Reviews (page 4 of 8)
3/5
This was cool! I like psych and blues elements. I like how he tied in traditional English folk throughout. This was definitely an influence on 2000s indie, The Decemberists came to mine.
Singer-Songwriter aus den 60ern
An album where the singles have almost no connection to the rest. It feels like 2 projects slapdashed together
Super psychedelic. Makes me think of Austin Powers. Some classics on here but it also is easy to see how it became a bit of a parody.
First song was great! Others were okay.
Pull up a wench and knock back a flagon of ale, traveller. Tomorrow we walk into Mordor, but tonight, let's watch the sitar bards and smoke pipeweed with the wizards.
Very odd Scots-Irish hippy chamber-pop Indian-tinged fantasia - but I guess we already knew that. Must have been slightly ahead of the curve in 1966. It's alright. Worth the listen.
Before this, I only knew Donovan as the guy that taught John Lennon the special type of finger-picking style used on Dear Prudence. Now I know him as the guy that taught John Lennon the special type of finger-picking style used on Dear Prudence who also wrote a few good songs. This album should be right up my alley, it combines a lot of my favorite genres and it’s from my favorite period of music, but a good few songs feel pretty weak and nothing else is particularly incredible. 3/5
Yes and no. Sometimes cuts in a groovy way and then switches to a weird renaissance festival vibe. 1969 was a trip.
Rate: 7.5/10
*Solid folk album for its time
Pretty good
monotonous
Some great tracks on there but most are just ok.
Enjoyed it
That one song and then a lot of hippy dippy stuff 3/5
I did not listen to this whole album; it was a little to psychodelia for my liking
That sounded like a parody of psychedelic music... It was pretty good.
A pretty good folk album. Maybe it could grow to be a 4 overtime but right now it’s a high 3. 3.4/5
Highlights: Sunshine Superman, Bert's Blues, Season of the Witch, The Trip Decent uber early psychedelia record. The sound is kinda folk, but with a hint of hindu. Very mellow vocals, which are not my favorite. I guess the highlights were outliers in that regard. The Trip especially with its very southern sound. For some reason he mentions a lot of his contemporaries in the lyrics. Overall I expected a bit more going off of the descriptions I read, but it wasn't bad. However I'll stick to the highlights, it didn't feel like such an essential record unless you are really into psychedelia.
Pleasant enough to listen to. Some iconic hooks and riffs in there that I wasn't expecting.
I expected the pinnacle of 60s slop from my little reading I did about this album. I was pleasantly surprised. The first couple songs were definitely extremely 60s, then some sitar outta nowhere, then Season of the Witch which is a BANGER. Some mixing of genres, idk, it was at least interesting.
cool psych rock. lacks an umph as a contemporary of pet sounds and revolver but it's interesting in its own way. 3.5
It's a nice album of 60s folky stuff, occasionally drifting to the court/king/queen/knight etc. flavour of fantasy. Easy to listen to, will never choose to put it on again
This is some real hippie shit. The second song is almost 7 minutes long and about a princess, a castle and a sword. When listening to Sunshine Superman, the level of flower child is at a 10 and it doesn't go to 11. I see why this album is in the book, just because Donovan is your stereotypical 60's folk singer. I'm still pissed about Nick Drake having every note he ever put to tape in this book and not happy about Tim Buckley having three damn albums in here as well. I think the hippie folk-singer genre has been covered sufficiently now. Donovan deserves to be in this book more than those two deserve to have three albums. I think this just is not my kind of music over a full album. I have no issue hearing folk-rock when I am not subjected to an entire album's worth of it. This album deserves a spot in the book because Donovan was influential. It doesn't mean I have to give this album a higher rating though. My favorite tracks: Superman Sunshine Bert's Blues Season of the Witch The Trip
👍🏻
Es markiert einen deutlichen stilistischen Wandel hin zu psychedelischen Klangfarben, raga‑inspirierten Arrangements und poppigeren Strukturen. Das Album erschien 1966 und gilt als eines der frühesten Beispiele für Psychedelia im Mainstream‑Pop, unterstützt durch Produzent Mickie Most und eine erweiterte Instrumentierung, darunter Sitar und experimentelle Studioarrangements. Der Titelsong – zugleich Donovans einziger US‑Nummer‑1‑Hit – ist bis heute ein strahlender Klassiker des Genres, getragen von seinem warmen Gesang und der markanten Gitarrenfigur. Auch Stücke wie Season of the Witch zeigen mystische Stimmungen mit eingängigen Melodien zu verbinden. Allerdings wirkt das Album in seiner Gesamtheit etwas unausgewogen: Neben starken, atmosphärischen Tracks finden sich Passagen, die weniger zünden oder sich zu sehr in träumerischer Leichtigkeit verlieren. Die Experimentierfreude ist spürbar, aber nicht immer treffsicher.
Good, but this is one of those albums where one song is significantly better than the rest of the album. Favorite track: Season of the Witch
Another very “cool” album but I can see why the songs that got popular did. I also understand why people got Hight while listening to this.
3.5/5
Incoming recurring rant, yet another excellent reason the list should have considered Greatest Hits collections. Many artists have great singles but no great album. Donovan is one of them. The title track and Season of the Witch are excellent. The rest ranges from “fine” to “soundtrack to a middle school renaissance festival”. It's not terrible, but it's also not really very good. But it has two great tracks
Correcto
3.4 2x good and a few great tracks saved
He's got a couple of tunes I like.
Feels fairly dated. Some good songs, but too many are just meh.
You can hear that it was influential. Sits at the crossroads of lots of 60s musical trends.
3.5
not bad, decent
Still one of my favorite albums
Life is to short to listen to boring music
Verte good!
A little bipolar - Half fairy folk ren faire music, half 60's brit rock
This had a few songs I really enjoyed but most of it felt like filler
Sunshine Superman, The Trip, and Season of the Witch stood out. I hated the sitar/Indian music on a lot of the album. Season of the Witch was good enough to pull this album from a 2 to a 3. 3/5
Definitely something different! I found the listen to be interesting, but ultimately felt like this would be the soundtrack for a Disney princess movie. Nothing against those, just not typically what I would choose to jam out to.
classic old school hippie stuff. scratchy low-fi recording quality, some easy-listening / world music instrumentation. The sound of a musty vintage store manned by a whimsical guy with some wild stories. 3.5/5
Surprisingly interesting. Also got a little old.
