)

With a stripped down backing of Danny Thompson (bass), John Stevens (drums) and Tony Roberts (woodwind, brass) this was a return to old school acoustic Donovan.  All the ingredients were in place, but it was let down by a lack of strong, memorable material. 

Accompanied by daughter Astrella, Donovan plays a cittern / octave mandolin on the title track which is a re-working of “Someone’s Singing” from A Gift To A Flower To A Garden.

Record Collector Notes:

Another album which didn’t see a US release, this was issued only in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Australia and, belatedly, UK.  

Key Track: Lady of the Flowers

20. Beat Cafe

Appleseed APR CD 1081

Producer: John Chelew

Released: August 2004 (UK)

The first album of new material in the eight years since Sutras arrived to generally positive reviews.  The beatnik themed material was largely successful, although a hipster jazz adaptation of Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle” was, vocally at least, a little over-egged.  As always, Danny Thompson and Jim Keltner were impeccable throughout and Donovan himself contributed some nice slinky lead guitar.  

Record Collector Notes:

The first 1,000 copies were numbered and autographed and sold via Donovan’s website. 

"Poorman's Sunshine" and "Lord of the Universe" were revamped recordings from the 1969 Barabajagal sessions, while "Lover O Lover" was originally released on Love Is Only Feeling in 1981.

Key Tracks: Whirlwind, Two Lovers, The Cuckoo

19. Sixty Four: The Donovan Archive Volume 1

Donovan Discs ddcc0001 CD / V10001 LP

Released: February 2004 CD / 2017 Vinyl LP

This collection of pre “Catch The Wind” solo acoustic demos had been kicking around for a long time in the twilight world of bootlegs, but it took 50 years to surface officially on CD, and another 13 after that before a vinyl version appeared.  Both are / were available by mail-order via Donovan’s website.  

Still playing his cheap Zenith guitar with “This Machine Kills” sticker, the 18-year-old emerged fully formed as a competent performer, strong of voice and a decent instrumentalist too. 

“Isle of Sadness” was reworked as “Belated Forgiveness Plea” on Fairy Tale, while “The Darkness Of My Night” later turned up with a full band arrangement as “Breezes of Pachulie” during the Sunshine Superman sessions, proving he was capable of writing strong material even at this tender age.  

“Talkin’ Pop Star Blues” was performed on those early Ready Steady Go! appearances.  It’s pure early Dylan - although Don would probably say they both lifted the format from Woody Guthrie - either way it’s now hopelessly dated lyrically.  Elsewhere a brace of Jesse Fuller songs “Crazy 'Bout A Woman” and “Keep On Trucking” are basic folk club fare with kazoo and harmonica much in evidence (“Truckin’” was subsequently re-recorded for the debut album).  “London Town” and “Co’dine” had already appeared on the Troubadour box (see #14) but it was good to finally hear them in context.  Together with Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town” they are by far the best of the nine tracks here. 

The cover photo was first seen on a 1965 Canadian compilation LP The Real Donovan (Pye NSPL 30091).

Key Tracks: London Town, Co’dine, Dirty Old Town

 

18. Slow Down World

UK Epic S EPC 86011

US Epic PE 33945

Producer: Donovan

Released: June 1976 (UK) / May 1976 (US)

Recorded at A&M studios in Hollywood, Donovan’s thirteenth studio album fared no better sales wise than the previous two.  He could still attract the big-name backing musicians however and Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman, Tom Scott, Leland Sklar, Wilton Felder and Jesse Ed Davis made for an impressive line-up. 

Opening track “Dark-Eyed Blue Jean Angel” is vintage acoustic Donovan with a lush string and flute arrangement.  Don’s old friend, muse and mentor from the 60s Derroll Adams receives songwriting credits on two songs: “The Mountain” is performed solo with acoustic guitar while “My Love Is True (Love Song)” uses minimal backing, and both sound all the better for it.  Donovan is best experienced without a fussy production. 

A well-meaning ode to the women’s movement, "Liberation Rag" falls at the first hurdle with some painfully twee lyrics.  

Another no show in the British charts, Slow Down World scraped in at #174 in the US, matching Essence To Essence from two years earlier.  This was Donovan’s final record for Epic (it’s rumoured his contract was cancelled by mutual consent) and it would be the last time a new release album from him would trouble the charts.

