Friday, February 22, 2008

Covered in Folk: Donovan
(Richard Thompson, Rickie Lee Jones, Lindsay Buckingham, etc.)


It's been suggested that this will be the year of the British band at blogfave musicfest SXSW. Ironically, however, last year’s SXSW featured a pair of sets by a seminal member of the original British Invasion, and hardly anyone seemed to notice, or remember. So while others prep for the indiefest, I thought it was high time to take a look back at a man who is so underrated in the US that none of the current generation of folk-rockers seem to bother listening to him, despite obvious musical similarities between today’s indiepop and his better-known tunes. Ladies and gentlemen, the songs of Donovan.



When sixties folk-rocker Donovan appeared at the 1981 Amnesty International benefit The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball alongside Sting, Bob Geldoff, John Cleese, and other famous musicians and comedians known for their commitment to the cause, his contemporaries Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton were immediately recognized and applauded by the audience. But although Donovan’s songs were given their due, he himself was not so well recognized. Instead, as he took the stage, one audience member bellowed "I thought you were dead!" Donovan's response? "Not yet!"

Wikipedia goes on to suggest that the warm reception which followed this exchange "proves" that one-time flower child Donovan was still popular, despite the "anti-sixties" sentiment that existed at the time. More than anything, what the initial exchange says to me is that even as early as 1981, some folks had no idea that Donovan was anything more than a long-gone fragment of the past.

There’s a lot more to Donovan Leitch than Mellow Yellow. He’s an uncredited cowriter of the Beatles song Yellow Submarine. Friend of Dylan; father of actress Ione Skye, best known as Lloyd Dobler's girlfriend in Say Anything. A man who remains committed to Transcendental Meditation, long after most folks packed it away with their macramé and love beads; who is, in fact, starting a TM university devoted to world peace and something called "the universal field" with the support of filmmaker David Lynch.

Okay, that last bit is a bit much. But the main point stands: though most folks remember Donovan for his celebration of hippie drug culture through his lifestyle and his lyrics, once upon a time, Donovan was a singer-songwriter who stood for peace, and was celebrated for his anti-war songs. He gets credit, even today, from others of his generation, who still play his songs in concert, and put them on their late-in-life releases. And in my opinion, he deserves it.

But unlike many of our other Covered In Folk feature artists, despite a minor renaissance in the coversongs of grungerockers Hole and the Butthole Surfers, and a mediocre 1992 grunge/indieband tribute album Islands of Circles, Donovan's abilities as a songsmith seem to have been forgotten by today’s up-and-coming artists, especially the American folk community.

How the mighty have fallen. Today, Donovan still records, and tours Europe and his native London. He has true indiefolk cred, with a myspace and no major label support. He remains a musician constantly trying to recapture the magic. But while so many of his fellow sixties icons successfully reinvent themselves for modern audiences, in America, with the exception of a small but significant fan base, most folks still think Donovan is dead.

A challenge, then, to the new generation of American singer-songwriters. If – as today’s covers demonstrate - Donovan’s songs resonate so well on shows like Crossing Jordan and Party of Five, then there’s clearly still an audience for these lyrics and tunes. And certainly, now more than ever, the world needs songs of peace. Why not try one on, to see how it feels? Here’s some of Donovan’s peers to show you how it’s done, with bonus covers by Donovan both then and now to remind you of his talent.


Today's bonus coversongs feature Donovan's 1965 anti-Vietnam anthem The War Drags On, which many have heard but few realize is a cover of fellow sixties folkster Mick Softley. Those who think of Donovan as hippierock will be surprised; this is true acoustic singer-songwriter folk, worth trying if you've never really listened. Plus a few more recent interpretations recorded in the last decade, just to prove Donovan's still got the chops: a cut from the two-disk Pete Seeger tribute Where Have All The Flowers Gone, a nice version of traditional folksong The Cuckoo from Beat Café, Donovan's underrated 2004 return to beatnik jazzfolk, and a "cover" of a Dylan Thomas poem from that same album.

21 comments:

MKat said...

Hey, I found your blog on elbo.ws and I couldn't agree with this post more. Donovan is one of my favourite folk musicians of all time and he's outrageously underrated. Each time I listen to one of his albums I'm blown away. Thanks for this tribute to him; he certainly deserves it. Cheers!

Viral Happiness said...

I keep a google alert for Donovan, and that's what led me to your blog. Thanks so much for this post. I've been a Donovan fan since I was 12 (I'm 51 now). I saw Donovan live in the 70's and then again in November of 2006. I got to meet him at the 2006 concert, and that was certainly a thrill.

I also belong to a yahoo group, Donovan Celtic Dreamweaver, that you might enjoy - a very gentle group, indeed.

Thanks again for this post.

Buz

Anonymous said...

Unrelated to the music, but Mia Sara was Ferris Beuller's girlfriend. Ione Skye was Lloyd Dobler's girl (from Say Anything).

boyhowdy said...

Thanks for the kind words, folks -- I knew Donovan had some fans out there somewhere!

And thanks very much to Bruce for the correction. Not sure why I always get those two confused. I've made the correction in the post.

Chad said...

sadly, despite my love for some of his songs ("Colours" most especially), I was one of those people who thought he was dead already until i read your post.

and how great is it that he has an official myspace site?!

i've been meaning to do more digging into his music, thanks for the push. :)

Joel T. Luber said...

I saw Donovan about ten years ago at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Country Joe McDonald and some later-day version of Big Brother and the Holding Company. It was one of the first shows I ever went to. I don't recall being blown away by any of them; they were all definitely doing to oldies nostalgia bit. But the political atmosphere in 1997 didn't really lend itself to oppositional music they way today does.

Oh, and that day just happened to be Donovan's 51st birthday, so the audience sang to him.

Anonymous said...

Great article! I've been a Donovan fan for ages and have never really understood how he remains such a mystery to most.

I reviewed his autobiography over at my blog and included a link to your post.

Anonymous said...

His native Glasgow would be more accurate. 300 miles and a different country mean more in the UK than the US, but even Mr Leithc would appreciate getting it right.

boyhowdy said...

Derek, the sources I've found all say that Donovan currently resides in London, and has for a while -- is that no longer correct?

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