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"Sunshine Superman" was Donovan's first "Electric" album, first released in late 1966. Although producer's Micky Most has been givin much credit for creating Donovan's "new progressive" sound, there had actually been signs on his previous album "Fairytale", that he would be exploring new styles and sounds on forthcoming records. The great song and slightly jazzy "Sunny Goodge Street" would have fitted nicely into the concept of both "Sunshine Superman" and the follow-up album "Mellow Yellow"
When the album was released "Sunshine Superman" had already been a huge hit on the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic; with its great bass intro hook.
On many tracks though, Donovan's folk background still shines through. Some songs are still very folkish, featuring only Donovan and his acoustic guitar, but with additional classical instruments like woodwinds, violins and harpsichord.
Other songs are highly inspired by Indian music featuring both tabla and sitar.
Among those the beautiful "Guinevere" and "Fat Angel" are clear favourites.
On "Bert's Blues" Donovan combines elements from both jazz and and classical music, creating an almost avantgardish new fusion.
Quite outstanding is the classic "Season of the Witch", which has been covered by various other artists; Donovan at his heaviest!
The majestic "Celeste", which closed the original album is another highlight.
The 7 bonus-tracks are all fine. Some are outtakes, others are early versions of songs that would later appear on "Mellow Yellow" and "Barabajal".
The booklet is a great read featuring biography and detalied information about each track and Donovan's collaboration with Micky Most.
Though most of the strongest tracks can be found on various compilations; and though a few songs may sound a bit out-dated, the album as a whole still appear as an essential document of how music changed in the middle 1960's, and that Donovan was more than just a softer British echo of what Bob Dylan was doing in America.
Recommended!
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Yes, this is the one we've been waiting for. However there is one very important track from the era not on the CD: that is the single version of The Trip, the b-side to Sunshine. This version featured a harmonica solo not on the LP version. They should have included this instead of the dublicate demos that are also on the others CDs of this series.
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If Donovan had died young like Nick Drake or lost his mind like Syd Barrett, everyone would recognize his greatness now. Rather, like Paul McCartney, Donovan is a well-adjusted guy who's lived a full life, who made some absolutely brilliant music in the 60's and some less-than-brilliant music after the 60's. Good for him, but lousy for his legend.
In my opinion, Sunshine Superman is his best album, although Mellow Yellow, A Gift From a Flower to a Garden, and Hurdy Gurdy Man are also excellent. Sunshine Superman includes three of Donovan's greatest hits -- the title track, Season of the Witch, and the Trip -- all great rock songs, but, for me, what makes this record shine is the other album tracks. Songs like Legend of a Girl Child Linda, Three Kingfishers, the Fat Angel and bonus track Breezes of Patchulie are simply some of the best psychedelic-chamber-folk-pop songs ever recorded. John Cameron's arrangements are gorgeous throughout. If you like languid mood music with beautiful melodies, and the sounds of sitars and harpsichords, these tunes are bliss (and honestly, if you don't like such things, you shouldn't be listening to Donovan anyway).
One more thing: this record sounds AMAZING. Partly this is due to whoever engineered it forty years ago, but whoever remastered it this year is a genius. EMI, PLEASE hire the responsible party to remaster the Beatles' catalog IMMEDIATELY.
One complaint though: the liner notes are very poorly written.
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this is the remastering we've always hoped for (not the royal "we" but the millions to whom this recording is elemental). thank you thank you thank you to Donovan and all involved in this superb remastering!
and oh! the extra cuts (you can't get this soon enough). in the past i'd sought and found white label promo first pressings (vinyl) of Sunshine Superman in search of the sound quality I longed for. never thought i'd say it about digital 16 bit vs analog but THIS IS IT!!! This is the pressing of this to own. Trust me on this one...
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