Record Collector Notes:

Slow Down World was briefly issued on CD in 2004 as a 2-on-1 release with 7-Tease.  This is now long deleted, and copies sell for crazy money online.  The album is freely available on Spotify and iTunes / Amazon download, however, with two previously unavailable bonus tracks “Earthquake View” and “Black Gal Swing.”

Key Tracks: Dark-Eyed Blue Jean Angel, My Love Is True (Love Song)

17. 7-Tease

UK Epic S EPC 69104

US Epic PE 33245

Producers: Norbert Putnam, Donovan, Mark Radice

Released: January 1975 (UK) / November 1974 (US)

The title says it all.  The sixties were well and truly over and here was Donovan, now aged all of 30, looking squarely down the barrel of the seventies and feeling nostalgic for the glory days of the previous decade.  

Recorded in America with a cast of thousands, including Nashville session cats Kenny Buttrey, David Briggs and Reggie Young, 7-Tease featured a much harder rock sound than we had come to expect from Donovan, much of it bordering on over production.  

The acoustic tracks such as “Your Broken Heart” and “Sadness” were vintage Donovan however and recalled the best of his 60s work.  Not so good was “The Ordinary Family.”  Despite a catchy tune it misfired badly with some cringeworthy lyrics. 

“The songs on this album are taken from a Musical Tale entitled 7-TEASE which I am bringing to the Concert Stage.  I invite all my old friends and any new friends to come and celebrate our new movement towards Harmony - all ages are welcome - bring a heart.”

So reads, in part, the 7-Tease sleeve notes.  The “Musical Tale” never materialised and after one more release for the Epic label Donovan went into semi-retirement, during which he moved from California back to England and then to Ireland where he still resides today.  

Record Collector Notes:

7-Tease saw no chart action in Britain and limped to only #135 on the Billboard top 200. 

A 2004 Repertoire CD reissue featured four bonus tracks including single versions of “Rock and Roll Souljer” and “Salvation Stomp.”  The other bonus tracks “Age of Treason” and “What the Soul Desires” had already appeared on the 1992 Troubadour CD compilation (see #14).

Key Tracks: Your Broken Heart, Sadness 

16. Live 1965 - 1969

London Calling LC2CD 5033

Released: 2019

It’s the only unofficial release in our list, but this 30-track double CD of previously unavailable BBC radio archive material certainly deserves a place here.  Alongside unique performances of chart hits and reworked album tracks are several rare and unreleased songs, plus some entertaining introductions and interviews by the legendary BBC radio presenter Brian Matthew.  

The earliest recordings date from May 1965, not long after the unknown Donovan first appeared in the nation’s living rooms during his three-week residency on Britain’s coolest TV pop show Ready Steady Go!  The first thing you notice is how good his voice was back then.  Strong, confident and pitch perfect, it’s easy to see how the precocious 19-year-old folk ragamuffin became so big, so quickly.  

Most of these sessions were made at the BBC’s Paris Studios in Lower Regent Street, central London.  While many original tapes were wiped or lost, transcription discs made for overseas broadcast thankfully survived.  These are the versions as they went to air, complete with voiceover introductions and (very much of their time) interviews.

Of these 30 tracks, four have never appeared on any official Donovan releases.  They include two obscure Dylan songs (“Who Killed Davy Moore” and “Daddy, You Been On My Mind*”) one by Bert Jansch (“Running From Home”) and the traditional “Working On The Railroad.”  

*Don changed the gender of this Dylan song from "Mama" to "Daddy," just as Joan Baez had done when she covered it in 1965 on the album Farewell Angelina.  Don’t ask me why, but it was probably due to Joanie's influence.

Other songs feature different arrangements and / or changed lyrics, including several which were still unreleased at the time of broadcast and appear in prototype or stripped-down form.  The early, acoustic folk recordings will be of interest strictly to Donovan completists but it’s the later more mature pop psych material where the real value of this collection lies.  

The songs appear in date order of recording and despite the CD title, it’s interesting to note there is nothing from 1966 here.  This is possibly because Donovan’s career was in hiatus for part of the year, due to the ongoing legal wrangles mentioned elsewhere.  There is also a dearth of sleeve note information regarding backing musicians, but we can make educated guesses for the key personnel on most tracks.

