Reviews (page 6 of 8)
svag för donovan ändå
I love the two singles on this album, Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch. I’ve put both of them on multiple playlists over the years. They are solid 60s tunes that I always enjoy hearing. The rest though, I’m sad to say was just bland filler. But it’s still listenable and pleasant enough.
It's good. Maybe a bit too sappy sometimes, but I'm OK with it.
Enjoyable but kinda boring. Production could be better, sounds a bit thin to me.
Favorites: Sunshine Superman, Bert's Blues, Season of the Witch
It's just another "sounds-like-the-Beatles-but-not-as-good" album. It was alright, I guess.
23rd November 2022 Listened in the morning while doing little work from home. Ben and Nilisha round in the evening. Didn’t know he made this album at 19, which is impressive. Psychedelic folk and its tilting60s best. 3.5 if I could.
Very tidy but nothing mind blowing
Enjoyed it
I liked this, in a gentle and interested way. Not by any means stand out but certainly worth a listen.
Decent 60s album, but I've never been a big Donovan fan. I don't feel like he really stands out from his contemporaries. Best Songs: Sunshine Superman, Season of the Witch, Celeste Worst Songs: Legend of a Girl Child Linda, Three King Fishers,
This wasn't bad but it's not much more than generic 60s music to me
Hippy dippy, trippy. This is OK psychedelic pop folk, but there are much better examples of this genre. Sunshine Superman and Season of the Which are classic tracks. The rest of the album meanders a tad. It must have worked well for the stoned listeners at the time, but it does not hold up well.
I know this is “psychedelic” but most of the lyrics are just too silly. I do thin Jimmy Page guitar work on Season of the Witch (definitely the standout song on the album) is excellent
This was nice and gentle, but nothing really wowed me. It was cool to hear the psychadelic/folk fusion. Donavan went to India with the Beatles and taught them fingerpicked and His influence on the White Album is clear. The hits were the true highlights and while not every song Is my taste this album definitely deserves a spot here.
Donovan has some really sick songs. A couple of his super-hits are on this album and they're great. But unfortunately, a lot of the fill in between is a bunch of annoying mid-60s hippy shit with flutes and sitars. Not that it's all bad, just not great. I wanted to give this album a higher score.
Not a big fan.
Highlights = Sunshine Superman, Ferris Wheel, Bert’s Blues, and of course the ever popular and timeless “Season of the Witch”.
Legend of a girl child Linda Three king fishers Sunshine superman
Season of the Witch is great. Rest of album is good
Groovy.
Some great songs, but not a cover to cover album.
I recognized a couple songs on here.
Not my favourite Donovan, but still enjoyable.
I really enjoyed the world music elements and sunshine superman is a classic (didn’t know it was his until now), but overall the songwriting is not anything that would make the album something remarkable, especially at a time when many experimented and came up with better songs.
Decent folk album, one of the first ones to use a Sitar
Mediocre
I didn't love it but kind of funny that so many 60s tropes and parodies came from this album and general vibe. 2 stars for me, 1 pity star for poor Donovan being the butt of the joke.
🤙
Donovan. 60's real time plagiarizer of the 60's. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and never quite as good as the copied.
Love this sound. 3.5
a lot of sitar this dude did acid for sure ohh season of the witch is a banger
Like his voice of course and the melancholy, so a 4 for that. Music is bit too cheesy for me, leads to the average of 3,
Top 3 Songs: 1 - The Trip (7) 2 - Sunshine Superman (1) 3 - Season of the Witch (6)
Initial thoughts: pretty slow and boring, psychedelic rock doesn’t do it for me. It picks up occasionally but the production is hit or miss. Amazing vocals though. Final thoughts: really picked up in the 2nd half, with great production and the slower songs being more interesting. Main complaint is that the songs are poorly paced, they never change throughout and feel like they’re missing proper endings or bridges. Best song: Season of the Witch Worst song: Legend of a Girl Named Linda
Pretty alright
Interesting album and had some gems. Overall nice to have on in the background.
weird brit psychodelia. Its fun to listen to but ultimately missable.
New version of pop I’ve never heard before
(3.5) Psychedelic!
3, groovy
Har hørt litt på da tidligare, uten å bli hekta. Men heilt adekvat chillemusikk ein torsdags kveld (eller morgen)
2 classic tracks and some mixed bag hippie junk. I will gladly listen to the title track and Season of The Witch many more times. A generous 3 just for those gems.
Didn't recognize the name. But knew the first song. Folky with some early psychedelic/eastern sound. Easy to listen to. Didnt love the 2nd track.
Good album, love the sitar. Seems to be a real staple in 60s tunes.
60s pop with a couple of above average songs. Title track, Season of the Witch and The Trip all above average. Below a three, but I’m rounding up for the classic cover art.
