''Donovan's Greatest Hits'' is the first greatest hits album from Scottish singer-songwriter

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

. It was released in the United States in January 1969 on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

and in the United Kingdom in March 1969 on

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

. ''Donovan's Greatest Hits'' peaked at No. 4 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

, and has been certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

the album reached No. 2.

Background

''Donovan's Greatest Hits'' is a distinct entry in Donovan's discography for several reasons. First, it collects three singles that were previously unreleased on any album: " Epistle to Dippy"; "

There Is a Mountain "There Is a Mountain" is a song written and performed by British singer-songwriter Donovan in 1967. Background The lyrics refer to a Buddhist saying originally formulated by Qingyuan Weixin, later translated by D. T. Suzuki in his ''Es ...

"; and " Laléna." It also presents the unedited " Sunshine Superman" (one minute and fifteen seconds longer than the original 1966 single and LP release), and most of the songs appear for the first time in stereo. Lastly, ''Donovan's Greatest Hits'' contains re-recordings of "

Catch the Wind "Catch the Wind" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Pye Records released "Catch the Wind" backed with "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?" as Donovan's debut release (Pye 7N.15801) in the United Kingdom on 28 ...

" and "

Colours Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

" with

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English guitarist. Best known as a session guitarist, he was one of the most in-demand studio musicians in the UK in the 1960s ...

playing guitar,

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

on bass and keyboards and Clem Cattini on drums. Epic Records could not obtain the right to release the original recordings of these two songs, so Donovan recorded new versions in May 1968 with a full backing band and a lavish production by

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...

Release

It was released in the US and Canada on Epic, catalogue BXN 26439 in stereo, and in the United Kingdom in March 1969 on

, catalogue NPL 18283 in mono and NSPL 18283 in stereo. ''Donovan's Greatest Hits'' marked the high point of Donovan's popularity in both the United States and United Kingdom. It also most likely had the effect of keeping many of Donovan's recordings on the shelf to avoid oversaturating the market. Nearly all of Donovan's next studio album was already recorded by the time of this release but remained unreleased until August 1969. The album was included in critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981).

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated that "as these songs prove, Donovan and producer Mickie Most could craft irresistible folk-rock and

psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...

singles. Some of the sounds and sentiments may sound a little dated, but the productions and the songs have proven to be classics of the era, and this is the best place to get them all on one collection."AllMusic review
/ref>

Reissues

In 1987, the original album was issued on compact disc by

in North America (EK 26439) and Epic/

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

in Japan (28·8P-1033). On 30 March 1999, Epic Legacy reissued a remastered version of the album (EK 65730),with the two sides of the original LP reversed which substitutes the original versions of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" in place of the 1968 remakes and adds four bonus tracks which became hits after the album was first released.

Track listing

All tracks by Donovan Leitch. On NSPL 18283, "Season of the Witch" is the first track on side two.

1969 LP Version (Cat No. BXN 26439)

Side One

#" Epistle to Dippy" – 3:08 #" Sunshine Superman" (long version) – 4:32 #"

" – 2:33 #"

Jennifer Juniper "Jennifer Juniper" is a song and single by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, released in 1968. It peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart, and at number 26 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. AllMusic journalist Matthew Greenwald noted that ...

" – 2:40 #"

Wear Your Love Like Heaven "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" is a song and US single by British singer-songwriter Donovan, released in 1967. It became the opening track of his 1967 double-disc album ''A Gift from a Flower to a Garden''. It peaked at No. 23 in the ''Billboa ...

" – 2:23 #" Season of the Witch" – 4:54

Side Two

Mellow Yellow "Mellow Yellow" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Released in the US in 1966, it reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside the US, "Mellow Yellow" peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967. Content ...

" – 3:37 #"

" (1968 version) – 4:10 #"

Hurdy Gurdy Man "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was recorded in April 1968 and released the following month as a single. The song gave its name to the album '' The Hurdy Gurdy Man'', which was released in October of that yea ...

" – 3:15 #"

" (1968 version) – 5:01 #" Laléna" – 2:54

1999 remastered CD version

#"Mellow Yellow" – 3:40 #"Colours" (original version) – 2:44 #"Hurdy Gurdy Man" – 3:19 #"Catch the Wind" (original version) – 2:55 #"Laléna" – 2:55 #"Epistle to Dippy" – 3:10 #"Sunshine Superman" (long version) – 4:31 #"There Is a Mountain" – 2:34 #"Jennifer Juniper" – 2:42 #"Wear Your Love Like Heaven" – 2:24 #"Season of the Witch" – 4:55

Bonus tracks

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

" – 4:59 #"To Susan on the West Coast Waiting" – 3:11 #" Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)" – 3:19 #" Riki Tiki Tavi" – 2:56

Certifications

Notes

External links

Donovan's Greatest Hits – Donovan Unofficial Site
{{Authority control 1969 greatest hits albums Albums produced by Mickie Most Donovan compilation albums Epic Records compilation albums Columbia Records compilation albums Albums produced by Geoff Stephens