The Real Donovan is the first compilation 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...

 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 U.S.

United States

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

 (Hickory LPM 135 (monaural) /LPS 135 (stereo)) in September 1966.

History

When Donovan signed a 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...

, he became entangled in a legal dispute with Pye Records

Pye Records

Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...

 over the rights to his music. These legal proceedings withheld any new Donovan releases in the United Kingdom until late 1966. In the meantime, Pye Records' United States

United States

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

 distributor Hickory Records

Hickory Records

Hickory Records is a United States record label founded by Acuff-Rose Music in 1954 which operated the label up to 1979. Present owner Sony/ATV Music Publishing revived the label in 2007. Originally based in Nashville, functioning as an independent label throughout its history, it has had several...

 compiled The Real Donovan from Donovan's Pye Records releases, choosing several songs that had not yet appeared on any United States release.

The Real Donovan was released within the same month as Donovan's first Epic Records album Sunshine Superman

Sunshine Superman (album)

Sunshine Superman is the third album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in September 1966. but was not released in the United Kingdom because of a contractual dispute. In June 1967, a compilation of the Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow albums was...

. Both albums were intended to capitalize on the success of the "Sunshine Superman

Sunshine Superman

"Sunshine Superman" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "Sunshine Superman" single was released in the United States through Epic Records in July 1966, but due to a contractual dispute the United Kingdom release was delayed until December 1966, where it...

" single, which hit #1 on the Billboard charts in the United States. While it did not match the Billboard chart success and sales of Sunshine Superman, The Real Donovan did chart, ultimately reaching #96.

Album origins of tracks

The following is a list explaining the original releases of each song. Tracks that were previously unreleased in the United States are noted with *, followed by explanations of their origin.

• "Turquoise
  Turquoise (song)
  "Turquoise" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "Turquoise" single was released in the United Kingdom on October 30, 1965 through Pye Records and charted to #30. The "Turquoise" single was backed with "Hey Gyp " and only released in the United Kingdom...
  
  " (UK single, released October 30, 1965; Released in U.S. as b-side to "To Try for the Sun" in January 1966)
• "Oh Deed I Do"* (from UK version of Fairytale
  Fairytale (album)
  Fairytale is the second album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was first released in the United Kingdom on October 22, 1965 through Pye Records . The U.S. version of Fairytale was released by Hickory Records in November 1965 with a slightly different set of songs...
  
  , released October 22, 1965)
• "Catch the Wind
  Catch the Wind (song)
  "Catch the Wind" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom on March 12, 1965 through Pye Records and a few months later in the United States through Hickory Records...
  
  " (from What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid
  What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid
  What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid is the debut album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United Kingdom four days after Donovan's 19th birthday on 14 May 1965, through Pye Records . Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, and Geoff Stephens produced the album...
  
  , released May 14, 1965)
• "Remember the Alamo
  Remember the Alamo (song)
  "Remember the Alamo" is a song written by Texan folk singer and songwriter Jane Bowers. Bowers details the last days of 180 soldiers at the Alamo and names several famous figures who fought at the Alamo, including Mexican general Santa Anna and Texans: Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis and Davy...
  
  " (from What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid, released May 14, 1965)
• "Ballad of a Crystal Man"* (from The Universal Soldier EP, released August 15, 1965)
• "Colours" (from Fairytale, released October 22, 1965)
• "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)"* (b-side of "Turquoise", released October 30, 1965)
• "Belated Forgiveness Plea" (from Fairytale, released October 22, 1965)
• "Ramblin' Boy" (from What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid, released May 14, 1965)
• "The War Drags On"* (from The Universal Soldier EP, released August 15, 1965)
• "Josie
  Josie (Donovan song)
  "Josie" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "Josie" single was backed with a cover of "The Little Tin Soldier" by Shawn Phillips and released in the United Kingdom on 18 February 1966 through Pye Records ....
  
  " (from What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid, released May 14, 1965)
• "To Try for the Sun
  To Try for the Sun
  "To Try for the Sun" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "To Try for the Sun" single was backed with "Turquoise" and released in the United States in January 1966 through Hickory Records ....
  
  " (from Fairytale, released October 22, 1965)

Side one

1. "Turquoise"
2. "Oh Deed I Do" (Bert Jansch
   Bert Jansch
   Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
   
   )
3. "Catch the Wind"
4. "Remember the Alamo" (Jane Bowers
   Jane Bowers
   Jane Bowers was a Texas folk singer and songwriter best known for her composition "Remember the Alamo". Many of her songs were primarily recorded by The Kingston Trio.-Selected songs:...
   
   )
5. "Ballad of a Crystal Man"
6. "Colours"

Side two

1. "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)"
2. "Belated Forgiveness Plea"
3. "Rambin' Boy"
4. "The War Drags On" (Mick Softley
   Mick Softley
   Michael 'Mick' Softley is a British singer/songwriter and guitarist. A figurehead during the British folk scene, Softley set up his own folk club, released three albums and has been known to work with Mac MacLeod , Donovan Leitch and Maddy Prior...
   
   )
5. "Josie"
6. "To Try for the Sun"

External links

• The Real Donovan - Donovan Unofficial Site