Mid
If you squint a bit while listening it does actually sound a bit like sunshine ☀️
Another great sounding album. Surprised at how many songs I knew.
Not too bad, I think I was in the right frame of mind for it...Legend of a Girl Child Linda was the audio equivalent of reading a Michael Moorcock book...
Honestly just not into this flower power early psychedelia business. This album is alternately just cheesy or like he’s store brand Bob Dylan.
interesting, but only a little. 3 *
Pretty boring with the exception of a couple
I really like Donovan. I really like Donovan when he's doing fuzzy, psych-pop songs, a few of which show up here. But he so embodied the sound of the flower power hippy thing, that a lot of this sounds like Maynard G Krebs bongo pastiche. I listened to a lot more Donovan after I listened to this to remind me how much I like him when I like him.
Whimisical
When Donovan wants to tap into that Beatles and Stones sound, he can do no wrong. But when it taps into that Simon and Garfunkel shit, nah, homie don’t play that. Like wow, that mellow Joni Mitchell sounding shit is not good. If I could go back in time, screw killing Hitler, I’d go back and tell Donovan to stop with the boring slow shit . It’s clear, judging by my ears that the best stuff has some movement to them. So, to you dear reader, if the song starts slow and isn’t Mellow Yellow, skip it and don’t look back. You’re welcome. Choice cut: Season of the Witch
The instruments in this album were very good, with solos featuring guitar, clarinet and cello. The lyrics and singing, however, were sub-par. It’s a hard one for me to rate, but it doesn’t seem fair to give this a 4.
Classic Psych 60s sound
Supposedly "the UK's answer to Bob Dylan", although Dylan never sounded so much like a product of the hippie movement. I like this album. It's low-stakes, fun, and Donovan's voice isn't an acquired taste like his American counterpart. Despite having a long career, continuing to this day, his success very much dwindled throughout the 70's and didn't really have the staying power you'd expect. (Why "Season of the Witch" hasn't become a Halloween classic, I'll never know). I guess being whimsical instead writing protest songs can only get you so far, and certainly doesn't earn you a Nobel prize. Key tracks: Sunshine Superman Legend of a Girl Child Linda Ferris Wheel Season of the Witch
Starts promising, but then a lot of plodding, long ass songs without great lines or plot. Season of the Witch kinda picks it up, but otherwise the world percussion etc can't save it.
I really have no strong feelings one way or other on this album. I guess it's groovy enough. 3/5
This was ok, definitely represents the theme of an era. Outside of the two standouts “Sunshine Superman “ and Season of the witch”, nothing else really grabs me. Rounding up because it should be set apart from the 2’s. 2.5/5
Title track and Season of the Witch are the obvious ones to like. The rest of it while pretty forgettable probably deserves some credit for its early use of instrumentation like the bouzouki and sitar which was pretty new for the times. And while it’s hard to take songs like Guinevere seriously, let alone the overall feel of the album that could easily be inserted into Spinal Tap’s Flower People era, there’s enough influence here to go mid rating.
This album has a couple of certified classics, but man does it slam to a halt after the opening track and doesn’t really step back on the gas until Season of the Witch. By that point, it’s hard for me to feel like this is above an avg rating.
Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch (hey, it's Jimmy Page!) are strong enough to anchor this at a solid 3*, but I found the rest of the album a bit boring... 3.25/5
nice
Meh. More like 2.5
already listened to it. pretty good, the title track is an all time classic
Day 194 Really groovy album for just kicking back and relaxing. Highlights Sunshine Superman Season of the Witch
Very much a 60's psychedelia album. Reminds me of the Beatles as they were moving into the Sitar sound. The melodies are decent. I can see this eventually growing to a 4.
I wish I liked this more, because it's definitely a vibe. But, the good 4-star songs are off set by enough 2 and 3 star songs that it offsets to a high 3.
Trippy man!
very chill and three king fishers is gorgeous!
Title song is an all-time great psych-folk tune, but the rest of this is just varying levels of diminishing returns. Better than I remembered though, I always kind of thought of this as being pretty disposable and it's not!
3.5
Ok. Bit slow
First of all, Season of the Witch rocks - comes close to redeeming the whole album. Second, that sound ... that goddamn sound in Sunshine Superman is the most annoying sound in the history of popular music. Checking online, it sounds like it might be Jimmy Page doing ... something with his guitar -- Wikipedia refers to it as "employing an innovative use of the volume control on his guitar for the repeating figure". I guess that's one way to describe it - another would be "interminable" or "for the love of God make it stop". Anyway, the rest of the album is inoffensive Hippie stuff, kinda meh. 3 stars for Season of the Witch.
Interesting to find that The Beatles and Donovan collaborated and they seemed to have a good relationship. I don't think Donovan does this sound as well obviously, but seeing his apparent influence on an album of the magnitude of peppers, this is undeniably an album you must hear. All that said, I'm not really feeling very drawn to most of these songs. I can't help but listen because it *is* interesting, but I keep wishing it was just... better. I can't help but feel like it just lacks those moments that truly elevate it. Only a couple tracks really have that. But it is a good album. 3.4/5
I've never listened to this all the way through but it would be hard to have missed some of these Donovan tracks that get featured in films and tv. When they are edited into those contexts you get a brief texture that is applied usually to indicate it's the mid-60s and it works and is catchy. Listening to them all back to back it makes me feel like he would get a really good 10 second hooky chunk of a song and just kind of wear it out. If he added B parts and bridges more routinely there could really be something there. This also suffers from just era tropes of lyrics vaguely talking about medieval royalty and then of course slapping a sitar in there and doing the eastern mysticism phase.
Very swinging sixities, fun, but insubstantial. Pop-psychadelia. To me it sounds like this guy is writing songs to get laid as opposed to because he really has something he wants to express. As a side note, I was surprised to instantly recognise that Imani Coppola's Legend Of A Cowgirl is over a remixed version of the title track.
surprisinglt good. Expected something much more generic but this was actually nice
It wasnt great, I seem to remember Donovan being better than this. Couple of good tracks but generally a bit meh
When it's good it's good, but when it's bad it's absolute bollocks. Plinky toy piano thing is terrible. Season of the Witch is the best on there - I like that one. Hard to decide if it's more good than shite, or vice versa.
