Hurdy Gurdy Songs: Words & Music By Donovan 1965-1971 / Various [Import]

• Track Listing

UK collection. The latest in Ace Records' popular Songwriters series is a kaleidoscopic trip into the craft of one of the most covered and influential artists of the '60s. The body of work he wrote and recorded during the golden period we celebrate on Hurdy Gurdy Songs has become one of the most critically and commercially successful of the era, and continues to attract new listeners and demand reappraisal; proof that Donovan - the psychedelic minstrel whose records colored the late 60s pop landscape - was one of a kind. A prolific writer, he gifted a number of songs to other artists: 'You Just Gotta Know My Mind' and 'Snakeskin' appear on our collection and serve to illustrate the widespread appeal of his material to female interpreters as diverse as Eartha Kitt, Peggy Lipton and Bridget St John. Donovan's whirlwind journey through the second half of the 60s left him beaten and bruised but the music he created - in which the eclectic influences of pop, spirituality, poetry, magic and the spirit of the age found their way into these unique and enduring songs - continues to thrill and beguile today.