Donovan
Hurdy Gurdy Man

THE REVIEW

I unintentionally got brainwashed. I educated myself on monstrously technical and talented rock/metal bands, perfect on an instrumental level and perfect on a textual-vocal level. I let this obsession last so long that I started to reject band after band, sometimes even quite interesting ones. Rejections made through (incorrect) reasoning like: "What can these guys do? They can't even look Dream Theatre in the face," "And what do these others want to sing about since Children Of Bodom are around?" But then, as I grew older, I realized that sometimes the sense of musical ecstasy, that moment of full enjoyment, and acoustic satisfaction can also be perceived in bands that reach extremism without proving to be inhumanly good with guitars in hand.

Donovan made me (re)discover the taste for well-made music, for calm, slow, tranquil music, for that fascinating music which, without being too classical, hides many secrets within itself and is capable of making you dream. This album, in my opinion, is fantastic. Classical guitars, flutes, clarinets, tambourines, and many other special instruments compose wonderful and well-crafted melodies. The voice is a bit whispered, and that's precisely why it's very engaging. Finding a single bad song on this CD is nothing short of impossible; every song is beautiful in its own way. I, who (without shame) always listen to music when I'm a bit out of it, have had the best psychological trips with this album.
It is the rediscovery/homage in the "Donovan" manner to Folksingers, present even before the Beatles revolutionized and confirmed the beat fashion, even before Bob Dylan, a music that seems always to have been present in our heads across centuries.

Surely the '60s were the years when singer-songwriters/troubadours conquered the world with their innovative artistic expression. But no one, and I confirm no one, was like Donovan; no one ever put together a folk raga with blues/pop nuances and old piano bar rhythms. And this album is its maximum expression.

It starts with "Hurdy Gurdy Man," a surprising track, with classical guitar and almost mysterious voice, featuring sound distortions that ensure a certain "psychedelia." Then follows the fantastic "Peregrine," where the mystical voice accompanies the background of a keyboard with accordion/bagpipe effect that seems to narrate an ancient Scottish dramatic atmosphere, with sounds like castanets and bongos contributing. "The Entertaining of a Shy Girl" is just a small, relaxing two-minute ballad in perfect style, which precedes "As I Recall It," a perfect light-hearted and melodic blues; and analyzing the songs becomes increasingly difficult, from a very relaxing "Get Thy Bearings" to a song in baroque/medieval style called "Hi it's Been Long Time," which sonically is practically the answer to a hypothetical question like: "Why is Donovan considered a minstrel?" Then a gem with true raga-folk: "West Indian Lady" and "Jennifer Juniper," which perhaps we all know because it was the soundtrack of a famous snack commercial (if I'm not mistaken, they were rusks). Many more follow which deserve a mandatory listen.

In conclusion: "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is something everyone should listen to, an example of alternative music as no one in the modern era could ever represent.