Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Donovan - BBC Sessions, Volume 3: 1968-1970

Judging from recent comments, people seem to be enjoying the Donovan BBC album, so posting the next one is a good way to get back into the swing of posting music after my vacation.

I count 11 of 22 songs here that are actually from BBC TV or radio shows. Four of those are from "Bobbie Gentry," a BBC TV show starring Bobbie Gentry. Those include two duets with Donovan and Gentry.

Another big chunk of seven songs (from tracks 11 to 17) come from two appearances on the US TV show "The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour." This includes a duet version of "I Love My Shirt" with Donovan and the Smother Brothers, and a duet version with Donovan and Jennifer Warnes on "Time Is on the Run." Note that this is the same Jennifer Warnes who would have big hits in the 1980s with "Up Where You Belong" and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." But at this time, her music career was just starting out. Her birth name was "Jennifer Warnes," but in the late 1960s she briefly used the stage names "Jennifer Warren" and simply "Jennifer." The reason Donovan dueted with her is because she was a part of the cast of the Smothers Brothers show at the time.

The last four songs come from appearances on various TV shows from the US, Belgium, and France. I was quite surprised that Donovan did a (rather off the cuff) version of "Get Back" by the Beatles, which had been a number one hit all over just a few months prior to his version.

A version of "There Is a Mountain' was included in Volume 2 of this series, but that is a solo version, and this is a duet version.

None of the performances here have been officially released. The sound quality is generally very good, despite the fact that the Smothers Brothers TV show songs and two others were performed in front of applauding audiences.

This album is 52 minutes long.

UPDATE: On June 6, 2022, I updated the mp3 download file with one song I'd missed, "Celia of the Seals." Thanks to Marley for sharing that one.

01 Mad John's Escape [Edit] (Donovan)
02 It's Been a Long Time (Donovan)
03 The Entertaining of a Shy Little Girl [Edit] (Donovan)
04 Hast Thou Seen the Unicorn [The Unicorn - The Owl and the Pussycat] [Edit] (Donovan)
05 Skip Along Sam [Edit] (Donovan)
06 Young but Growing [The Trees They Do Grow High] (Donovan)
07 There Is a Mountain (Donovan & Bobbie Gentry)
08 Bugs (Bobbie Gentry & Donovan)
09 A Sunny Day (Donovan)
10 Maria (Donovan)
11 Time Is on the Run (Donovan & Jennifer Warnes)
12 I Love My Shirt (Donovan & the Smothers Brothers)
13 Happiness Runs (Donovan)
14 Giggle in a Bubbley Bath (Donovan)
15 Angel's Thoughts (Donovan)
16 Little White Flower (Donovan)
17 Atlantis (Donovan)
18 Barabajagal [Love Is Hot] (Donovan)
19 Get Back (Donovan)
20 Someone Singing (Donovan & Andy Williams)
21 The Ferryman's Daughter (Donovan)
22 Hurdy Gurdy Man (Donovan)
23 Celia of the Seals [Edit] (Donovan)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15110630/Donovn_1968-1970_BBSessionsVolume3_atse.zip.html

The cover photo of Donovan comes from a concert in Denmark in 1969.

4 comments:

  1. Hope you had a good vacation. I really enjoyed the first two volumes and I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks!

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  2. Brilliant ... many thanks. Love Donovan.

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  3. Thanks for this and the John Sebastian!

    Hope you had a good vacation and are rested & ready for the holidays.

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  4. Welcome back! Have you considered putting together something like Buddy Holly's "final album"? Tracks like True Love Ways, It Doesn't Matter Anymore, and Raining In My Heart, etc.

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