Melodies were ok but I didn't find it super interesting. The sitar was cool but seemed out of place. But I can feel very strong 60s and psych influences from this album.
A classic. More bluesy than I remembered but not a bad thing. I love Robert Plant’s voice. Organ on your time is gonna come…why so much organ in the late 60s/early 70s? It’s ok though. This album definitely has its moments.
With one foot in the psychedelic soil and one foot out the folksy door, Sunshine Superman showcases Donovan coming into the potential of his musical strengths. While of its time in some respects, it comes armored with fanciful tales and a song that would come to define him more or less; yet it doesn't mean it isn't a good collection of material. More would come from Donovan soon and he'll get better. Favorites: Sunshine Superman, Legend of a Girl Child Linda, Bert's Blues, Season of the Witch, The Fat Angel, Celeste.
I could not help but think that this is the type of album that Kevin Murphy on the show F is for Family would churn out with his band to try and capitalize on some sort of medieval music trend. I didn't hate it and really enjoyed a small handful of songs, but this is a bit boring and feels very derivative.
There’s something very wholesome about Donovan - an integrity and honesty that shines through his work with some lovely arrangements for sitar and guitar. I fear, though, that listening to an albums worth has the listener feeling his work leans towards whimsy. Perhaps better enjoyed occasionally rather than 10 tracks at a time.
meh... Bert's Blues was cool
Pretty good, very 60s british which is no surprise
Very enjoyable.
Alright but wouldn't listen again
It's more interesting than enjoyable. I really like the title track and 'Season of the Witch' but the other songs baffle me veering off at musical tangents it's difficult to classify. Certainly not boring but more cultural history.
Liked the rock songs, didn't like the folk songs. Not a huge fan of his voice if I'm honest. Celeste was the only fun song I didn't know already.
This album starts off so promising but then doesn't really do anything for me until Season of the Witch (what a cracker) and then fades away again.
Nice album. Season of the Witch is a 5 🌟 song and there are a few others that caught my ear. A few more listens and it might get to 4 but for 3.5 🌟
Outside of Sunshine Superman, I wasn't terribly impressed with this album. Very 60's sounding, but somewhat mediocre. 3
its good i guess? 3 or 4 somewhere in there. nice guy but the songs make me a little sleepy.
Enjoyable but get the feeling he’s a wannabe Bob Dylan.
3.5
Ágætis stöff. Rosa misjöfn plata. Lögin sem maður þekkir eru mjög góð en svo er talsvert óeftirminnilegra stöff inná milli.
Skemmtileg, fjölbreytt. Season of the Witch er náttúrulega geggjað. Svolítið líkur Ingó Veðurguð (útlitslega)
Some ok, but many too long and boring
The title song and Season of the Witch are really great. It's a shame the rest of the album is so boring.
This is the first time I've listened to a whole album from Donovan, and I've only heard a few tracks in total. For me Donovan falls somewhere in the middle of folk, psychodelia and Van Morrison. "Sunshine Superman", "Season of the Witch" and "The Trip" were familiar tracks. "Sunshien Superman" was the best track,and the album was okay overall.
I enjoy this, nice and groovy. I kind of stopped paying attention, but solid, nice background music
Nice. 3/5
Couple classic songs. The rest just OK.
I mean, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. "Swinging hippie" is how I'd describe the genre, but I'm not mad at it. Would I re-listen? I don't know, maybe to a couple favorite tracks--namely "Season of the Witch" and the title track--but the rest is simply not worth it IMO. Bumping this up a star on the strength of those two great tracks alone.
I would think that the folks who heard Sunshine Superman on the radio and ran out the buy this album would have been disappointed. At first, I was dismissive of the esoteric, psychedelic folk, especially the way he pronounces the words in a weird way in order to maintain the rhythm of the verse, but it grew on me, especially side 1, after a while. And the title track is a sixties classic.
This is by no means a bad album, and Season of the Witch is solid, but it doesn't grab and hold your atttention like so many of the other greats of 1966 did. Donovan always strikes me as a chameleon, not an innovator: the guy in the 60's who was doing what everyone else was doing, but less well. The 'Airplane cover just makes you want to put on Surrealistic Pillow or Baxter's, and even Season of the Witch puts you in the mood for Them or Van Morrison.
Donovan! I've heard the hype, I've heard the rumours, now I've heard the music.
I like Donovan. But this is a lot of acoustic warbling.
A svidilo mi se al ne baš previše.
Dobar glas honestly
Very eastern-feeling folksy album. Some songs I didn’t like and some I did.
Some very clipped stoner action. Surprisingly deep.
It turns out that this is the go-to album to use in a movie if you want to evoke a slightly uneasy feeling of the 1960s. I enjoyed it a lot more than a thought a would, the few familiar tracks serving as a solid foundation for the rest of the album. Decent psychedelic folk pop.