Is pretty, but also boring. 40 minute album and somehow too long.
Interesting album. I liked a few of the tracks and the overall mellow, psychedelic vibes. Lyrically, some of the songs were a bit weird for my taste.
Not what I was expecting after the name sake.
Chilled out psych folk. Ironically though the follower stuff is the worst on here, suffering from that annoying medieval sound British psych loves and ultimately very boring. My favorite bits are the drones and meditative tracks that take a lot from Indian music as well as the CSN/Buffalo Springfield sounding bluesy bits with prominent basslines swirly organs and a spacey feel. I assumed this would be much more saccharine sunshine and flower power fluffy hippy stuff, but for the most part it's not really that at all despite being possibly the most 60s sounding thing imaginable. Favorites: Three King Fishers, Season of the Witch, the trip
This sticks album sticks out to me due to its lush instrumentation and arrangement. An early psych-folk showing, Donovan was one of the first to bring together British folk music, Eastern music, and rock n' roll. The tracks that stand out to me in this album do this and make good use of his odd and sort of otherworldly vocal stylings (sort of elfish, even, no?). Some tracks don't do this as well, and his vocal limitations cause these to fall flat. Respect where it's due, this is a very interesting early meld of music and a progenitor of the psychedelic records that follow it. Favorite Tracks: "Guinevere", "Season of the Witch" Least Favorite Track: "The Legend of Girl Child Linda" Bong Rips and Acid Tab Hits: At least one, but I'll probably fall asleep.
I like this album a lot more than I expected. The variety of instruments used and non-Western influences made for a cool listen. I really enjoyed the composition of Three King Fishers, Legend of a Girl Child Linda was full of interesting bits, and Season of the Witch is a banger. This isn't an era/genre I find all that appealing personally, but there was a lot to enjoy in here. I think my primary hang-up is in the vocalization. The kinda flat and monotone talk-singing detract from much more interesting stuff going on in the background. My favorite track is Three King Fishers in large part due to the fact that the instrumentals are given room to shine in isolation. And that's not to say Donovan can't sing. Indeed, he shows flashes of prowess for me on Bert's Blues and notably Season of the Witch. Overall a very impressive production from a damn 19yr old. You can understand how he went on to be an extremely successful and influencial figure for decades.
It's cute.
Cool to learn the background on an artist I’d never known before, although I did know the two popular songs on the album. You can hear the influence of the 60’s, abbey road production, and uk folk.
not my thing
Synes den der The Olden Days lyd mister charmen efter et stykke tid, men når den rammer, så rammer den (særligt på Season of the Witch)
Synes det var fed nok, og der er et par seriøse bangere på
Second half was really good and psychedelic. And he got his woman back! Good job - Suck it Brian Jones!
Pretty good for 66
An interesting album, It got me feeling relaxed and amazed how simple and clean it is 3/5
Great record. Some Beatles vibes. Some folk vibes. Fell off a little at the end but was a ton of fun throughout.
Reminds me of Austin powers. Love this time period for music and the evolution. So much cool stuff came out. Not saying this is one of the coolest things but it fits and makes sense. Season of the witch is a great song. Very psychedelic record. Yeah baby, yeah!
Decent, wanna listen to more of him
Lovely voice and interesting style - a pretty enjoyable listen!
Sympa !
Les sonorités arabes sont assez intéressantes sinon la voix est chiante. C'est du hippie par excellence
Hilarious and kinda cool! Super 60s but some awesome tracke
Did I enjoy this? Yes! Was it boring most of the time? Yes! Gonna say a low 3 but I’m sure that’s because I wasn’t paying super close attention. Really liked the second song.
his voice really works very well with the genre - that's my main takeaway from this but i do imagine this was really influential for the psychedelic scene and for that i really respect this album. really relaxing too!
I quote liked this album and actually knew a couple of the tracks
Season of the Witch is a great song. It aged well, which is more than you can say for a lot of the psychedelic pop from this era. Donovan is obsessed with royaltyqueens especially. Which is fine for me, I like this sideways take on British folk. And of course there is the requisite Bob Dylan-type tune. Interesting document of the era. About The Trip: I think their LSD was mild compared to what came around later (so I'm told :) )
I do love Donovan’s singles or famous tunes. Season of the Witch is a banger but he’s inconsistent. I think I’d rather listen to a Greatest Hits but when they’re great, they are Great!
The stuff I liked I really liked. The rest is groovy, but maybe just a hair too groovy. It's better than a 3, but I wasn't quite moved to a 4.
A couple of brilliant songs but an overall inconsistent album with a few too many unmemorable psych folk strummers.
i didn't think i'd like it but ended up liking it, good album to listen to when ur high
This was the era when I was most into music and Donovan, while I enjoyed him, he was not on my list of personal favs. This in my mind was his best album and I do have it in my vinyl collection, but it's good, not great.
Best: Season of the Witch Worst: Legend of a Girl Child Linda I really enjoyed parts of this album, Season of the Witch is one of my favourite songs, I have no idea why I hadn’t listened to the rest of the album before. I wouldn’t say this album is timeless, it’s very definitely 60’s hippy music but psychedelic rock is very much to my taste and I do appreciate that this was one of the first examples psychedelic rock albums to be created. Sunshine superman was a great track and the vocals across the album really surprised me (I’m not sure why). The lyrics on many of the songs didn’t really make much sense to me which I suppose fits the theme of the album. The more minstrel sounding fairytale music definitely was not to my taste and dragged the album out a bit for me. Overall, the songs I liked on the album I really liked but I found some of the tracks boring and nonsensical.
Not bad. 2.5/5
3/5 - Season of the Witch is the really great. Sunshine Superman is an iconic 60s pop tune. I liked most of this, so I'll give it a 3.
Nice ! It has aged a bit especially as he was one of the pioneers, people have done better since then.
Folk rock, with psychedelic hints. "Season of the Witch" is an interesting song, although repetitive, but the rest of the album doesn't really do much for me.
Really eclectic stuff. I didn't care as much for the sitar Norwegian Wood-esque stuff but for the most part I enjoyed it. Favorite track: Season of the Witch
Pleasant but didn’t really stand out
Not super crazy, but not super bad
Two really good songs and some boring ass stuff.
It’s like the Beatles but only the boring parts.
Highlights: Sunshine Superman, Season of the Witch
Short and sweet, very calm for my taste, nevertheless, songs were okay and I'm pretty sure there was influence that stemmed from this.