Key Tracks: Skip Along Sam, Running From Home, Barabajagal

15. Donovan In Concert

US Epic BN 26460 (stereo)

UK Pye NPL 18237 (mono) / NSPL 18237 (stereo)

Producer: Mickie Most

Released: July 1968 (US) / September 1968 (UK)

“Welcome to the phenomenon of Donovan” intones KRLA radio personality and MC Rhett Walker gravely, before launching into a few minutes of hyperbolic waffle, culminating in the story of how the star of the show miraculously stopped the rain, messiah-like, at a Hollywood Bowl concert.  The microphone is then handed over to Donovan’s father (and erstwhile co-manager) Donald Leitch to make the introduction proper.

Recorded at the then newly opened Anaheim Convention Center, 40 minutes south of Los Angeles, the album was drawn from two concerts at the 7,500-seat venue on November 17, 1967.  Such was Donovan’s US popularity at that point he could easily sell out sizable west coast arenas such as this.

Don was backed by stalwarts Harold McNair (flute and saxophone), Tony Carr (drums) and the unrelated “Candy” John Carr (bongos and percussion).  A long-time collaborator, “Candy” would team up with Donovan for the Open Road album and subsequent band of that name at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival.  Local musicians Lorin Newkirk (piano) and Andy Troncosco (bass) were brought in for the US concerts. 

You probably had to be there to appreciate this one, as the live recordings tend to lack the impact of the studio versions.  Still, it’s a reminder of how Donovan sounded on stage in 1967 and as such has powerful historical significance.  Plus, it features a few oddities such as “Rules and Regulations” a song much bootlegged but never released officially elsewhere. 

Record Collector Notes:

A double CD version released in 2006 titled Donovan In Concert (The Complete Anaheim 1967 Show) contained 23 tracks from the November 17 concerts, including eight songs not featured on the original LP.  

The spoken intro is much extended on the double CD and appears to be taken partly from the earlier show.  There is a lengthy pause before Donovan’s dad appears during which the band vamps instrumentally.  When he eventually arrives, Donald requests that the noisy air conditioner be turned off before the show begins.  The track running order is also somewhat different to the original LP with some longer song introductions.

The front cover shows a reproduction of the painting “Desert Journey” by US writer and artist Fleur Cowles (1908 - 2009).  In the liner notes Donovan claimed he found the image in a book of her paintings titled Tiger Flower but, confusingly, the painting does not actually appear in this book.  In 1950 Cowles launched the short-lived fashion and lifestyle magazine Flair.  She died in England at the grand age of 101. 

Key Tracks: Celeste, Preachin’ Love, Guinevere

14. Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964-76

Epic Legacy E2K 46986

Released: August 1992

14a. Try For The Sun: The Journey of Donovan 

Epic Legacy E4K 93919

Released: September 2005

There have been innumerable Donovan compilation CDs over the years, but only a couple are worthy of inclusion here.  His first boxed set Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964-76 arrived in 1992 and while most of the 44 tracks were obvious choices, there were also five previously unissued songs and three alternate takes, plus several interesting remixes.

The unreleased tracks were:

Disc One: “London Town,” “Codine” (1964 Denmark Street demo recordings of songs written by Tim Hardin and Buffy Sainte-Marie respectively.  Both later appeared on the album Sixty Four).  “Breezes of Pachulie,” “Museum,” “Super Lungs” (outtakes later added to the Sunshine Superman CD as bonus tracks).  

Disc Two: “Age of Treason,” “What The Soul Desires” (both songs later added to the 7-Tease CD as bonus tracks).  “Riki Tiki Tavi,” (alternate longer version recorded October 1969 and still unreleased elsewhere). 

13 years later came Try For The Sun: The Journey of Donovan a 4 disc box set comprising 60 tracks over 3 CDs, plus a bonus DVD.  This featured 16 tracks which were either unavailable at the time, or simply hard to find.  

Disc One: “Co’dine” (later released on the album Sixty Four).