Græn engi, blóm í haga og hári, hlý sumargola og fuglar syngja í trjánum.
I like Donovan. I think he has a really appealing voice and I like his songs for the most part. Some of his songs are kind of pop/psychedelic folk sounding, while others are more eastern influenced. In general, I like the songs in the former category moreso than those in the latter, but all in all it's a good listen. 3 stars.
Some great stuff, but spare me the hippy dipshit nonsense please.
Some songs a bit slow but a pretty good psych folk album
This man is the definition of a hippie and I love it. Had no idea he had these songs that I've heard for forever.
The fine art of taking the piss out of yourself while looking deadly serious.
I appreciate the originality of the music paving the way to a new genre that helped create st peppers and others but I could not see myself listening to the album again for any reason or in any state.
A 3 star going on a 4.
Poor man’s bob dylan
Easy listening psychedelic 60’s freak out album
Great psychedelic folk rock album.
So....was Donavon (Britains answer to Dylan) influential on the Beatles? The use of Sitar on this album preceded Sgt Pepper and the eclectic psychedelia of this album is seen as the first real "Psychadelic" album. I like Donavons nod to his English folk-music routes and especially his homage to that giant of Folk/Jazz Guitar Bert Jansch on "Berts Blues" also love the title track and "Ferris Wheel" a good selection for this collection I think.
I knew season of the witch, it that’s about it. I love a good psychedelic rock album, but Sunshine Superman was definitely not my favorite to jam to
i liked it
Sunshine ordinaryman
Tired
This was an interesting listen, didn't expect it to be sort of bluesy but I liked it. Favourite songs: Sunshine Superman, Bert's Blues
Funky, psychedelic, and a whole lot of sitar. I didn't make any new discoveries on this one, just reminded of the tracks I love: Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch.
Started off very rocky, but grew on me towards the end. Basically Bob Dylan from the UK
Interesting mix of mid 60s Beatlesey pop and Dylanesque folk. Very evocative of the times, pleasant enough Sunshine Superman the song is an enduring classic.
Pleasant surprise, bright catchy 60s rock.
This is a lovely slice of early, Top 40-friendly psychedelia. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Donovan, and he's in great form here: his vocals are ethereal and melodic while still having a bit of folky grit, and his lyrical poetry is perhaps at its most surreal and beautiful. Sometimes I found it a bit tedious to sit through, and if you're the kind of person that turns up their nose at psychedelic pop with vivid imagery and sitars, you should stay FAR away from this one. But overall, I'm quite glad I took this trip with Mr. Leitch! Favorite tracks: - "Sunshine Superman" (slinky, groovy and atmospheric- I MUCH prefer this over "Mellow Yellow") - "Season of the Witch" (an absolute BEAST of a track, probably one of Donovan's best. That guitar work, the paranoia in both the lyrics and vocal delivery. Why don't more films use this song in their 60s montages??) - "The Trip" (again, palatable psychedelia. I hadn't heard this one before and I enjoyed it immensely!)
Hate to say it, but I love his hits more than his deep catalog of fairy shit.
Mid
Psychedelic, fun, chill album.
It's decent -- I love the vibes of the album but not so much the type of music. Favorite Track: Season of the Witch In one word: Cod
Proto-psychedelic. Precocious!
Has some nice tunes but dude went too heavy on the love songs
Nice, My Mum used to love Donovon so yay. Mostly great bangers and he's defo got some great tracks: sunshine superman, the season of the witch and the trip. Couple of duds Guinvere and three Kingfishers hurt me with their whiny whimsical dirge. So pound shop Dylan or forgotten genius, maybe just an all around good egg of an album cheers our Ma!
Heard of Donovan, but never listened to him. I liked "Sunshine Superman" and "Season of the Witch".
‘The album's lyrical content encompasses Donovan's increasing ability to portray "Swinging London" and give listeners an insider's look into the mid-sixties pop scene.’
Esoterik pur
it started off strong the music was fun but then as it went on it kind of got painful to listen to because of the stretched out singing but then it got good again at the end
A couple great songs on here, but a bunch of cringey stuff.
I tuned in and out of this and it’s not something I’d really ever gravitate to. And yet, overall I probably liked it more than I expected. “Bert’s Blues” is a solid tune and I’m really looking forward to the sequel, “Ernie’s Emo” any day now.
I like Donovan and his proto Renaissance faerie aesthetic—some of these were a bit long, and I’m used to listening to his greatest hits where the whitest is separated from the chaff
A quite beautiful psychedelic album with some iconic tracks, but a little slow in parts!
Solid - I am getting a bit sick of music specifically from the late 60's but I would also admit its a crazy ass half decade for music
This is a good summer evening chilling in the backyard, roasting marshmallows on fire pit and swatting away mosquitos as they treat you like a human buffet album.
