Music CD - Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man

	Music CD: The Hurdy Gurdy Man Artist: Donovan List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $9.22 Your Save: $ 10.77 ( 54% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: EMI Europe Generic
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Tracks: 1. Hurdy Gurdy Man 2. Peregrine 3. The Entertaining Of A Shy Girl 4. As I Recall It 5. Get Thy Bearings 6. Hi It's Been A Long Time 7. West Indian Lady 8. Jennifer Juniper 9. The River Song 10. Tangier 11. A Sunny Day 12. The Sun Is A Very Magic Fellow 13. Teas 14. Teen Angel 15. Poor Cow 16. Lalena 17. Aye My Love (Mono) 18. What A Beautiful Creature You Are 19. Colours 20. Catch The Wind
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0724387356825 Format: Original recording remastered Label: EMI Europe Generic Manufacturer: EMI Europe Generic Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: EMI Europe Generic Release Date: 2005-05-16 Studio: EMI Europe Generic
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Hurdy Gurdy Man Comment: I initially bought this CD to get the Hurdy Gurdy Man song for my computer. Of course, as a bonus, I got Mellow Yellow, Jennifer Juniper and Colours. Donovan remains at best the easiest listening singer there is. Customer Rating: Summary: Pure Donovan Comment: This is a pretty good deal - the additional songs added here were from the Hurdy Gurdy Man sessions. I recently found out from the autobiography that Donovan intended the title track for Jimi Hendrix, but Mickey Most talked him into recording the now classic track himself. The quavering vocals, the swirling sounds and the buzzsaw guitars on Hurdy Gurdy Man always get me. Wow, what a song! I have listened to this album so much on vinyl that it has passed completely into both my sub-conscious and conscious minds, you know? The sun is a magical fellow. How can you possibly dispute this? I have always had the opinion that this album probably isn't for everyone - its too Donovanish, too introspective, too mellow for mass appreciation, its sort of like a bunch of ragas and less like a collection of pop songs. Actually, its somewhere in between, I guess: a blast of unique mysticism composed in Rishikesh, India by a 22 year old guy who had just started to turn the corner from pop star to private artist. There is so much delight and wonder in many of these songs, so much real emotion that as a collection its difficult to perceive. The songs also are more "breathed" than sung. That's a bit different, too. Ah well, this is kind of a funny review, but then this is a subtle, uncanny sort of release that I loved at first hearing so its hard to put my thoughts and feelings into just the right words. My idea is put this one together with the newly released complete 1967 concert CD and the Greatest Hits CD. All 3 came out in 68 and give you the basic Donovan formulation in all its glory. Put these three on random for a few days and you'll really have something. Customer Rating: Summary: "In old hippy town" Comment: The Hurdy Gurdy Man, released in 1968, is one of Donovan's best and most diverse albums. You get classic, optimistic Donovan (Jennifer Juniper, The Entertaining Of A Shy Girl, The River Song, The Sun Is A Very Magic fellow), jazzy Donovan (As I Recall, Get Thy Bearings, Teas) and new creative hights (Hurdy Gurdy Man, Tangier, Peregrine). The album starts out with the thunderous title track, with is heavy guitar likes and pounding drum loops. It is definitely one of the hardest rock songs Donovan has ever done and it managed to become a big hit as well, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then we go upstream a bit with the dark but whimiscal Peregine which bares slight similarity to George Harrison's work for the Beatles. Now it will take me a long time to talk about each and every one of the songs from the album so I'm just going to name some of the hightlights: As I Recall: A very bright and cheery jazz tune with a charming piano and a horn arrangement Hi, It's Been A Long Time: Possibly one of the most romantic tunes I have ever heard. The classical string arrangement contrasts so greatly with its hip-hop beat. On of Donovan's finest! Jennifer Juniper: Ah yes, this one's also very charming and romantic. Such image-envoking lyrics and a wonderful woodwind arangement The entire album (excluding Jennifer Juniper) was records in May 1968, along with the melancholic hit single Lalena and its charming B-side Aye! My Love, both of which are included on here as two of the seven bonus tracks. Here's a complete list of them: Poor Cow: B-side to Jennifer Juniper and also featured in the movie of the same name but with an alternate arrangement. Teen Angel: B-side to Hurdy Gurdy Man and one of my least favorite Donovan songs. Lalena: Released as a single in November 1968 Aye! My Love: B-side to Lalena What A Beautiful Creature You Are: An outtake from the Hurdy Gurdy Man sessions and I can see why it was left off. A really bad song! Colours: Re-recording Catch The Wind: Re-recording Final word: get the album! Customer Rating: Summary: A bit of a mish mash Comment: The aim of this album seemed to be diversity which is both its strength and its weakness. The World Music and heavy elements work, the pop and cute jazz have not aged as well. Donovan could sing jazz very well, such as the version of "Young Girl Blues" he did for the BBC around this time, which is magnficent. The jazz cuts on here are the weakest by far with the singular exception of "Get Thy Bearings". The bonus tracks are mostly singles (some recut for a greatest hits package) and b-sides. By far the best surprise is the duet "What A Beautiful Creature You Are" which is funny and sexy and would have sounded great on the Barabajagal album. Customer Rating: Summary: Donovan is the Hurdy Gurdy Man Comment: I liked the title song, but not much else on this record the first time I heard it. But after a few months of being in my car (I do a lot of long driving trips) the record started to grow on me. It's not, in my opinion, something you can like right out of the box, like "Mellow Yellow" or "Sunshine Superman," but it's every bit as good. Donovan was sort of moving in a different direction back then. There is a lot of Indian (like in the big country next to China, not Native Americans) influence here, mingled with that kind of medieval atmosphere associated with "Superman" and "Mellow." I don't know, it's hard to wrap my mind around this record that is so hard to define. I just know I like it now, that I play it a lot now. And on this version I especially like the extra songs. "Teen Angel" originally a B side is just outstanding. And this record is a good place for "Poor Cow" to finally find a home. Also I like that it ends with the versions of "Colours" and "Catch the Wind" that were rerecorded for the Epic "Greatest Hits" record. They work really well here as does "Lalena." The Hurdy Gurdy man brought songs to the people. Donovan is the Hurdy Gurdy Man. More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: 2005 Digitally remastered re-issue features six bonus tracks 'Poor Cow', 'Lalena', 'Aye My Love', 'What A Beautiful Creature You Are' 'Colours' and 'Catch The Wind'. The album forshadows the coming discontent which eventually drove Donovan out of the music business. The title song, 'Hurdy Gurdy Man,' combines what are upbeat lyrics with a very dark performance. This ambivalence continues in a set of songs with a very bitter edge like 'Teas', 'Tangier', and 'Hi It's Been a Long Time', 'Yet 'Jennifer Juniper' & 'Peregrine', among others, stand in stark contrast. EMI. 2005.