From the overall stoned dolt-y-ness of the portrait on the front cover, to the liberal usage of sitars and bongos, this album has rich white boy tries acid once written all over it. You know what else it has written all over it? Bitchin' songs. I mean it also has songs like "Fat Angel" for which the appeal lives and dies in the song title. Sure a rotund celestial being who packs dank Afghan Kush in the totes of his vintage motorcycle SOUNDS like a vision, but do you have the patience top listen to the chorus of that song 67 times while waiting for the inhaled divinity? Just say no to drug peddling bible characters. Or write cooler songs about them. Psychedelia can be a major hit, or a large miss. I think Sunshine Superman has enough going for it to fall in the category of a hit. There were; however, enough lousy songs to make me a little angry. The dopiness of Donovan's face is enough to make up for the tripe, and reminds me of the face I might make, zooted out of my still developing mind, while hallucinating an obese agent of the lord delivering more drugs. 3 HIGHLIGHTS: Sunshine Superman, Bert's Blues, Season of the Witch
Sannfærði mig ekki í byrjun en varð svo fjölbreyttari
There's something to be said for this whimsical-fantasy-nature style of music. It's pretty fun, can reach huge heights (Queen II, some Led Zeppelin tracks, and tons of other early-70s bands that I can't remember the names of. We first encounter the style (as interpreted by Donovan) in Legend of a Girl Child Linda, and the fairytale springtime feel continues into various others. The sitar is a big factor here – something clearly nabbed from the Beatles – and it definitely dates the sound. In a bad way. Generally, the acoustic guitar is favoured unless its replacement is especially groundbreaking – but in songs like Three King Fishers, Guinevere, and Ferris Wheel, it just isn't that interesting. The harpsichord, also a recurring instrument, fares better here. Fortunately, Donovan's singing is pretty good – like Greg Lake from King Crimson, especially in the folkier tracks – and the basswork is good too (The Trip being a highlight). And the compositions, while a little on the improvisatory side, are good enough that the songs could kind of pass as catchy. Bert's Blues is almost unfairly catchy, following a standard chord progression while kicking the groove and (arguably) soul up a notch. Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch are also highlights. It's easy to see why they're the crowd favourites. The former boasts The Who likeness (pre-70s) and has a bright, driven sound. The latter is very Doors-esque, with a slow, lilting i-V chord progression. Pretty good. But some of the later tracks (Guinevere, Celeste) are uninteresting enough to stop the album from reaching "great" status. 3/5 Key tracks: Sunshine Superman, Bert's Blues, Season of the Witch
Feeling a bit Donovan Doffovan with this guy..... anything there?
I think of this guy as basically the ultimate dirty hippie and kinda hate him for that fact but he also seems chill enough lol...?
Season of the witch and sunshine Superman are the obvious standouts. This is what I imagine the 60's sounding like. It's a bit all over the place but some songs are phenomenal.
Ehh pretty alright, pretty forgettable.
dobro, lijepo, solidno, no na kraju krajeva ništa posebno. pojedini dijelovi malo usrani ustrajanjem na sintaru
I can’t keep repeating this but really this is a 3.5. i mean some real classics here. i just am not particularly blown away by it but the talent is there for sure. he has a dylan-like voice. like his actual singing voice. man i feel so bad giving this a three because it’s closer to a four but not quiiiiite there for me personally. a lot of it is very beatles esque but the instruments are not as strong. i think if there was stronger instrument use id jump this to a four. damn me for not putting my email and therefore not having the ability to edit past reviews. thrown off this whole system. whatever. favorite song off the album is very predictable, sunshine superman.
The name of the artist and album, and above all the music, in my mind perfectly embodies the white young American mainstream of the 1960s. 3.5/5
Sometimes bored me but sometimes caught me very intently listening.
Good, but overall, loses steam a bit. The raga psychedelic parts hurt the album, and the backside doesnt bring anything new. It DOES boast a few heavy hitters tho, which we all know.
“Sunshine Superman” is a classic song! Definitely one of the tracks I would pick to define the 60s. I love the swagger of it and the touch of psychedelia. But man, what a letdown of a second track. I kept checking to see how much time was left on the 7-minute “Legend of a Girl Child Linda.” It’s such a repetitive, boring song. I can’t imagine why anyone would pick that as their second track, especially after an absolute banger of an opener. The album slowly picks up after that, but it’s not really until “Season of the Witch” that the album delivers another truly strong song. In the end, about half of this album is enjoyable rock (including two 5-star tracks), and the rest of it is pretty boring. The last song, “Celeste,” is lovely though.
This is a pretty nice sorta psychedelic sorta classic rock-y record. "Sunshine Superman" is the standout, and I bet most people who listen to rock or pop music have heard it but don't know the name "Donovan". The second track is pretty but I can't say enough how much I hate when albums have a second track that is slow and kind of boring, regardless of the genre. I really liked the song "Bert's Blues" a few years ago, it ended up being one of my most listened to songs of the year. Great album cover, I love that the primary graphic is offset a bit and not centered.
It's got a unique vibe, and I kinda like it. Mostly forgettable, but not a bad listen.
приятный с поползновениями в разные жанры, меланхолично кого-то напоминает
Songs I knew were great. The rest... not super great.
The musics on their own are good, but listening to the whole album as a whole speaks to me much more, honestly surprised that I liked it as much as I did. It does sound a bit dated too, but comparing it to the last album I reviewed, Billion Dollar Babies, which was released later, this one feels much less so. I can't properly describe why that is without sounding like a snob!
Had a couple moments
Nice enough, fairly dull. This was revolutionary, apparently?
“Season of the Witch” is the clear star. The rest is good, if a little campy.
I'd only heard the title track but this Donovan album is worth a listen. I prefer some of the more psychedelic tracks even thought Mickey Most seemed to want to produce a big bass sound on those. Blues Bert and Season Of The Witch are good but longer tracks ramble a bit.
A great folk album. I should’ve visited Donavan during my 60s phase, somehow I missed him!
Rating 6. Solid album, but nothing memorable after the title song.
One hit then the most generic 60s music that could have possibly been produced during the 60s. 5/10
I'd never heard of this guy before but I embedded up enjoying this. Nothing special, but overall good.
sure wish we could get some beatles
There are some great songs on this, those are the songs that are more well known. But… most of the others made me feel like I was at a Renaissance Faire.
