Donovan

Since Donovan's music formed a big part of the background music of my adolescence, I really enjoyed his story of his life and music. Yes, he takes credit for lots that he probably wasn't responsible for, and yes, he seems pretty chauvinistic in his approach to some women. But he's one of the seminal figures of that era and is still making music that defies categorization.

I love Donovan's music and the book of poetry he wrote many years ago (Dry Songs and Scribbles) was brilliant. He writes very sweetly- his lyrics are beautifully and romantically structured.
But I was extremely disappointed in this book; as a long time fan of Donovan, I got no perspective into his journey into the creative process nor a new understanding of his relationship to music, writing or the people around him. Much of the book seems to be a listing of names ('we were at ... with- show more followed by a list of famous persons' names) with no substance as to why the friends were together. I had the feeling that someone was talking about a party with the admonition 'you had to be there to understand.'
I will continue to eagerly wait for his new music as I think has a real grasp of the poetry of romance. I did not find his genius to this autobiography. show less

Story of Donovan's beginnings and rise in the music world through the 1960's. The book basically ends in 1970 when he more or less vanished from the pop culture radar, though I'd like to have heard more about his life since. He's not a deep thinker or a very good prose writer, and his publisher did him no favors with their poor editing job. Still, some interesting points do shine through the muck, and reading the book got me to immerse myself in his timeless music again.

To me this is a compilation of Donovan's greatest hits. My favorite favorites include Colours, Sunny Goodge Street, Universal Soldier (a quintessential 1960s song along with The War Drags On), Josie, and Catch the Wind. There really isn't a bad track on this CD.

If you enjoy folk and want to know what the 1960s sounded like, then this CD is required listening.