Donovan
Barabajagal

THE REVIEW

1969.

Already the acidic guitar bendings with which the first song opens, giving the album its name ("Barabajagal" indeed...), make us understand that something has changed in Donovan. The first track is a playful and sensual nursery rhyme with a catchy rhythm, a chorus that sticks in your head and is further enriched by the Fender Stratocaster of a certain Jeff Beck. Yes, something has really changed...

The '70s are approaching, psychedelia is beginning to fade, and our Donovan tries to keep up with the times. Without forgetting his origins, his peculiarities that made him known and appreciated by the general public. "Superlungs My Supergirl" takes the sensuality of the previous track and amplifies it thanks to a bass riff and an incisive singing that literally melts the listener. The testosterone is too high. Then comes the sweet "Where Is She" with its magical flutes, the slow and flowing rhythm, the voice that seems to break into a cry, calming the fiery spirits. At this point, here is the apogee. "Happiness Runs" is worth the entire album. After a melancholic and ethereal introduction, the rhythm speeds up and transforms into a sublime lullaby/nursery rhyme that brings us back to '67 and to the psychedelic-folk of the "old" Donovan. Stunning. The mood changes again. From melancholy to the wildest light-heartedness: "I Love My Shirt" is a fantastic freak piece, with a playful vocal line that sticks. The chorus then is to be sung at the top of your lungs in total serenity, perhaps during a quirky tea party in the English countryside.

"The Love Song" is a light song, let's say the most easy-listening of the album, which does nothing but pick up on Donovan's childlike style. "To Susan On The West Side Waiting" brings us back to more mellow, sophisticated, intimate atmospheres. Beautiful. And then comes "Atlantis". Simple, epic, reaching for the sky, or perhaps the deepest ocean. Donovan talks about mythology, sailors, pre-diluvian kings while a rising climax full of pathos elevates everything to an explosion: and then the chorus, immediate but not trivial, that seems to repeat infinitely. It too is to be sung at the top of your lungs! We are approaching the end and "Trudi" in a way breaks the magic, bringing the listener back to more danceable rhythms and slightly jazzy guitars (N.B. the instrumental part is always signed by Beck and his Group). "Pamela Jo" closes the album in the best possible way. Making us smile. Immediate lyrics, simple and effective melody, a song to be sung that once again highlights Donovan's ability to write small jewel songs that convey lightheartedness and festivity.

Really a great album, underestimated as unfortunately is its author.