6.5/10
Good record.
Decent representative of the era. There are a couple bangers here, but for the most part better version of the same sounds have been done by his contemporaries
Not really my type of jam. The more upbeat songs I did like, but the slow ones did not scratch any itch. I know of other Donovan songs that I really like, and none of them were in this album. Not bad, but Not at all aligned with my personal preferences.
the fact that it's a 1966 record makes it seem particularly cool. mostly contemporary sleepy songs with a couple of bangers. i like Sunshine Superman, but Season of the Witch is just dope
I almost like it, this dude has like 29 studio albums so Im sure we let him cook and he's bound to release some bangers in his future, but for this one spoken epics to the strums of a citar weren't doing it for me Season of the witch went kinda hard though 5.6/10
Not for me
3.5
So much flower power. 3 stars
Ok Donovan
Mixed feelings on this one. Season of the Witch is fantastic, but overall I’ve grown out of Donovan and 60s psychedelia. Seeing him live also highlighted the flaws in these songs. It’s not the best of the genre, and I rarely revisit this album. 3 out of 5.
I hear “Season Of the Witch” at least 5 times every October so I’m very familiar with that one. “Sunshine Superman” is also one I’m pretty familiar with. I know I’ve listened to this album before but it’s been a while. It’s a cool psych folk/rock album with some interesting studio experimentation. At times it feels like a sunnier Velvet Underground. I dig it, I’ll go with a 3.5 for this one.
I like the first few songs here, then it trails off the path. Bert's Blues was also cool. I added some of these to my 60's Playlist. I'll give this a 3 overall.
This felt familiar, but I never knew the artist. Enjoyed it.
Not bad at all. I was familiar with "Sunshine Superman" before, but there other tracks are so evocative of the late sixties.
I bought this album on vinyl when I was 16 years old at a flea market on the Ventura College campus with my friend Grant Ensminger, along with Hendrix and Cream live at the Fillmore West and a few others in the same vein. We spent two months every day between swim practices lying on the floor of his living room listening to these records spin and crackle, most of the time high on mushrooms and mescaline, or blasting them in his makeshift art studio out back while he drew psychedelic posters for our friends’ band Milkwood and I did the coloring. Then I started tapering for senior nationals and the spell was broken. We stayed friends, but the liquid light mind-expansion sessions were over and so, honestly, was my relationship with Donovan. Grant makes his living as an artist now, still doing a lot of very psychedelic shit, and I’m doing whatever it is I’m doing. One star for the album as a whole, one star for the nostalgia, and the third for Season of the Witch.
This one was pretty hit or miss for me. The title track is great, of course, and one of the many songs I've heard a million times on classic rock radio but didn't know the name of the song or artist. I'm a sucker for fantasy lyrics, so I appreciated those as well on songs like Legend of a Girl Child Linda and Guinevere. Season of the Witch is also great, of course, although I prefer Karen Elson's version better. Most of the rest of the songs were pretty forgettable to me. 3/5
Great record, always been a fan
Fun album to listen to with a couple hits. Very classically psychedelic 60's. 3.5/5
There were some songs I loved ("Ferris Wheel" and "Bert's Blues") and some songs I couldn't stand ("Legend of a Girl Called Linda" and "Guinevere"), but most I felt pretty mid about.
Enjoyed some songs, rest was ok. Standout songs: Sunshine Superman Berts Blues Season of the Witch
Slow, old, but warm
“Sunshine Superman” and “Season of the Witch” are slap-daddy all-time bangers, so it’s no wonder that those are the two that have stuck around. The rest of it is pretty good 60s pop, idiosyncratic but listenable. Nothing that really knocked me over.
nice enough
2.5
Yeah pretty chill
Good
3/5
3.5 couple of bangers
Interessante
Suave, dulce, un bodrio Nota: 2.7
Quintessential 60s psychedelia
Ret godt faktisk
Two great songs. Pass on the rest.
Boring
When this popped up, I had no idea what I was in for, even if the album cover kind of telegraphed it. I was guessing this would be all new, but to my surprise, I’d actually heard a couple of these tracks before. Admittedly, those two songs, Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch, are cool tracks. One of the other endearing things of albums like these is that you can hear all these imperfections and not be bothered by it. That said, the rest of the record is just ok. Not great, not bad.
This is decent, Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch are great songs and I quite like the Indian influence on some of the others. The King Arthur lyrics are a bit odd and I found the pace a bit too plodding to really grab me
Man, that is the most 60s album cover I have ever seen, and I mean that mostly in a good way. The music is pretty well represented by the cover too, not the most exciting thing ever, but still just a really solid folk rock album.
Scotland’s contribution to the psychedelic sixties wasn’t something I’d ever considered. And yet the songs on this record, like the boteh in a Paisley pattern – lifted from Persian tradition and repopularised for a Western audience in the 60s by the Jacquard looms of west Scotland – provide an intriguing semiotic puzzle. It’s equal parts eastern influence meets western tradition; inside spilling out; or the past meeting the future in a big long now. It’s the sound of the 60s tuning into what’s arguably its most thrilling frequency – patient but urgent. “Sunshine Superman” is a lushly kaleidoscopic record by one of those musicians who’s likely to be your favourite artist’s favourite artist.
Reminds me a bit of Jesus Christ Superstar. Very cool to hear some early playing by Jimmy Page from before his Led Zeppelin days. Has a repetitive feel.
Definitely a mixed bag of good (The Land of Doesn't Have To Be plus the singles) and extremely awful faux medieval type shit
A couple big hits but the rest is average
A mixture of pretty fun tunes and kinda lame folk ballads. Season of the Witch is a jam. The Trip, Sunshine Superman and Bert's Blues are also fun.
2.5
season of the solid.
Couple of good songs
Uh I don't think I'm gonna like this. What is this cover. At least it says the title. Which is also weird. I think albums are fine to judge by their covers. No? I can tell exactly what this is going to be like just from the cover.
This was really nice. Season of the Witch I would have placed in the mid 70's, so this was a surprise. A very pleasant time I know I would like even more with more listens.
Pretty cool album with a few bangers on it. I like the jangly sitar that shows up throughout.
Some chill psychedelic tunes, I dig it!
2 very good songs. 1 or 2 ok songs. Several really terrible 'Renaissance faire' style songs.
