More of the Music of Donovan

Reviews and Commentaries for the Music of Donovan

Back in 2009 we wrote: “Donovan’s albums are never well recorded so if you’re looking for audiophile sound this is not the record for you. Although the sound varies here from track to track, some tracks do sound quite nice.” 

Although we have yet to play a copy of this particular album that sounds any good to us, we couldn’t have been more Wrong about the rest of his catalog. [As of 2022 we think we may have found a good sounding pressing of this album, so stay tuned, there is more to come for Sunshine Superman as we search for enough copies with which to do a shootout.)

Since 2009 we have found a number of superb sounding Donovan records, the best of which to date is The Hurdy Gurdy Man, surely the man’s masterpiece.

AMG 4 Star Review

Paced by the title track, one of Donovan’s best singles, 1966’s Sunshine Superman heralded the coming psychedelic age with a new world/old world bent: several ambitious psychedelic productions and a raft of wistful folk songs. Producer Mickie Most fashioned a new sound for the Scottish folksinger, a sparse, swinging, bass-heavy style perfectly complementing Donovan’s enigmatic lyrics and delightfully skewed, beatnik delivery. The two side-openers, “Sunshine Superman” and “Season of the Witch,” are easily the highlights of the album; the first is the quintessential bright summer sing-along, the second a chugging eve-of-destruction tale.

Further Reading

• New to the Blog? Start Here
• What Exactly Are Hot Stamper Pressings?
• Important Lessons We Learned from Record Experiments