Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan

RELEASE
September 13, 2005
LABEL
Epic/Legacy
GENRES
Pop/Rock, Psychedelic, Psychedelic Pop, Singer/Songwriter, British Psychedelia, British Folk, Folk-Rock, British Invasion

Album Review

Donovan Leitch's instantly recognizable vibrato may not appear until track six, but the casual "Hurdy Gurdy Man" fan has no business picking up this four-disc/sixty-song collection of the Scottish troubadour's four decades of whimsical pop confections and beatnik balladry. Sony's Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan includes a previously unreleased documentary from 1970, a lovely book that chronicles the singer/songwriter's storied career, complete with quotes of praise from current hipster bards like Devendra Banhart and the Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter, and 15 B-sides, rare demos, and live recordings, all housed in the finest faux-purple velvet box one could imagine. While there are some suspicious omissions ("Roots of Oak," "Age of Treason," "Cosmic Wheels"), there's enough here to satiate even the most rabid Donovan fan for weeks. Those interested in a less time-consuming biographical experience would do well with 1992's slightly superior -- and infinitely more cohesive -- Troubadour.
James Christopher Monger, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Catch the Wind [Single Version]
  2. Josie
  3. Co'dine [Demo Version]
  4. Colours
  5. Universal Soldier
  6. Sunny Goodge Street
  7. Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)
  8. Sunshine Superman [Extended Version]
  9. The Trip [Single Version]
  10. Legend of a Girl Child Linda
  11. Three King Fishers
  12. Season of the Witch
  13. Guinevere
  14. The Fat Angel
  15. Mellow Yellow
  16. Sand and Foam
  17. Young Girl Blues
  18. Museum
  19. Hampstead Incident
  20. Sunny South Kensington
  21. Epistle to Dippy
  22. Preachin' Love
  23. There Is a Mountain
  24. Wear Your Love Like Heaven
  25. Oh Gosh
  26. Isle of Islay
  27. Epistle to Derroll [Live][#]
  28. To Try for the Sun [Live][#]
  29. Someone's Singing [Live][#]
  30. The Tinker and the Crab [Live][#]
  31. Jennifer Juniper
  32. Poor Cow [From Poor Cow]
  33. Hurdy Gurdy Man
  34. Get Thy Bearings
  35. Lalena
  36. Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)
  37. Lord of the Reedy River [#]
  38. Moon in Capricorn [#]
  39. To Susan on the West Coast Waiting
  40. Atlantis
  41. Celia of the Seals
  42. The Song of the Wandering Aengus
  43. The Ferryman's Daughter [#]
  44. She Moved Through the Fair [#]
  45. The Traveling People [#]
  46. Riki Tiki Tavi
  47. Clara Clairvoyant
  48. Young But Growing [Live][#]
  49. Keep on Truckin' [Live][#]
  50. Stealin' [Live][#]
  51. I Like You
  52. Maria Magenta
  53. A Working Man [Live]
  54. Tinker Tune [Live]
  55. Sailing Homeward
  56. Your Broken Heart
  57. Dark-Eyed Blue Jean Angel
  58. Please Don't Bend
  59. Love Floats
  60. Happiness Runs [2004 Version][#]
  61. Bonus Material [DVD][*]