Good but not great. Did not know this guy was the artist behind Season of the Witch, which is a song I really like. Rest of the album was pretty standard fare 1960s music. 3/5
Has its main songs then the other fall very short
Eh not moving the needle for me
Vamos hoy con un artista que sólo ubico por su nombre. Sutilmente psicodélico, es un álbum folk-rock sesentoso con canciones más arriba y otras más trancas. Buen registro de una época. Sin nada más que agregar, me despido.
Despite the rumours both Len Houmous & Ken Chutney tried to spread, Donovan is no relation to Jason Donovan. They were certainly not lovers! 2.9 1/10 Sunshine Superman
Very 60s sound. Nothing special, but a pleasant enough listen. A 3.
Stronger start than finish, with tracks like Sunshine Superman, Three King Fishers, and Season of the Witch. Cool sound, psychedelic, very 60's with a huge Beatles sound. Not shocked at all that Donovan joined the Beatles on their trip to India. He made frequent use of that sitar during nearly every track!
Fine. Sounds like music! Trippy lyrics and instrumentation. His voice and vocal delivery style remind me a lot of Nick Drake.
It's interesting, but it doesn't always work
It's an okay psychadelic rock album, but I don't think it was that special even in the mid 60s. I don't think that it aged really well, sound wise. As far as the songwriting goes, it's ok, and the songs are played very well. 3/5
не впечатлен.
Way too much mediocre 60s psychedelia shit on here. Album was fine, just kinda feels like there were a ton of artists hopping on this psych pop circlejerk in this decade making the same damn album over and over
- 3/5
Mixed, enjoyed the first few songs. The later half was a bit of miss for me.
Nice album. A couple of great songs.
6/10…psychedelic / pop-rock
His third album. Rock / Folk / Psychedelic Rock. The opening track, Sunshine Superman is a Hippy, Swinging 60s classic. Another one of those whimsical and eccentric psychedelic albums I can't help but enjoy. Three Kingfishers is a stand out tune. This whole album is part of the peak 60s Flower Power scene.
6/10
# 551 : Sunshine Superman by Donovan Sunshine Superman – Psychedelic Vibes, Medieval Cringe Donovan’s Sunshine Superman is vibrant, nostalgic, and groovy—until the medieval lyrics kick in and you start wondering if you accidentally wandered into a Renaissance fair. The rockier tracks are decent, and the sitar makes frequent appearances like an overly enthusiastic guest who doesn’t know when to leave. Some songs are a slog, and the lyrics occasionally sound like they were written by a bard with a thesaurus and no filter. But when it’s good—like on “Sunshine Superman” and “The Trip”—it’s really good. Just not good enough to justify the rest. Verdict: A nice enough time, but not essential. File under “3-star psychedelia with a lute problem.” If you have to listen to this, look out for : The Trip Listened: 21/08/2025
Only listened to first half, seemed interesting but not our main jam.
It wasn’t bad. Season of the witch was very enjoyable
Nice one.
I always find it a little charming when I get given an album that I had no idea exists. Never heard of Donovan, never seen this album. And then in playing it, I know a handful of songs. Still not my cup of tea, but not bad. Pretty good for the era. You can see the influence this had in the bands that came up within the following 5 years.
Donovan did the sneaky thing of putting the two songs I really like at the beginning of what would be side A and side B of the vinyl. Very cheeky, Donovan! I see your game! The rest of it was alright but nothing to write home about. And Catch The Wind is by far my favourite Donovan song and it's not on this album, so didn't make it onto the 1001 Album Generator at all, which is a travesty. Another 3/5
2 good songs on here - the rest is just troubadour 'meh.
interesting album but it really feels like he only had a few solid songs and had to record some of these as filler
The folky 60s generally agrees with me. Donovan is a far cry from Dylan, but this is still pleasant enough.
Ridiculously of its time. Some excellent songs - Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch - but a bit hippy self indulgent for me
A psychedelic staple of the 60s. Didn’t need to listen to an entire album of Donovan but Season of the Witch is one of the best songs ever written. Definitely deserves to be on the list but I don’t need to listen to it
Enjoyed some of the music but not all
Besides the two hits meh
A vibey psychedelic record. A lot of pleasant moments.
Couple of great songs, lot of others that were kind of mid
I didn't want to give him that third star but he earned it whether I want to admit it or not. I like the hits Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch and their playful spirit but I don't think he and I are laughing for the same reasons. Fat Angel, which hiply name checks Jefferson Airplane and the title of which I just read is a reference to Mama Cass (😂) is by far the best of the rest to my ears. But still, SILLY is always the first word that comes to mind when I think of Donovan and this album doesn't change that. Props for being ahead of the psych curve, though.
I've always had a soft spot for Donovan, largely because as a kid I loved his hit single "Mellow yellow" (without knowing any of the more adult themes in the song, although I just discovered now that "mellow yellow" was a reference to a banana vibrator, not a reference to smoking banana skins; and weird to find out too that Coke released their Mountain Dew competitor "Mellow Yellow" only a few years after Donovan's album came out). I was bummed to see that his defining hit wasn't on this album, but the title track is definitely familiar, as is the distinctive "Season of the witch", and it was kind of fun to hear very *un*familiar Donovan tunes on the rest of the album. I'll admit it was a bit disappointing to realize that Donovan indulged in that weird sort of mythical England genre (e.g. "Legend of a girl child Linda", "Guinevere"), as well as lots of Indian instrumentation on tracks like "Ferris wheel" and "Three king fishers", but this *is* a 60s album, after all. Not quite the album I'd hoped for, and a bummer that we couldn't get masterpieces like "Mellow yellow" and "Hurdy gurdy man", but still enjoyable enough, and the last few tracks are a nice way to end the album.
A brilliant blend of folk and psychedelic acid-soaked daydreaming. Track 2, ‘Legend of a Girl Child Linda’ overstayed its welcome with the same melody repeating verse after verse. But I believe this was a great start to my series of listening to a new album everyday. The use of sitar in ‘Three King Fishers’, ‘Ferris Wheel’, ‘Guinevere’, ‘The Fat Angel’ just made the album better. Perhaps that resonance stems with my nationality and an obvious ingrained bias. I can’t say for sure. Would I dissect the lyrics in the first listen? Probably not. Donovan really had fun playing dress up with words, throwing in crystals and more seagulls than I was ready for. It would take me a few more listens to figure what it all means. But one thing is certain, 60 years later, this album still sounds fresh - something that I’ll keep coming back to over time. Favorite songs : Three King Fishers, Season of the Witch, Sunshine Superman, The Trip Least favorite songs : Legend of a Girl Child Linda, Fat Angel (might change)
nice enough
Enjoyable listen, if not quite my thing overall. Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch stand out. The Arthurian songs feel right at home here, probably because of the influence they had on the movement.