Buena voz. Icono en EEUU. Melodías amigables
it was ok. very 60's. 3/5
really good musically some of the songs could have been a little shorter/less repetitive season of the witch is a banger, didn't realize he wrote the original sounds like a hugely influential album and probably ahead of its time but not necessarily something i'd come back to
One or two standouts
I’ll be adding Mellow Yellow and The Hurdy Gurdy Man into the rotation, too.
Psychedelic hippie rock, I'm sure it's fine.
I liked the first song, rest was a bit samey, not bad, doubt I would listen to again
Pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this album. I was not expecting it to be so psychedelic. I'll have to remember to circle back to it later for another listen. Sitar owns.
older folkish album, the title song was the best. It was OK
Schön, insbesondere Season of the witch!
Gut hörbar aber für mich doch eher Schlager im hippiegewandt
temas bonitos
Old, but not too bad
Een paar goede nummers, maar top-album 3/5
3.5 Stars. First half was great... 2nd not as good...
Donovan is a BTEC Beach Boys to be honest, good but not the best.
It was good
Fine. Bit Beatlesy and also a whiff of Nick Drake at times. Quite liked it but too long
Eerste nummer is briljant, rest aardig!
Nice and chilled. Nice songwriting. Nice guitar playing. Sounds VERY 60s. Happily listened to it, although not hugely exciting. I didn't realise he was Scottish, always assumed he was American. 6/10
Good album and definitely of its time. Every tune sounded very similar to the last one.
Middle of the road, no “likable” songs for my Spotify catalogue, but a very listenable album.
Scrapes a passing grade. Not a bad sound, but a little boring especially by the end.
Just boring. I like the sitar in a few songs but the medieval folky story songs are so hard to listen to.
I always confuse Donovan with Donnie Osmond. Very different!
season of the witch a toujours eu ma préférence mais la version studio seulement il a une belle voix mais c'est un baladeu doux
Ça sent le Patchouli cet album là! J'étais enthousiaste a début... Dès les premières notes, j'ai cru entendre le générique de Quelle famille! 😂 J'ai rapidement trouvé ça flat.. Ça manque d'opium peut-être! C'est.. Correct.
Wow we are really stuck in the 60s...
Pretty trippy album. Sunshine Superman may have been the only song I knew beforehand. This will not be a part of the regular rotation nut I enjoyed it. Trippy, weird, fun.
not much to write home about, solid music
As much as I love sitar, adding it to lacklustre songs doesn't make them bangers. There were some great songs on this album but the sitar ones weren't them.
Meh, the first track is the best. Donovan always reminds me of Futurama.
One of the first psychedelia albums, so hugely influential on a whole bunch of genres that came later. A lot of drippy silliness. Fave track - "Season of the Witch" by a mile!
This is the most 60s thing I’ve ever heard. Bit kumbaya for my taste, with glimpses of funkier elements.
Thanks Donovan, very cool. Season of the Witch is my jam👌 (I wish we could give half points (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ )
Good psychedelic stuff. 7/10
ihan jees, mikään ei nouse esiin mutta ihan kivaa kuunneltavaa
It had some interesting, but meh
Really enjoyed part of this, other parts seemed like faux-mysticism, maybe trying too hard or something. Surprised to recognize some songs, most notably "Season of the Witch." Definitely some songs on here I will keep coming back to, the album as a whole dragged on a bit for me.
Seemed to be in the CCR vein of rock
Honestly haven't found anything memorable throughout the project. Bunch of soft mellow pacifying folk tunes with light waft of everything, can't honestly define it cuz even tho each song differs from another they draw up in some mood. Dono has better albums under his belt but its worth listening for someone interested but not essential imo. picks- s/t, legend of a girl, bert blues, season of the witch, trip, Celeste (sweet melody in-between)
Surprisingly difficult to find the right version of this album if you don't use Spotify. I think the title track is so good it justifies the album's existence by itself. Fun fact I just learned: Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones play on the track. "Season of the Witch" has also made its way on to some of my Halloween playlists in the past.
Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch are great, not so jazzed on the other tracks
A psychedelic journey. Loved this album.
total hippie. Season of the Witch is an absolute slapper though
Nice to listen to.
A lot of sitar. Pretty good. A few tracks stood out.
Cool album. Listened though without any issues. Solid 60’s album. Enjoyed.
Psychedelic, man
Good 60's hippy album.
quite nice laidback psychedelic folk vibes
I grew up listening to quite a bit of Donovan, it's sleepy and ethereal and I think it really hits a lot of cool psych folk spots for me. I often find psychadelic music to be hard to like, approach and Donovan is smooth and easy
This was cool. I love when an album comes up I’ve never heard before.
Really cool mix of folk and psychedelia. Lots of catchy tunes on here, particularly the title track. Worth a few listens.
