Donovan

Epitomizing flower power, Donovan's trippy musings are redeemed from '60s nostalgia not only by his be-lief that there's nothing funny about peace, love, and understanding, but also by the sheer pop charm of his songs. Coming on as Bob Dylan's breathlessly sincere Scots twin, Donovan was a quintessential folkie -- acoustic guitar, harmonica, story songs, benign rebellion, and, making him distinctive, a Celtic romanticism. Dewy with hope, confident and ambitious, the title track of Catch the Wind and "Ramblin' Boy" radiated mythic, wide-eyed yearning.

As Dylan had, Donovan then went electric. But if Bob's rock was tough and bluesy, Donovan's was pop, spun from the sassy tunefulness of his mod peers. And it was psychedelic. Indeed, "Sunshine Superman" bounced along as a wry, ultrahip manifesto, its winking delivery hinting at all manner of illicit pleasures. "Mellow Yellow" (supposedly about the arcane high of smoking banana peels) outright broadcast the theme of blow-your-mind wisdom.

With its cover shot of the maharishi and swooning ditties like "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," A Gift From a Flower to a Garden delivered the Donovan persona to the max -- a troubadour Saint Francis who filed his lyrics with exotic poetry that promoted a bliss straight out of William Blake's Songs of Innocence. After a string of late-'60s hits, produced fancifully by Mickie Most, celebrating a private wonderland -- "Jennifer Juniper," "Hurdy Gurdy Man," and "Barabajagal" (with Jeff Beck) -- Donovan's moment had passed. Such later work as Open Road and Cosmic Wheels showed occasional strength, but compared to the golden-hour singles, the music was less remarkable.

Troubadour collects all his best work; the strong liner notes help put it in context. In 1996, the singer teamed up with Rick Rubin in an attempt to present a lean, essential Donovan (somewhat in the way Rubin had presented the older Johnny Cash). The resulting Sutras was fine, accomplished folk with Buddhist shadings, but it didn't catch fire. (P.E.)

From The New Rolling Stone Album Guide