A sunny day (Donovan) (LP 2556 - 2558)

Donovan  A Gift From A Flower To A Garden (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1967) ****  

Donovan  The Hurdy Gurdy Man (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1968) ****

Donovan  Lady Of The Stars (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1983) ***  

Genre: pop, folk rock, folk

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Jennifer Juniper

Gear costume: Hurdy Gurdy Man

Active compensatory factors: The Donovan collection continues to expand - shock horror probe. The man has his hooks in me big time!

I picked these three up from Real Groovy a couple of weeks ago.

A Gift From A Flower To A Garden and The Hurdy Gurdy Man bookend his trip to Rishikesh with the Beatles, so they are especially interesting to me.

I've previously written about the two volumes that make up the double album A Gift... Those being Wear Your Love Like Heaven and For Little Ones . I couldn't resist snapping up the combined package though, could I.

The Hurdy Gurdy Man album is interesting. I like a lot of it. He is experimenting with drone forms on a few tracks, and there is a jazz flavour infused throughout. Songs include some flute or playful jazz instruments that are best enjoyed via headphones. It's an under-rated gem!

The third album in this catch up is his early eighties effort - Lady Of The Stars. It was his last album for 12 years. Bizarrely pandering to commercial interests, it includes a couple of remakes - Sunshine Superman and Season Of The Witch.

They weren't really needed, as the rest of the album is fine as it is. The title track is particularly effective and Living For The Love Light is heartfelt and enjoyable because of its sincerity. No mean trick!

Where do they all belong? Still plenty of Donovan albums to collect post Lady Of The Stars.