Donovan
HMS Donovan

"H.M.S. Donovan" is one of the most unique and fascinating albums of the Scottish minstrel: dated 1971, following just one year after the eccentric mix of pop rock, glam, and Celtic folk of "Open Road," it marks a temporary return to an ancient and evocative simplicity. It is a double album of "music for children" composed of recordings made between 1968 and 1971, dedicated to his daughter Astrella Celeste and originally released only in the UK: a niche product, therefore, a self-produced, acoustic album created almost for fun but meticulously crafted, another great artistic success for Donovan.

"H.M.S." is not the first children's music album for Philip Donovan Leitch; there was already "For Little Ones," the second album of the double "A Gift From A Flower To A Garden," which, like its adult twin "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," focused on a very colorful and nuanced pop-psychedelic sound. However, "H.M.S. Donovan" moves on purely folk coordinates; seventy-four minutes with real songs, nursery rhymes, poems set to music, and traditional pieces that follow one another seamlessly. Donovan perfectly embodies the role of storyteller, minstrel, and entertainer: it's in his veins, and his voice truly has something magnetic and fascinating that always captivates the listener and, in the case of this album, transports them to a fantastic and enchanted world.

The first disc of "H.M.S. Donovan" is composed almost entirely of poems, nursery rhymes, and stories by various authors set to music by the Scottish minstrel; the most notable name is certainly Lewis Carroll, from whom Donovan takes two famous visionary poems, "The Walrus And The Carpenter", the most ambitious and indecipherable episode of the whole album, nine minutes where music, recitation, and sound effects intertwine in an enigmatic and seemingly unstructured amalgam, disorienting at first listen, almost appearing as useless experimentalism, but the more you listen to it, the more you appreciate the refinement and sharpness with which Donovan has managed to evoke the surreal and ironic atmosphere of the literary work and "Jabberwocky", which becomes a fascinating acoustic version of "Celtic Rock." "Jabberwocky" is also a perfect example of the coordinates on which this first tranche of "H.M.S. Donovan" moves: acoustic, hypnotic, and rarefied atmospheres, with an ancient and almost spiritual aftertaste, also found in episodes like "The Seller Of Stars", "The Little White Road", and "Things To Wear" alternated with lighter episodes like the sweet "The Owl And The Pussycat" and the cheerful "Lost Time", alter ego of "Happiness Runs," and nursery rhymes among which stands out the famous "The Star", where Donovan's voice and that of a child intertwine perfectly, and the carefree and bucolic lightness of "Coulter's Candy", "Fishes In Love", and a wonderful "Wynken, Blynken, And Nod".

The second disc, on the other hand, is solely Donovan's domain, with exceptions for the traditional "Henry Martin", a classic also interpreted by Joan Baez to which the singer-songwriter gives an uneasy and almost obsessive atmosphere in its repetition, the famous religious hymn "Lord Of The Dance", providing an absolutely perfect interpretation in its simplicity, and the hypnotic "The Song Of The Wandering Aengus", which Angelo Branduardi will pay homage to with a cover in his "Branduardi Sings Yeats." In the second disc, all the properly called songs of "H.M.S. Donovan" can be found: "Celia Of The Seals", a classic Donovan folk song with a brisk and captivating rhythm enriched by an unmistakable touch of fairy tale eccentricity, hiding an animal rights text against seal hunting, "The Voyage Of The Moon", a wonderful ballad filled with sweetness and serenity, and the bittersweet acoustic texture of "In An Old-Fashioned Picture Book". The hilarious waltz of "The Pee Song" is the most carefree and childish episode of the whole album, "Little Ben" and "Lord Of The Reedy River" resume the hypnotic sounds of the first album, with an even slower and rarefied pace. "Can Ye Dance" is a compelling Celtic dance, a reinterpretation of "Roots Of Oak," and, finally, the light and lulling lullaby of "La Moora" arrives.

For Donovan, this album was an enjoyable pastime, a parenthesis placed at a time when his career, with "Open Road" and especially with the subsequent "Cosmic Wheels," was heading in entirely different directions. For the listener, "H.M.S. Donovan" is a very pleasant and interesting experience: a double album that flows lightly like water is already a rarity in itself. Moreover, "H.M.S." truly seems made to reset the mind, calm the senses, and infuse positive energies, an almost therapeutic effect typical of much of Donovan's production that is particularly evident here: more than children's music, we are talking about high-class acoustic folk, suitable for all ages.