Wasn't expecting much, and wasn't disappointed, however wasn't that impressed as well. A trippy album for sure, but not really my cup of tea.
OK morning album. Very chill and pretty slow paced, hippy vibes?
Album jest ok, prawdę mówiąc liczyłem na więcej, tytułowa piosenka jest bardzo fajna, the trip tez jest przyjemna ale reszta piosenek mi się dłużyła,
Fortællende, mystisk, psykedelisk, afslappende
1960s album. Nothing too exciting, kinda chill to write to.
Liked it, already familiar with the title track and season of the witch (unknowingly). I feel like this is The Doors lite, or without the edge at least
Clearly influential but not for me
I enjoyed it, although I dont think ill come back to it. Ill still save it in my library though
Have guitar, learn cords, get a whiny voice and make folk music. I've heard worse, thanks to this list, I've heard a lot worse, so 2.0 it is.
Twee tunes for the folky folk
I can’t believe this guy was ever compared to Bob Dylan, I can understand why he got so mad about it now.
This album's so boring that it feels longer than it actually is. Unlike the last album I reviewed, "Sunshine Superman" sounds quite good. The title track has to be my favourite. It's also the first song on "Sunshine Superman, after that, there's nothing worth listening to. I hope I get one good album before the end of June. 2 stars for "Sunshine Superman".
a couple of decent tunes saving this from a 1 star
Not terrible at all
The title track was great but the rest of the album felt way longer than it actually was. Highlight-Sunshine Superman
I like some psychedelic stuff, but honestly I just found this boring
Enjoyed a handful of songs but overall this type of music is generally not my favorite. Season of the witch Sunshine superman Berts blues
"Season of the Witch" is basically the only interesting thing here for me. The rest of it is just blah. 60s psychedelic pop or whatever that does absolutely nothing for me. It's boring.
Nothing really memorable here except the Season of the Witch. The rest of the album is quite Beatlesy with Sitar, Harpsichord ! Not particularly enjoyable album. The second half of the album is much more enjoyable but still...
temu beatles hippy rockpop
This list is just… so filled with this nothing burger 60’s pysch rock… I don’t get why this is here
idk what I would have expected from a 60s folk Psychedelic Rock album. Yeah... this ain't my thing.
He has a lovely voice and I didn’t realize Season of the Witch was a cover. Overall, the album felt a bit repetitive if I’m honest. Though I may have been having post vacation blues.
Some good songs, but most are just early raga rock which was gaining prominence at the time in the psychodelic bands.
..
When he bothers to have hooks it's not terrible, but otherwise, no.
bof
Some good songs but most feel repetitive.
Donovan is just okay for me. This was fine,but not inspiring.
was fûr ein gesäusel
Ok
This was ok got kind of boring in places.
Donovan has enough good songs in his catalog to fill up a "best of" compilation, but any of his releases are bloated with so much inexcusable hippy bullshit. "The jingle jangle jester rides his stallion. Seagulls fly across my eyes forever." This is why you lost the culture war.
Mostly bad but a few tunes on this.
I tried with this but it did not hit me. I felt like it was very cliché psychedelic, almost what you'd find in a satirical or parody film. I didn't find it interesting all compared to other 60s psychedelic music or alternative 60s. I can hear the mix of folk and rock with pop, hated the ye olde English lyrics. I do appreciate that it's supposed to be a less cynical vibe but nothing for me at all. Not sure why it's in this list but I guess it'd all subjective anyway.
No private session used for Spotify. I was hoping for more Sunshine Superman and less mythical sitar folk, that is not what this album was.
Very peculiar album. Is this a folk album? is it rock? What about the indian elements or the psychedelic moments? I, personally, didn't see this come together cohesively and wasn't a fan. There were a couple of points in the album that sounded very Beatles-like, I wonder if Donovan was inspired by them. Favorite tracks: Season of the Witch
Donovan, swing your pants. It's as if whiny indie was invented in the 1960s.
Not my cup of LSD laced tea.
Gear: Grado Hemp Artwork: 👨🦱⚜️🎨 Production: 🕰️📏😐 Music: 😒🎻🍂 Rating: 🦸♂️🦸♂️/5
The instrumental palette keeps this from being true 60slop, as the arrangements stay mostly pretty fresh and interesting. The dude couldn't sound duller when he's singing though. I was considering a 3 until the medieval jester joint + The Fat Angel, which truly just suck. Standouts: Three King Fishers • Ferris Wheel • Season Of The Witch
Everything I know about Donovan is against my will. I'm not sure why I dislike this so much. It isn't the genre; Odyssey and Oracle is a favorite of mine. The title track, Season of the Witch and Bert's Blues are great. I think it's just a little too much psychedelic noodling.
Gator needs his hat you punk ass bitch.
