They call me Mellow Yellow...
Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 11:55 pm
I seem to have fallen into a Donovan trip. Have any Donovan records McC? For some reason I think you might.
Yes I know Happy Mondays named a song after him, and Kate Bush covered him and blah blah blah. I guess I've been meaning to check him out for awhile but had preconceived notions that he'd be someone hard for me to take seriously. I approached with caution but after hearing a couple of songs I realized I was rather spellbound. Something about him just stops me in my tracks. It's interesting to me just how much he sounds like Belle & Sebastian at times (he is Scottish, after all), but then I do think it's fair to say he's more versatile than they are.
What I like about him is he can be wonderfully wacky and silly sometimes and yet still be poetic/romantic/beautiful/flowery. He can do the folk thing nicely, but he's not afraid to jazz or blues it up either.
I've listened to the Mellow Yellow album three times today. It's got a great track at the end called "Sunny South Kensington" that is really quite bad ass and like one of the more danceable Belle & Sebastian numbers.
What I've heard of his earliest work bothers me a little: too much like Bob Dylan. Which is fine, but if you want that, why not listen to Dylan? His later stuff is supposed to be a little more rock and roll (joined up with Jeff Beck group, for one thing) but I have yet to fully investigate.
Any comments on Donovan, anyone?
There is a song he covered in his early days, though, written by a virtually unknown Brit folkie guy (can't remember the name now) called "The War Drags On". Not sure I've heard a better war song in my life. It might bring you to tears, watch out!
Yes I know Happy Mondays named a song after him, and Kate Bush covered him and blah blah blah. I guess I've been meaning to check him out for awhile but had preconceived notions that he'd be someone hard for me to take seriously. I approached with caution but after hearing a couple of songs I realized I was rather spellbound. Something about him just stops me in my tracks. It's interesting to me just how much he sounds like Belle & Sebastian at times (he is Scottish, after all), but then I do think it's fair to say he's more versatile than they are.
What I like about him is he can be wonderfully wacky and silly sometimes and yet still be poetic/romantic/beautiful/flowery. He can do the folk thing nicely, but he's not afraid to jazz or blues it up either.
I've listened to the Mellow Yellow album three times today. It's got a great track at the end called "Sunny South Kensington" that is really quite bad ass and like one of the more danceable Belle & Sebastian numbers.
What I've heard of his earliest work bothers me a little: too much like Bob Dylan. Which is fine, but if you want that, why not listen to Dylan? His later stuff is supposed to be a little more rock and roll (joined up with Jeff Beck group, for one thing) but I have yet to fully investigate.
Any comments on Donovan, anyone?
There is a song he covered in his early days, though, written by a virtually unknown Brit folkie guy (can't remember the name now) called "The War Drags On". Not sure I've heard a better war song in my life. It might bring you to tears, watch out!