The psychedelic / spiritual songs with Indian instrumentation are good. But in between those are some forgettable folk songs / fantasy tracks about Arthur and the round table that don’t really work for me. I would recommend stopping at Celeste where the original album ends - as Superlungs My Super Girl is a creepy song about a 14 year old. Overall - some good tunes, but this doesn’t hang together well as a full album.
Classic 60's psycadelic. "Sunshine Superman" and "Season of the Witch" are both good, but otherwise its just not all that interesting.
A lot more varied than I expected. Manages to run the gamut of 60s psychedelic music with songs evoking pysch-rock, or pastoral folk, and even bringing in the more spiritual psych sound that became popular in the decade. What's impressive is that Donovan manages to fit so effortlessly in each mode.
'I'll pick up you hand and / Slowly blow your little mind.' As if Revolver were orchestrated by Simon and Garfunkel but roundly corrupted by Pentangle, Donovan's Sunshine Superman is 60s thru and thru, the best of it (the title track, 'Ferris Wheel,' 'Season of the Witch') and the worst ('Legend of a Girl Child Linda,' 'Three King Fishers,' 'Guinevere'). I admire the innovative employment of non-Western instruments, but too much aspires to British revivalism w/ empty talk of princesses, magic, and Arthurian pastiche. As a vocalist, he's mostly understated tho unexpectedly theatrical at times, especially at the jazzy conclusion to 'Bert's Blues.' It's a classic of its era, but hardly a timeless statement. +, my guy looks like Kristen Stewart.
One five star song (Season of the Witch) and a bunch of two star songs (everything else) means I’ve giving Donovan a VERY charitable three stars.
Only giving it 3 starts because my edible kicked in at the right time
I think Donovan is best in smaller doses
i think I liked the title track the most I like Fat Angel and Celeste and the sitar gave them trippy feels title track was apparently tampura not sitar though so I guess I can't tell the difference Legend of a Girl Child Linda was fun and goofy overall fine album imo, kind of 🥱 at times decent summertime apartment hang while you're high
Very cool album. I like Donovan’s voice and this album was easy to listen to and had a sound that really agreed with me. It was nice and chill and a little bit weird. Great combo in my opinion 👍
medieval folktale vibes fr, love season of the witch and sunshine superman, and don't mind bert's blues. Otherwise don't care for the rest of the album. feels like a referenceable one to know of tho, glad to know Donovan officially
This sounds like a mix of velvet underground and bob dylan. It's not bad by any means, but at the end of the day I'd rather listen to either of them instead of this one.
mukava leppoisa pop albumi
I only know about Donovan bc of Husker Du. I liked the song so much I actually looked up the writing credits. Donovan laid some of the track for punk rock. Working backwards from punk I’ve learned a hell of a lot about music. As far as the full recording, I’m not super into the medieval folk shit which occupies most of it, but I dig a lot of the bass and the echoey bongos. Bert’s Blues is cool. Make that bass fretless and lower D’s voice an octave and you’ve got a Morphine song. Season of the Witch will always rule. D was cool in a way that Morrison desperately, ostentatiously wanted to be. More proto-punk hiding in the jangly Eastern hippie shit. Also one of the best horror-related songs. Up there with Zevon. The Trip has a fun dirty groove. The second half of the record feels really different than the first. No more pastoral folk ballads. We’re rockin’ ahora. Guinevere: …I spoke too soon. The Fat Angel rolls up the medieval tapestry and fills it with Maui Wowie. Celeste - Self-excoriating emo lyrics on a bed of moog clouds and psychedelic violin. Really lush production. Sometimes I hear a prefigure of Stephen Merritt in his voice. He definitely deserves the indie forefather credit. Yeah, subtract the Guinevere-ish stuff and I’d spin this a lot.
Like mid-60s psychedelic vibes? Sitar and Harpsichord like sounds? Must be "Season Of The Witch" time...
This was fine
Season of the Witch!
Good but I found it quite forgettable so 3/5
Really only two good songs, but the rest wasn’t bad. I’ll probably listen to Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch again.
Listened while dancing in an overgrown field
Hippie for sure
That sure is an album from the 60s. The songs I liked from it I knew because of covers that I think are better than the originals.
There's an interesting medieval undertone to some of these songs, but overall it just sounds like average mid-late 60s music personified.
почему-то индийские напевы слышались
Not a bad album, but hippie-folk-psychedelia is kind of pretentious and goofy to me.
Very average 60s tweeness from Shaun Ryder’s ex father-in-law.
Fav: Celeste Least Fav: Ferris Wheel Need to hear more songs like Celeste, that’s up there with the best Bob Dylan songs
This was very interesting. Loved the psychedelic vibes and the lyrics. His voice was really good on songs and just okay on others. Just a solid album all around
𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯 is a fairly average album overall, but it does have its moments. What stands out most is the use of Indian instrumentation, which adds a unique psychedelic flavor to the otherwise laid-back 60s folk-pop sound. It’s more interesting in texture than in songwriting, but still worth a listen for its historical context and sonic experimentation.
An LSD soaked, naively childlike musical experience in the style of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd, some killer tunes (title track, “Season of The Witch”, “The Fat Angel”, “Celeste”) are interspersed amongst overly long hippy-dippy workouts (most egregiously, “Legend of a Girl Child Linda”. Most of the songs are simple and repetitive, which gives their 4+ minute running time an overlong feeling. An interesting exploration with some good tunes, but not a great album.
Decent psychedelic album.