Взагалі нічим не запам'ятався, проте і притензій до музики у мене немає. Просто мелодійні та помірні композиції
A couple of good songs, but mostly kind of typical 60s music.
Decent. I liked the variety. But nothing stood out to me
There’s a lot of psychedelic, pop, folk on here. Plus some Indian music. It’s cool, just a little dated.
Sunshine Superman is a good song but I've listened to it so much it has become a chore. Everything else was a fucking snoozefest holy hell. This is my entire review: BOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRIIIIIINGGGGG
Pretty boring but there are some ok tracks in the back half
This is a 2.5 for me. I liked some of the songs. It was interesting to me that there was such a wide variety of instruments (sitar, oboe, Hammond organ, clarinet, cello, etc). However some of the songs were so boring. “Legend of a Girl Child Linda” is the most boring song I ever heard in my whole life. It’s almost 7 minutes long and was a slog to get through. There’s some medieval sounding songs/themes, and I’m not a huge fan of that (like “Legend of…” and “Guinevere”). I only really liked “Sunshine Superman”, “Bert’s Blues” and “Three King Fishers”. Everything else was bland.
#311/1001. I used to like Donovan a lot, back then when I was a hippie so much that it hurts. Now those days are gone, thanks to cosmic unity for that. A few good songs remain and a lot of new age hooplah.
Donovan was backed by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. Wonder what happened to those guys. Hope they did something bigger.
No dynamic range on this album.
All these mid 60s folk rock albums sound exactly the same.
It's not bad, but just kind of boring and aged. Some nice music and all, but yeah, not much to it.
they really just let anyone be a singer songwriter back then huh
Booooring
A good album anchored by Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch. I enjoyed but I wouldn’t listen again.
Um...stop with the 60's psychedelia already. Is this a conspiracy? Do you all have a contract to play a certain number of these albums?
Detta var inget för mig, tråkigt och för psykadeliskt på ett irriterande vis. ...Sunshine Superman och Season of the Witch var helt ok men resten... Nej. Kommer inte att lyssna igen.
I would probably be friends with someone who told me this was their favourite album, because I get the appeal and it would fit me. But, I didn't really enjoy the album. It wasn't bad, but it's just a bit below mid for me.
2 stars for 2 highlights, Sunshine Superman and the marvellous Season of the Witch
very much of it's time.
Did not know he was Scottish. Unfortunately this does not gain him any extra points. A couple of good tracks - particularly Season of the Witch. Unfortunately I really dislike the title track - with the guitar really giving me a head ache - which makes it a 2 for me.
Very cool and nouveau in 1966. Quaint and dated in 2026.
The hits are the hits, but they’re not even that good. I don’t think they’ve stood the test of time.
This is peak Age of Acquarius hippy bullshit. It has every accouterment of the era, it has the mystical song with sitar. The only song I was familiar with was Season of the Witch. It's still pretty bad. I think Donovan realized that witch rhymes with stitch and wrote the whole song about it.
What in the holy hippie psychedelic drugs did I just listen to? Maybe a couple good songs but was not in the mood for this. Very droning and meh. 2.25
whining noise
When songs have a ton of energy (which, coincidentally, are also the two big hits: Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch), this is almost fun. But that's two songs on a whole ass album that mostly struck me as sleepy. Sometimes the sleepiness was accompanied by sitar, sometimes it wasn't - but it wasn't really anything great or memorable. Just chamomile in album form.
'sunshine superman' is great, but holy shit Donovan cool it with the fuckin sitar. I get it, you went to India and had a whole 'spiritual enlightenment' and you're friends with the fuckin Beatles and Bob goddamn Dylan. shut up
With the addition of two blues oriented tracks and a rock oriented one, this psychedelic folk pop album is... quite tame, honestly. The record starts strong with "Sunshine Superman" which is charming, has a bit of attitude and is a bit infectious. I wasn't blown away about it, but it is a decent start. Then it slows down. "Legend of a Girl Child Linda" is a beautiful and calm folk song that reminded me a lot to "Sunday Morning" by The Velvet Underground. Unfortunately, it is almost 7 minutes, and towards the end I was losing my interest, which is something that occurred with the rest of the songs. Next two tracks are "Three King Fishers" and "Ferris Wheel", and they introduce the most psychedelic sound of the whole project, mainly thanks to the use of the Indian instrument tambura and the mystic scenes portrayed through the lyrics, which add a lot to the weirdness. However, I thought these songs are way too calm for my taste and also not that immersive. Then comes "Bert's Blues", which in addition with "The Trip", are the blues influenced cuts of the album. They lift up the energy a bit, but that doesn't mean I was a fan of them. "Season of the Witch" is the song between the previous two ones mentioned. It is more rock inspired, keeping the energy among the other two, and has the singer lifting the volume of this voice. Even though the chorus is a bit catchy, the song feels a bit monotonous. Finally, the three last songs of the album return to the folk and psychedelic sound, with the only song that stand out to me is "Celeste", which may have the most ambitious instrumentation in all of the project, and sounds quite wonderful with all the strings. In conclusion, I though the majority of the songs are a bit tedious, monotonous and lacking in emotion.
