Yes I did, it was great, he did a spoof version of "Atlantis" Donovan didn't actually write Universal Soldier, it's by Buffy Sainte-Marie. But he performed it really well. I love him! My favourite Donovan songs are probably Isle of Islay and the Ballad of a Crystal Man.
Codine was also written by Buffy Sainte-Marie. Quicksilver Messenger Service also did a cover of it. Season of the Witch was covered on the Super Session album, an excellent version on an excellent album. Joan Baez did covers of songs by both Donovan and Dylan (including some that Dylan, to my knowledge, never recorded, such as "Farewell Angelina"), as well as songs from a number of other folksingers.
He was well-known in the 60's, and "Sunshine Superman" was one of his top 40 songs. Probably only those who bought his records knew his last name (Leitch).
One of my fav Donovan lyrics, makes me smile: Little pebble upon the sand Now you're lying here in my hand, How many years have you been here ? Little human upon the sand From where I'm lying here in your hand, You to me are but a passing breeze. The sun will always shine where you stand Depending in which land You may find yourself. Now you have my blessing, go your way. Happiness runs in a circular motion Thought is like a little boat upon the sea. Everybody is a part of everything anyway, You can have everything if you let yourself be. Happiness runs, happiness runs.
I love Joan Baez too, I'm a big fan of both her and Don; I didn't realise that Dylan never recorded Farewell Angelia, it's quite a good song. I think that much of Donovan's most popular stuff isn't his best though. A lot of the tracks on A Gift From a Flower to a Garden, for example, are fantastic but not very well known.
I like Donovan too, but he sounds soooo much like Dylan. Who came first with that style? Someone needed a new act.
Dylan came first, but he ripped off a lot of his melodies from traditional music. And I don't think he was as good a singer or guitarist as Donovan was. But to be fair, Dylan was a truly amazing lyricist.
It's almost a given that the best stuff will never get airplay, and while it may or may not be the case so much today as it was back then, 2:30 (or 3:00 at the outside) was the most allocated for a single, which meant that even a song that did get airplay was sometimes surgically neutered, such as the removal of Clapton's guitar solo from "Sunshine of Your Love." And of all the music John Mayall recorded, with and without the Bluesbreakers, over the course of several decades and who knows how many albums, "Room to Move" is the only one I ever heard on commercial radio. Few people know that Fleetwood Mac was a blues band before Peter Green left. He, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood were former Bluesbreaker members around the time of Mayall's "Looking Back" album, and it was Green who wrote "Black Magic Woman."
I don't think Donovan and Dylan are very similar at all... I'm so tired of people comparing them.... and saying donovan isn't as good as dylan... whatever~~ they sound totally different to me other than having beautiful lyrics....
I have enjoyed Donovan's music so much for a long time. He's doing a tour this year. http://www.donovan.ie/News-frame.htm
Donovan was born close to where I now live, in Maryhill in Glasgow, though he moved to England when he was a kid. His more rocky tunes are great, love 'Sunshine Superman' and 'Goo Goo Barabajackal'. Although my favourite Donovan-inspired track is the fabulous 'Mountain Jam' by the Allman Brothers Band.
