Donovan
7-Tease

THE REVIEW

Back to business, back to stepping on the accelerator with pop ‘n’ roll, "7-Tease" from 1974 marks a huge comeback for the Scottish artist; actually, despite what one might think, Donovan never left, but the uncertain result of his last album, "Essence To Essence," the eleventh in eight years of a recording career, could have suggested the beginning of a descending trajectory, yet this wasn’t the case. Compared to its ill-fated predecessor, "7-Tease" is a burst of color and energy; this time, however, no glam rock, Donovan proposes a perfect potpourri full of multicolored nuances: a lively, immediate, fun, and extroverted album with a pop vein not heard since "Barabajagal," drawing heavily from the broader context of the era’s pop, which is arguably the best pop ever.

"7-Tease" is an album to be discovered, exceeding the most optimistic expectations: the infectious drive of "Rock And Roll Souljer" is the very essence of pop rock in its most anthemic form, and it’s just a taste of the formidable up-tempos of "7-Tease," which deploys a range of sounds from the carefree pop-folk of "The Great Song Of The Sky" to the Elvis Presley-style rock ‘n’ roll of "Moon Rok", featuring another great anthem like "The Voice Of Protest", which perfectly captures the spirit of its time, remaining more relevant than ever today, just like the light yet caustic irony of "How Silly", a very "kinky" text over a delightful retro pop base and the incisive boogie-woogie of "Salvation Stomp", all great entertainment songs, which ensure that "7-Tease" has great appeal and, despite their heterogeneity, form a harmonic and cohesive whole, thanks also to the omnipresent use of soul-flavored backing vocals that further enhance the feeling of energy and color that pervades "7-Tease" and constitute a valuable musical enrichment, as well as a distinctly stylistic trademark.

The other side of the coin is obviously the sweeter, more reflective side, and even on this front, "7-Tease" presents no weaknesses: particularly notable is the wonderful "The Ordinary Family", an acoustic ballad framed by a stunning string arrangement where one can fully appreciate Donovan's wonderful voice in one of the most intense and heartfelt performances of his career: this song, the album's high point and the masterpiece to remember alongside "Rock And Roll Souljer", manages to convey contrasting feelings of reflection, disillusionment, hope, and inner conflict in a moving crescendo, but that's not all: Donovan perfectly learns and applies the lessons of the best Bee Gees with two languid love songs like the very sweet "Your Broken Heart" and a "Love Of My Life" that boasts an intense crescendo in its finale, without forgetting territories more familiar to him like the subtle psychedelic folk of a velvety and semi-acoustic "Sadness", which marks a pleasant soft interlude amidst the vibrant colors of "7-Tease," showcasing another fluid and beautiful melodic line and the more shadowed, twilight, and fascinating "Ride A Mile". These two songs are already a step forward, a delightful preview of what will be the style of the subsequent masterpiece, "Slow Down World."

Like "Open Road," like "Cosmic Wheels," and more understandably like "Essence To Essence," even "7-Tease" failed to achieve significant sales: in this case, the blame lies solely with the record label, Epic, completely disinterested in Donovan to the point of letting a potential smash hit like "Rock And Roll Souljer" fall into oblivion, wasting what could have been a significant source of profit. However, in the end, who cares about these trivialities, Donovan's music will always be available to those who wish to listen to it, defying clichés and commonplaces, and "7-Tease" joins the ranks of the great masterpieces of this extraordinary artist, an album perfectly in line with its times and in its own way splendidly sly, always with intelligence and depth, and that alone is enough to deserve the highest marks.