Sunshine Superman is great and Season of the Witch is good but the wishy washy medieval stylings of most of this failed to engage my interest. 2.5
langweilig
I think everyone has heard the song "Sunshine Superman" (even if you didn't realize that's what it was). That song is what I think of when I think of Donovan's sound, and I was expecting the rest of the album to sound similar to that song. Actually, none of the other songs sounded at all like that song. They were all quite slow and I found the whole album to be a bit boring. Wasn't really my thing.
Kändes lite generiskt 60-tal. Forgettable
Sunshine superman is a fun song but it’s the only standout. The rest fairly dull folk music. Unlikely to play again
While it is a dated album, it also sounds so. The music is occasionally nice, but not my style.
There’s some cool vibey guitar riffs that I enjoyed, but other than that this wasn’t for me really. 2.5/5
Has an album ever had such a huge dropoff from the first to the second track? Where the opener gave us glimpses of the Nuggets compilation, the second one sucked all the joy out of the afternoon. Something too many of the songs did. Session of the Witch and The Trip give us false hopes before the medieval ballad suit is put back on for one of the dullest songs in the history of mankind.
A couple of clear winners, but the man otherwise doesn’t move the needle. Sappy, dreary, love-struck pussy. Even my lady thinks he’s a bit of a loser. Such were the times.
sounds like the 60s. 2 hits, the rest was pretty bland though.
A little too many lutes for my liking. Season of the Witch is an all timer though.
Quite boring hippie stuff
Is this the hippyslop that's apparently all over this list
It can be influential and also not fun to listen to yes
I liked the psychedelic stuff (Sunshine Superman, Season of the Witch, etc.) but the Renaissance/bard stuff was truly awful. (Legend of a Girl Child Linda, Three King Fishers, Guinevere, etc.) I was getting a Mamas and Papas vibe off of some of this stuff. I think Donovan is just a singles guy for me. 2.5/5
Not a fan
This was everything I hate about 60s folk/psych. An absolute chore to listen to.
60s psychedelic rock / folk. The melodies are very simple and repetitive in each song and I found it wasn't really interesting enough to keep my attention.
So repetitive over lame psych instrumentals. Really not for me nor essential. 2/5
I love Donovan, but he's not really an album artist (although he does have better albums than this one). Also, his poetry is often embarrassingly terrible. But man, when it all clicks, as it does on the title track and especially on the epochal Season of the Witch, he hits some of the highest highs of the decade.
I get that he had a major influence on his contemporaries and this is definitely a courageous record to put out. But this did not click with me. It sounded like music made for fairy tale theatre productions. These songs went terribly on my nerves and this album felt like it dragged on for hours. Boring too.
This is an album with exactly one generational classic. The title track, Sunshine Superman is a fantastic of colorful proto-psych which has a life of its own for good reason. But the rest of this album is just fine sunshine pop and obnoxious wizard folk. Most of these songs feel kind of under-developed too: like a lot of these tracks are just 3-4 minutes long, but several of them really feel like they're pushing it. Take for example The Fat Angel, a song with a cool vibe that manages to feel like it goes *nowhere*. Legend Of A Girl Child Linda is also a slog, and I think a couple of minutes could have easily been lopped off. Although, I did like Celeste, an easy pick for my second favorite here. I know how influential this is: when you influenced The Beatles, that isn't the kind of thing I can scoff at. But outside of the fantastic title track, I just don't think the material here has aged all too well. Especially because psych took off in a bigger and better way immediately after. But I also think that Donovan's contemporaries were doing it better too. I enjoyed Da Capo by Love more, and it came out this same year. More damning, The Mamas and The Papas got out California Dreamin' before Sunshine Superman, and California Dreamin' is a much more intensely psychedelic track. Not that that means everything, but point is that Donovan wasn't exactly on his own forging into psychedelia. That being said, as I have asserted, there is some stuff to enjoy here, even if I don't think it comes together.
Uh . . . I don't know, man. I don't like it very much, but is it a 2? Or maybe 3? I can't tell anymore. I'm questioning everything.
This album was mostly disappointing. There's some excellent 60s psych buried among the dross, including Season of the Witch and The Fat Angel, but I found it otherwise unremarkable. On a marginally related note, the Butthole Surfers did a fantastic cover of Hurdy Gurdy Man on their Pioughd album. I had never heard of Donovan before buying that album, and every time I listen to a Donovan song now, I wonder what it would sound like if the Buttholes covered it. Much better than the original, I suspect.
