Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964-1976

Performer: Donovan
Artist: Jimmy Page; John Paul Jones; Jeff Beck; Ron Wood; Cozy Powell; Allan Holdsworth; John Bonham; David Foster; Nicky Hopkins
Producer: Donovan; Geoff Stephens; Norbert Pulnam; Jay Graydon; Michael Hayes; Mickie Most; Norbert Putnam; Andrew Loog Oldham; Peter Eden; Terry Kennedy
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: TROUBADOUR is a collection of hits, demos and previously-unreleased tracks. Initial pressings came in a special "keeper box." As of October 1996 it is available in a standard double-CD jewel box. Personnel includes: Donovan Leitch (vocals, guitar, harp, banjo, harmonica); Mike O'Neil (vocals, piano, keyboards); Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Allan Holdsworth, Eric Ford (guitar); Shawn Phillips (sitar, bouzouki); London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic (strings); Tom Scott (recorder); Jack Emblou (accordion); Charlie Rose, Ronnie Ross (horns); David Foster (piano, synthesizer); Nicky Hopkins, David Paul Briggs (keyboards); John Paul Jones, Ron Wood, Clive Chaman, Brian Locking, Spike Healey, Bobby Ray, Allen Spenner (bass); Jim Keltner, John Bonham, Kenny Buttrey, Denny Seiweill, Cozy Powell, Tony Newman (drums); Madeline Bell, Suzi Quatro, Leslie Duncan, Graham Nash, Don & friends, Valerie Carrington, Jill Utting, Gaynor Stewart, Julie Forsythe, Leslie Ash, John McCartney, Lesley Fyson, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ginger Holladay, Mary Holladay, Lea Jane Berinati, Florence Warner, Byron Warner (background vocals). Producers includes: Donovan Leitch, Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, Michael Peter Hayes, Geoff Stephens. Includes liner notes by Brian Hogg and Derek Taylor. Personnel: Donovan (vocals, whistling, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, banjo, harp, harmonica, programming); Mike Thomson (vocals, guitar); Mike O'Neill (vocals, piano); John Candy Carr (vocals, drums); Mike McCartney, Graham Nash, Gaynor Stewart, Lesley Duncan (vocals, background vocals); Julie Forsythe, John McCarthy (vocals); Valerie Carrington, Jill Utting (soprano); Johnny Christopher (guitar, electric guitar); Henry McCullough, Jay Graydon (guitar); Eric Leese, Eric Ford, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Allan Holdsworth, Reggie Young (electric guitar); Chris Spedding (bouzouki, strings); Shawn Phillips (sitar); A. Friend (violin, electric violin); Patrick Halling (violin); Douglas Davis (cello); Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra (strings); Harold McNair (flute); Jack Emblou (accordion); Tom Scott (recorder); David Foster (woodwinds, piano); Danny Moss, Harrison Calloway, Ronnie Ross, Ben Cauley, Charles Rose, Harvey Thompson, Ronnie Eades (horns); Jean Roussel (Clavinet); David Briggs , Gabriel Mekler, John Cameron, Nicky Hopkins (keyboards); John "Rabbit" Bundrick (Moog synthesizer); Mike Carr (vibraphone); Cliff Barton (electric bass); Cozy Powell, Denny Seiwell, Eddie Hoh, Keith Webb, Bobby Orr, Clem Clatini, Fast Eddie Hoh, Jim Keltner, John Bonham, Kenneth A. Buttrey, Tony Newman (drums); Candy John Carr (congas, bongos); Tony Carr, Jim Gordon (percussion); Mary Holladay, Byron Warner, Florence Warner, Leslie Fyson, Ginger Holladay, Leslye Ash, Madeline Bell, Suzi Quatro, Lea Jane Berinati, Buffy Sainte-Marie (background vocals). Liner Note Authors: Derek Taylor; Brian Hogg. Recording information: A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA; American Recording Company, Los Angeles, CA; CBS Studios, London, England; Columbia Recording Studio, Hollywood, CA; EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England; Morgan Studios, North London, England; Olympic Studios, London, England; Peer Music, London, England; Quadrafonic Sound Studios, Nashville, TN; Sound Factory West. Unknown Contributor Role: Donovan. Subtitled THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, 1964-1976, this two-disc 1992 compilation is just that. Starting with two 1964 demos, able but not definitive versions of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Codeine" and Tim Hardin's "London Town," TROUBADOUR quickly skips through Donovan's underrated folk-rock period--"Catch the Wind," "Colours," and Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier" are it--before hitting track six. "Sunshine Superman," one of the most daffily inspired and silly pop songs of its time, ushered in Donovan's psychedelic magpie era, when his lighter-than-air visions were set to some of the most enchantingly twee pop tunes of the era. "Mellow Yellow," "Hurdy Gurdy Man," "Atlantis," and "Jennifer Juniper" are all here, and don't sound dated in the least. Some of the more earnest later material on Disc Two doesn't hold up as well, but mostly TROUBADOUR hits all the high points of Donovan's post-1968 career.

Entertainment Weekly (9/11/92, p.90) - "...as a summary of a distinctive and often wonderful artist, this 44-cut [collection] is worth hearing..." - Rating: B- Q (10/94, p.130) - 3 Stars - Good - "...judging only what's been did rather than what's been hid, this isn't a bad box after all..." Musician (12/92, p.99) - "...Donovan's music remains among the most gorgeous and ornate of the psychedelic era..."

He began as a Guthrie/Dylan-style folkie, but soon Donovan Leitch adopted a more psychedelic flower-power stance. His knack for sunny, wistful pop songs produced a batch of giant 1960s hits. His fragile manchild voice and image made him a hippie pinup boy, but there was a deep wellspring of emotion behind songs like "Catch the Wind" and "Colours." By the '70s, Donovan had largely dropped off the radar, but he made a resounding comeback in the '90s with the spare, affecting, Rick Rubin-produced SUTRAS.

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