Donovan's Greatest Hits
Encyclopedia
Donovan's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album
from Scottish
singer-songwriter
Donovan
. It was released in the United States
in January 1969 (Epic Records
BXN 26439 (stereo)), and in the United Kingdom
in March 1969 (Pye Records
NPL 18283 (monaural) / NSPL 18283 (stereo)). Donovan's Greatest Hits was a major seller, reaching #4 in the US. On March 30, 1999, Epic/Legacy Records released an expanded version of Donovan's Greatest Hits (Epic/Legacy 65730).
" (one minute, fifteen seconds longer than the original 1966 single and album release), and most of the songs appear for the first time in stereo. Lastly, Donovan's Greatest Hits contains re-recordings of "Catch the Wind
" and "Colours". Epic Records could not obtain the right to release the original recordings of these two songs, so Donovan rerecorded them in May 1968 with a full backing band and Mickie Most
's lavish production.
Donovan's Greatest Hits marked the high point of Donovan's popularity in both the United States
and United Kingdom
. It also most likely had the effect of keeping many of Donovan's recordings on the shelf to avoid oversaturating the market. Nearly all of Donovan's next studio album was already recorded by the time of this release but remained unreleased until August 1969.
The 1999 version of Donovan's Greatest Hits has the same cover but some different songs and a different track order. In this release, the rerecorded versions of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" are replaced by the original 1965 versions. There are also four additional songs that were hits after the original version of Donovan's Greatest Hits was released: "Atlantis", "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting", and "Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)" from Barabajagal
(1969), and "Riki Tiki Tavi" from Open Road (1970).
NB: ON NSPL 18283, "Season Of The Witch" is the first track on Side 2
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 United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in January 1969 (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...
BXN 26439 (stereo)), and in the United Kingdom
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...
in March 1969 (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...
NPL 18283 (monaural) / NSPL 18283 (stereo)). Donovan's Greatest Hits was a major seller, reaching #4 in the US. On March 30, 1999, Epic/Legacy Records released an expanded version of Donovan's Greatest Hits (Epic/Legacy 65730).
History
Donovan's Greatest Hits is a distinct entry in Donovan's discography for several reasons. First, it collects three singles that were previously unreleased on any album ("Epistle to Dippy", "There Is a Mountain", "Laléna"). It also presents the unedited "Sunshine SupermanSunshine 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...
" (one minute, fifteen seconds longer than the original 1966 single and album release), and most of the songs appear for the first time in stereo. Lastly, Donovan's Greatest Hits contains re-recordings of "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...
" and "Colours". Epic Records could not obtain the right to release the original recordings of these two songs, so Donovan rerecorded them in May 1968 with a full backing band and 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....
's lavish production.
Donovan's Greatest Hits marked the high point of Donovan's popularity in both the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and United Kingdom
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...
. It also most likely had the effect of keeping many of Donovan's recordings on the shelf to avoid oversaturating the market. Nearly all of Donovan's next studio album was already recorded by the time of this release but remained unreleased until August 1969.
The 1999 version of Donovan's Greatest Hits has the same cover but some different songs and a different track order. In this release, the rerecorded versions of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" are replaced by the original 1965 versions. There are also four additional songs that were hits after the original version of Donovan's Greatest Hits was released: "Atlantis", "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting", and "Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)" from Barabajagal
Barabajagal
"Barabajagal" is a song by Donovan released by Donovan in 1969. It was later used as title track to the album Barabajagal. The instrumentation is provided by the Jeff Beck Group....
(1969), and "Riki Tiki Tavi" from Open Road (1970).
Reissues
- On October 25, 1990, Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic 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...
reissued Donovan's Greatest Hits (Epic 26439) on compact discCompact DiscThe 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 ,...
in the U.S..
- On March 30, 1999, Epic reissued Donovan's Greatest Hits (Epic 65730) on compact discCompact DiscThe 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 release substitutes the rerecorded versions of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" with the originals, shuffles the track order, and adds four bonus tracks which were Donovan's later hits after this album was first released.
- On July 25, 2002, Sony subsidiary and Epic's sister label Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
reissued Donovan's Greatest Hits on compact disc. This release is identical to the 1999 release, including the original versions of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours", the shuffled track order, and four bonus tracks.
Side one
- "Epistle to DippyEpistle to DippyEpistle to Dippy is a song and single by Donovan, released in 1967 only in the USA. It charted in the USA .Musicians featured are Donovan on vocals and acoustic guitar, Jimmy Page on electric guitar, John Cameron on keyboards and arrangement, Danny Thompson on bass and Tony Carr on drums...
" – 3:08 - "Sunshine SupermanSunshine 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...
" (long version) – 4:32 - "There Is a MountainThere Is a Mountain"There is a Mountain" is a song and single by Donovan, released in 1967. It charted in the USA and UK .Featured musicians are Donovan , Tony Carr on percussion, Harold McNair on flute and arrangement and Danny Thompson on bass.Chart positions: # 11 , # 9 , # 11 , # 8 The Allman...
" – 2:33 - "Jennifer JuniperJennifer Juniper"Jennifer Juniper" is a song and single by Donovan, released in 1968. It charted in the UK and USA. It was written about Jenny Boyd, sister of Pattie Boyd, while they were all with The Beatles in Rishikesh. She married Mick Fleetwood and was, at one time, the sister-in-law of George Harrison and,...
" – 2:40 - "Wear Your Love Like HeavenWear Your Love Like Heaven"Wear Your Love Like Heaven" is a song and US-single by Donovan, released in 1967. It became the opening title of his double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden...
" – 2:23 - "Season of the Witch (song)" – 4:54
NB: ON NSPL 18283, "Season Of The Witch" is the first track on Side 2
Side two
- "Mellow YellowMellow Yellow"Mellow Yellow" is a song and single release by Donovan. It reached #2 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. in 1966 and #8 in the UK in early 1967....
" – 3:37 - "Colours" (1968 version) – 4:10
- "Hurdy Gurdy Man" – 3:15
- "Catch the Wind" (1968 version) – 5:01
- "LalénaLaleñaLaléna is the title of a composition by Donovan for whom it was a Top 40 single in the autumn of 1968 reaching #33 on the Hot 100 in Billboard....
" – 2:54
1999 Epic Records/2002 Columbia Records version
- "Mellow Yellow" – 3:40
- "Colours" (original version) – 2:44
- "Hurdy Gurdy Man" – 3:19
- "Catch the Wind" (original version) – 2:55
- "Laléna" – 2:55
- "Epistle to Dippy" – 3:10
- "Sunshine Superman" (long version) – 4:31
- "There Is a Mountain" – 2:34
- "Jennifer Juniper" – 2:42
- "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" – 2:24
- "Season of the Witch" – 4:55
- "AtlantisAtlantis (song)"Atlantis" is a folk-pop song written and recorded by Scottish singer Donovan. It was released as a single in 1968 and became a worldwide success; most notably in Austria, the United States and Germany, and in Switzerland where it became a number-one success in 1969 . In South Africa it peaked at...
" – 4:59 - "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting" – 3:11
- "Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)" – 3:19
- "Riki Tiki Tavi" – 2:56
Personnel
- Donovan – guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Mickie Most – producer
- Mike Thompson – guitar, vocals