Pretttty trippy instrumentation sometimes (it's amazing how much mileage you can get out of tabla, sitar, and bass), but the songs are interesting. I enjoyed hearing a clarinet in at least one track.
deeply inoffensive...no strong opinions either way here
Light 3.5 for this one, 3 for purposes of the website. The title track and "Season of the Witch" are all-timers, and there are other assorted elements I dig, but it also ventures a bit too far into this sort of medieval folkiness that I don't love. 3.5/5
This starts really great with Sunshine Superman which I really enjoyed. The general feel is really good on this album although it’s still a bit hit and miss for me. The “hit” is when it goes in to more rock or blues influence like “Sunshine Superman” or my abosolute favourite track of the album “Season of the Witch”. The “miss” part is the many lofty songs and songs which overuse indian instruments. Just falls short of a 4 for me. A very strong 3.
British singer-songwriter from the 60s, painfully British. His most successful album. Loads of Indian instruments, loads of floaty tunes. Not unpleasant.
There are some amazing moments on this album, but I found the mix of psychedelic, pop, folk, jazz, medieval and Indian music more a mess than a melange. Liked Songs Added: Sunshine Superman Season Of The Witch
This was a bit of a let down to be honest.
This one was good. It makes good use of interesting instrumentation like the sitar, and it was psychedelic without going too far beyond pop songwriting. Favorites were Sunshine Superman, Bert’s Blues, Season Of The Witch, and Celeste.
Garden of the Witch is a great song. Sunshine Superman is a good listen as well. But Legend of a Girl Child Linda is a complete slog…who made this the 2nd track?!?
how quaint
This took me up a Ferris Wheel to see The Fat Angel. It was quite The Trip.
Fun 60's psychedelic pop. Standouts: Sunshine Superman, Season of the Witch
Ok, there are the classics everybody knows. I never realized that the title track and Season of the Witch were by Donovan. The rest of the album is quite listenable, with nothing really outstanding, except perhaps Celeste and Guinevere.
Really interesting album. Didn't really connect with the more flowery or psychedelic folksy songs but the rock-ier songs were really interesting and catchy. Pretty cool sound with heavy use of sitar too. Top tracks: Bert's Blues, Season of the Witch, The Trip
Couple of bangers in there, U enjoyed sunshine superman and Season of the witch
Fav tracks: Sunshine Superman , season of the witch, the trip, Celeste I liked it throughout , sounds like 60s folk can get a bit samey after a while
I guess he no longer lives in a van.
Ik vind het een wat lastig te raten album. Ik vind het best oké muziek en ik vind het sfeertje ook echt leuk, maar tegelijkertijd heb ik er al meerdere dagen niet echt zin in. Ik denk dat het komt door het goede weer, daar past dit niet helemaal bij op de één of andere manier. Hoewel de liedjes eigenlijk prima zijn lijkt de tijd compleet tot stilstand te komen wanneer dit album aan gaat. En dan niet op een lekkere manier. Ik kan op dit moment niet hoger geven dan 3 sterren.
I wanted to like it more than I actually did. The title track is an all-timer for me though. Rating: 3.1
proto Jon Brion, proto velvet underground, proto many modern music genres??? I wonder if the Seinfeld effect should've been called the Donovan effect. honestly some great tracks here. don't know if I will ever listen again but I'm glad I did this time!
Boy, if there was ever an artist from the 60's... And the same, if there was ever an **album** from the 60's... I mean, yeah, this thing's dated as hell to 1966 exactly. I imagine that to most people that's the big turn-off. But, y'know, whatever about other people. To my ears, there's nothing wrong with getting a slice of the exact sound of a decade every now and then. That's not an issue to me. What more is just that... Oh, goodness, I didn't have much to think about while I was listening to this thing. It's absolutely not bad, but it ends up being one of those records that's so crushingly "fiiiiine" that I can hardly bring myself to care. Y'know, sure I like the sitar, and I'm not someone who recoils at the sound of a harpsichord, but other than that — goodness me... I'll tell you right, my problem with this album is the "renaissance fair folk" of it all. If he wants to write about medieval times, about the King Arthur mythology and all that, sure. It's just that the compositions around them often aren't anything to write home about. Maybe my problem is that I'm too used to my psych music being, y'know, psych music, and rock on top of that, 'coz those songs actually have an energy and feel like they're not hitting the same note over and over again. Honestly, with the way I listen to music, there were times I legit could not tell if I was hearing the first minute of the song or the last. Which is like, hey, some of these instrumentals are actually really pretty, but goodness me, when you don't do **anything else** around it... At least regular singer-songwriter folk, for the most part, keeps their accompaniment spare to focus on the lyrics. With this — I mean, it fits, and I don't find it insincere, but dammit, could you please actually **do something interesting**? I'm not mad at this album. It's just... Not to my tastes, is all. I can hear how it could be, but I don't wanna rate this album for what I wanted to be rather than it is. And it's just fine. Nothing I can get all too excited about. I mean, if you wanna hear the platonic ideal of 60's hippie folk music, here yah go. Me, though... I'unno. I might just go listen to ARE YOU EXPERIENCED.
I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump down to a 3. Not too much to say; pretty solid psychedelic folk. I liked 6 of the 10 tracks here a lot, so batting 60% on “pretty good” is a fine enough bar to hit. However, this album is just glacially slow, which is why I can’t give it a 4 in good conscience. It’s not because it’s a bad album – in many ways, I’d honestly recommend it as a showcase of psychedelic standards of the time with more Bob Dylan-esque folk sensibilities. It makes for a really cool soundscape when it’s at its most upbeat, and even on a lot of these slower tracks, there’s something about the tone of his vocals and the imagery produced by some of the lyrics that makes each track feel just a little bit intoxicating. It is THAT damn slow though. A number of tracks loop the instrumental to the point of losing the luster, and a good chunk reuse lyrics in a way that enhances a feeling of deja vu that persists throughout the 40 minute runtime here. There’s not even a bad track, or a bad soundscape. It’s really a fine enough album that’s dragged down by how often it spins the wheels. Each track overstays its welcome by just enough to feel consistently bothersome, and the 4 tracks I didn’t click with enhance that “bothersome” factor by a lot. Again – nothing is bad here, and in terms of playlist stuff, a lot of this is super easy listening that would feel great at an individual level. It just drones on as an album. Hence, the bump down to a 3. I still liked it, though. “The Trip” really should’ve been a bigger track, by the way. That one was rad.
Интересно, оригинально, но монотонно
This album made my hair grow 10 inches and now I can't stop saying "flower power"
A great story teller with soft lyrics. Reminded me of BJ Thomas in certain ways. Great album.
A couple of better songs, but a lot that didn’t resonate with me.