Donovan is the fourteenth studio album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, and sixteenth album overall, from Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Donovan

Donovan

Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...

. It was released in the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 (Arista AB 4143) in August 1977 and in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 (RAK SRAK 528) with a different track order in October 1977.

History

In 1976, Donovan's record contract with Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 came to an end with Slow Down World

Slow Down World

Slow Down World is the thirteenth studio album, and fifteenth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the U.S...

. The album had only achieved limited chart success, and his contract was not renewed. In the meantime, Donovan's old record producer Mickie Most

Mickie Most

Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....

 launched Rak Records in the UK. Donovan and Most teamed up to record Donovan's next album on Rak Records in 1977. Arista Records

Arista Records

Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

 picked up the distribution rights in the US.

In a distinct change from Slow Down World, the songs on Donovan were an attempt to reach mass audiences again. The songs feature a contemporary sound and, with the exception of "Maya's Dance", generally avoid the gentle ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

ry of Donovan's previous work. Despite these measures, Donovan failed to chart in both the US and UK, and signalled the end of Donovan's attempts to reach a mainstream audience. He would not release another original album in the United States until 1984.

Reissues

• On March 27, 2000, Beat Goes On Records released the US version Donovan (BGOCD375) in the UK on CD
  Compact Disc
  The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
  
  . This marks the first time Donovan was released on CD.

Side one

1. "Local Boy Chops Wood" – 3:11
2. "Astral Angel" – 4:37
3. "The Light" – 4:12
4. "Dare to Be Different" – 3:55
5. "Brave New World" – 4:44

Side two

1. "Lady of the Stars" – 3:02
2. "International Man" – 4:02
3. "Sing My Song" – 3:08
4. "Maya's Dance" – 3:45
5. "Kalifornia Kiddies" – 3:49

Side one

1. "Brave New World" – 4:44
2. "Astral Angel" – 4:37
3. "Local Boy Chops Wood" – 3:11
4. "Kalifornia Kiddies" – 3:49
5. "The International Man" – 4:02

Side two

1. "The Light" – 4:12
2. "Sing My Song" – 3:08
3. "Lady of the Stars" – 3:02
4. "Maya's Dance" – 3:45
5. "Dare to Be Different" – 3:55

Personnel

• Colin Allen – drums
• Chris Blair – mastering
• John Cameron – horn arrangements, string arrangements
• Donovan – guitar, harmonica, vocals
• Isaac Guillory – guitar
• Patrick Halling – violin
• Doug Hopkins – engineer
• Ronnie Leahy – keyboards
• Gered Mankowitz – photography
• Mickie Most – producer
• Chris Norman – vocals (background)
• Alan Silson – vocals (background)
• Nick South – bass
• Tim Summerhayes – engineer
• Wolfgang Thierbach – engineer
• Terry Uttley – vocals (background)
• Charlie Watts – mastering

External links

• Allmusic review [ link]
• Donovan (Album) - Donovan Unofficial Site