Disc Two: “Epistle to Derroll,” “To Try For The Sun,” “Someone’s Singing,” “The Tinker And The Crab” (these four 1967 live tracks later appeared on the 2006 expanded CD of Donovan In Concert).  “Lord of The Reedy River” (later released as a bonus track on the 2005 expanded Barabajagal CD.  “Moon In Capricorn” (from an aborted album of the same name, this track recently turned up on Buried Treasures 1 - The Morgan Studios Sessions 1970 available by mail order from Donovan’s website). 

Disc Three: "The Ferryman's Daughter," "She Moved Through The Fair," "The Traveling People (from the aborted album Moon In Capricorn.  Still unreleased elsewhere).  “Young But Growing,” “Keep On Truckin’,” “Stealin” (these three live tracks recorded in November 1971 at the John F. Kennedy Center, Washington DC.  Still unreleased elsewhere).  “A Working Man,” “Tinker Tune” (from the album Live In Japan: Spring Tour 1973 vinyl LP released only in Japan), “Happiness Runs (2004 Version)” (still unreleased elsewhere).

Disc Four: DVD There Is An Ocean. A 38-minute film documenting the time Donovan spent in Greece with the Open Road band in 1970 (still unreleased elsewhere).

Record Collector Notes:

Try For The Sun arrived in a long box covered in purple velvet (what else?) while the CDs inside were clad in individual card sleeves with suitably Celtic designs. 

Troubadour came in several different configurations.  First pressings arrived in a long box format with a deluxe 40-page book insert plus a second photo booklet.  With each subsequent reissue the set was diminished.  First to go was the box and photo booklet, leaving the double CD in a thick jewel case with the book insert.  Finally, Troubadour was reduced to a slimline double jewel case with just a two-page insert. 

In 2003 Troubadour was re-issued in Australia as a 3 CD set by the budget label Rajon (CDR 0221).  Re-titled The Great Donovan, it omitted the alternate version of “Riki Tiki Tavi.”

13. What’s Bin Did and What’s Bid Hid (UK)

Pye NPL 18117 (mono)

13a. Catch The Wind (US)

Hickory LPM 123 (mono) / Hickory LPS 123 (stereo) 

Producers: Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, Geoff Stephens 

Released: UK May 1965 / US June 1965

US Stereo Release

Things moved fast in the sixties.  Donovan didn’t even have a record deal in January 1965 when he was invited to play a short residency on Britain’s hippest TV pop music show Ready Steady Go!  But within weeks the 19-year-old had been signed to Pye records and by March his first single “Catch the Wind” was in the charts.  He also began work on his debut album around the same time. 

It was recorded at a demo studio in the basement of the publishing house Southern Music at 8 Denmark Street, London’s Tin Pan Alley.  Variously known as Spark, Peer or Meridian studios, the facility wasn’t exactly state of the art, but for a debut album it was a solid effort.  Nothing too fancy, but the sound was good, and the feel was right. 

Arriving at the peak of the short-lived Donovan vs Dylan media beat-up, the material was basic acoustic fare with six originals including “Josie,” “To Sing For You” etc, alongside covers by Woody Guthrie (“Car Car”) and Mick Softly (“Goldwatch Blues”).  “Donna Donna” and “You’re Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond” were listed as “traditional” although the former is a well-known Yiddish stage musical song dating from 1941 with English lyrics written a decade later.  The self-penned single “Catch the Wind” was re-recorded for the album minus the strings and vocal echo heard on the hit version.  

The instrumental “Tangerine Puppet” was a clear attempt to write and record something along the lines of Davey Graham’s “Angi,” the 60s guitar showcase every self-respecting folkie was required to learn back then.  It didn’t quite succeed but it was a pretty tune nonetheless, and it was a darn sight easier to play than Davey’s knuckle-busting epic.  

On upright bass was Brian “Liquorice” Locking, a veteran of the 2i’s Soho coffee bar rock & roll scene of the late 50s.  He played bass guitar for the Shadows during 1962-63, replacing Jet Harris (before himself being superseded by John Rostill).  A multi-instrumentalist, Locking got the nickname “Liquorice” from his early days playing the clarinet, sometimes dubbed “the liquorice stick.”  Locking is also said to be the man responsible for Cliff Richard's early 60s religious conversion.

