Rating:  -
I was in high school when Donovan first appeared on the scene. I hadn't seen anything new from him for many years until stumbling across "Beat Cafe" while browsing Amazon about a year ago. What an unexpected pleasure this CD has been! I found the set an oasis of originality and sensitivity. The "Beat" theme of the CD is effectively and cleverly executed. There is great dimension throughout the set despite a relatively minimalistic musical presentation. The cut "Two Lovers" is not just another love song as it inspires fresh and provocative musical images. Listening leaves you yearning for more.
Rating:  -
Classic Donovan is just brilliant. If you can catch him live (he's still out there), he's just great. This cd, errr, don't think so. Don is working too hard with limited materal.
Rating:  -
I heard a cut over the radio, and thought it was worth looking into. Don't waste your money on this one. Very poppy, stupid lyrics, totally uninspiring. What happened to the artist who tried "To Catch the Wind?"
I guess he got old and boring. What a shame!
Rating:  -
Since "Sutras" his astounding comeback album rated five stars, I have to rate this one only four stars as it's not QUITE as good (and half stars aren't allowed). But make no mistake, it's still very, very cool.
It's so amazing that Donovan is back and sounds as good as he does, 40 years after I first discovered him. And he's not some nostalgia act; he's doing important new groundbreaking work! He sounds great too.
"Beat Cafe" finds him swaggering with an acoustic trio in deliberately "hip" arrangements which, in lesser hands, could have been cloying. But this is never overplayed, never broad, never tongue-in-cheek -- just a very relaxed set of neo-beatnik grooves which he, alone among his contemporaries, has the cachet to perform with authenticity.
Did I mention cool?
Rating: -
I first listened to this CD with my wife in the car as we were driving the Mass Pike on a sunny Saturday morning, heading for Maine. I didn't quite know what to expect this trip, but I was not prepared for (and yet pleasantly surprised by) this deeply sensual set of tracks. Just amazing! Donovan can still turn it on, approaching 60, and his voice is as timeless as ever, perhaps even smoother in his late middle age than ever before. "Love Floats," the lead-off track, is an outright seduction; "Yin My Yang" sounds like a Tao-themed come-on ('twould make Confucius blush!); "The Question" is groovy and mystical with the Hammond B-3 low and secretive in the mix.
Suffice it to say that my wife and I could not stop touching each other while this CD was on, and were it possible for us to pull over and make hot, passionate love before continuing on, we'd have left the key turned to Accessory so that this music could have continued contributing to the sexy mood. Lastly, I'll add this--if you bring home a date and put this album on, and you *aren't* making breakfast for them the next morning, something went dreadfully wrong! Danny Thompson's sinuous bass work and Jim Keltner's tasteful drumming keep the whole thing moving along to your inevitable climax...pick it up today.
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