Donovan is really more of a singles artist. His greatest hits I can recommend unequivocally and you can find it used and inexpensive on vinyl. I have a pretty high tolerance for his hippy dippy bullshit, but this album really pushed that. I have a double album called A Gift from a Flower to a Garden which is more listenable than this when he goes Raga. Celeste was a nice discovery beyond the singles here and The Trip was pretty good. The lows are too low and obsessed with production. Strings, now clarinet, triangle?, bang, motherfucker, HARPSICHORD!
I know Donovan was kind of important, and I know I like at least one of his songs (First There Is a Mountain), but this is a dull album. Except for Legend of a Girl Child Linda, which is awful -- sounds like the boring type King Crimson songs that I don't like. (I do like King Crimson and prog generally, just not the pseudo-Renaissance ballads.)
This is a good example of where psychedelia and its hippie overtones took a turn into that other sub genre, absolute hippy bollox. I can just barely tolerate the singles from Donovan when they turn up, the whole album with filler tracks, dear god, what drivel. Listened, that’s one ticked off, 2 Star
If I was an elderly Englishman, living in the West Midlands in the 1960’s, tending to my sheep, I’d imagine I’d like this album. Since I’m not those things, I don’t.
The Season of the Witch was fun but as a whole its a pretty slow album.
Season of the witch and the trio don't make up for the annoying guff on the rest of this album. Poorly playd sitar and bongos coupled with nonsensical lyrics with weird timing. If I didn't know what a hippie was in the 60's and they were playing some of those songs I too perhaps would want to come up with schemes to jail them like Nixon did.
It starts off promising with "Sunshine Superman", but it's all downhill from there. Actively disliked most of the songs apart from that one. "Season of the Witch" is not a good song. Have to imagine the only reason it's somewhat popular is because of it's connection to Halloween.
Two iconic songs and eight bland ones equal a forgettable record.
It has kind of a medieval sound to it. I like the vocals, but the songs are too hippie for me. Very 60s.
“Season of The Witch” is a great song. The rest is okay. Cool that Green Lantern gets a mention in the title track.
Ehhhhh. I mean, parts of it are cool. It just feels too slow for me. Maybe it’s meant to be heard while on a substance. Trip might be required (5/10, 2/5 on this scale)
Couple of stellar tracks here, the rest gets tossed into the "old music no one listens to anymore" bucket.
This was pretty dull. Good for what it is, but certainly nothing amazing. Plenty more interesting musics happening around the time of this release.
I knew Season of the Witch and the title track and liked the song Giunevere but overall this wasn't for me. I don't much care for Donovan's voice or the mix of instrumentation
Burn the Witch was good. For the rest I would call it minstrel music. I can see how it was far out in its heyday, like a hipster version of a more toned down hippie Led Zeppelin. Overall I was just kind of bored with it.
Bob was right.
2.5
Two big hits, plus a couple more trippy grooves, but the rest just falls flat. 2+
Eh…I can take it or leave it
Boy. I’m listening to this right after My Generation and am now thinking that I should have given it a 4 if this is what else is what was happening in 1965-66. Quite enjoy the title track and season of the witch fucking rips, but besides that we have a directionless stroll down hippie dippy lane.
Truly the year I discovered I am much lower on the music of the hippies than previously believed. Presumably Donovan did a lot of yoga in this sitar phase because it requires immense flexibility to crawl this far up one's own asshole. The title track is a heater on an otherwise unremarkable project.
Sunshine Superman, a cute name for an album, contains a big Indian influence but it was released before it was overdone. But by the end of the album, the Indian influence was tired--and I'm saying this as someone who loves Indian music!--because Donovan couldn't stop making songs with a sitar. Despite that, this is straight sixties pop. An OK album, and at least Donovan gave us "Season of the Witch," which Lana Del Rey perfected decades later.
I really love "Season of the Witch", but was not familiar with any of the other work on this album (the other Donovan songs I know hail from other albums). I was intrigued to dive in and hear more! After listening, this album was okay. It wasn't bad, but I didn't find it to be great, either. It's a pretty good take on psychedelic rock and psychedelic folk, and I wanted to like it more, but I just wasn't super captured by the album.
Man, one hit and a bunch of other boring stuff.
This guy somehow managed to make a song about witches boring.
Beyond a couple singles, this ended up being a little too much barding for my liking.
Fur sure this dude was high af when he wrote this
Moody, spoken
OG season of the witch!! chill easy listening early psychedelic almost ish stuff but not too crazy about it if im being honest, 4.5/10
The songs you know from this album are pretty much all the songs you need to know. I was trying to figure out why Led Zeppelin and Cream can sing about dragons and mists and castles and I'm fine with it, but I had little patience for Donovan's princesses, and I think it's cuz those other songs are musically good songs and I don't care about the storytelling. Donovan's Neo-Raphaelite thing is more about the lyrics than the shapeless music.