The drummer was Skip Alan, who would later work extensively with the Pretty Things, while Don’s buddy Gypsy Dave was credited with “kazzoo” [sic] on “Keep On Truckin’.”  

Despite those tiresome Dylan comparisons What’s Bid Did and What’s Bid Hid turned out rather well, becoming Donovan’s highest charting album in Britain, reaching #3.  In America (re-titled Catch the Wind) it stalled at #30.

Alan French, who went on to play keyboards with the pop/psych band Dr. Marigold’s Prescription worked at Southern Music in the mid-60s and was familiar with the basement studio.  He told me: “The studio was just a few steps away from the area where I often worked.  Sheet music from the previous decades was stored there.  It was very dirty and dusty with a concrete floor, which didn’t help matters.  It would be a health and safety issue these days.  I hated it down there. As for the studio, I used to have a crafty peek, but I wasn’t really switched on, so I never realised the importance of things.  

“When I was working on the ground floor musicians of all kinds passed me by on their way to the studio.  My most vivid memories are of seeing (session drummer) Clem Cattini, he was a regular.  I also saw Jon Lord (then playing keyboards with the Artwoods, but later with Deep Purple) and Mitch Mitchell carrying his own drums.  

“In 1966 I witnessed Mitch talking to someone about joining Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.  I was waiting for a bus in Charing Cross Road to go home to Islington at the time. After that I went out and bought Georgie Fame’s album Sweet Things (released May 1966). 

“I remember we had a huge push on the sheet music for The Who’s “My Generation” single (released October 1965) and gave it a big display in the front window.  The Ivy League were also regular visitors.  I saw Ken Lewis more than the other two.  Of course, they had a big connection with Southern Music.

“Peer Music and Southern Music were part of the same company.  I actually met Mr Peer once.  He was the big boss.  I had to deliver some reels of 16mm film to his hotel.  He was staying at the Hilton, or it may have been the Savoy.  I guess he was on a visit from the States.  He asked me what music I liked, putting me on the spot.  I don’t know why, but I told him Chet Atkins.  He promised me an album and mentioned Hoagy Carmichael, old school.  I never did get that album.”

Record Collector Notes:

The US Hickory version of the LP was re-titled Catch the Wind and although the track listing matched the UK Pye release, there were several differences.  Whereas the British version appeared in mono only, the American release was available in both mono and the dreaded “electronically enhanced” stereo, although even on headphones it's hard to tell them apart.

US Mono Release

The cover shows Don playing his newly acquired Martin D28 guitar although, curiously, the US mono sleeve flipped the front photo, turning Donovan into a left-handed player.  The stereo sleeve has the photo the correct way round.

UK pressings had the lyrics to “Catch the Wind” on the back, while the US version favoured autobiographical sleeve notes (probably ghost-written by manager Terry Kennedy), some of them quite fanciful.  They included the extraordinary claim that Donovan “spent two weeks in Strangeways jail” for supposedly “robbing a cinema of 5,000 cigarettes an’ some chocolate.”  Perhaps it was thought this implausible story might give Don a little Jack Kerouac-style street cred?  Less seriously, perhaps, Donovan’s birthdate was also incorrectly shown as 10 February 1946 instead of May. 

A UK pressing in true stereo eventually turned up in 1969 on the Marble Arch reissue (MALS 795).  Pye had a habit of lopping off a couple of tracks when re-issuing full-price LPs on their budget label offshoot.  In this case “Car Car” and “Donna Donna” were jettisoned.  The Marble Arch cover photo featured Donovan in his trademark denim fisherman’s cap complete with a War Resisters International badge on the front.  This showed a pair of hands breaking a rifle in half. 

2002 CD releases of What’s Bin Did and What’s Bin Hid added four bonus tracks, comprising singles and B-sides plus “Every Man Has His Chain” a song which was previously available only on a French EP.  The US Catch The Wind album had already appeared on CD in 1996 with three of the same bonus tracks but omitting “…Chain.” 

In 1966 a certain Tommy Erdelyi and John Cummings were briefly in a band called the Tangerine Puppets, named after the instrumental track on this LP.  In 1974 the pair were rebranded as Tommy and Johnny Ramone when they formed - the Ramones.

Key Tracks: Catch the Wind, Josie

Part two is HERE