DONOVAN Open Road (1970)
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Open Road (1970)
Donovan's White Album
Far from Donovan's best release, Open Road should surely be considered one of his most genuine. Gone are the superstar players like Page and Beck (who served him well on a string of psychedelic folk LPs in the late 60s), and in their place is Donovan's only official "band," Open Road. Released in 1970, Open Road (the album) came across as a return to form he never really had before, featuring stripped arrangements with a hint of Celt, free of psych effects and studio crafted atmospherics. It's still, however, an unmistakably Donovan record from start to finish, featuring a likably consistent, beat-oriented, spontaneously live folk style and even a minor hit in "Riki Tiki Tavi," which offered a reminder of the era's governmental mistrust. Note the dreamy, Beatle-esque melody Donovan introduces (then instantly abandons) at the very end of the tune.
Changes
Song for John
Curry Land
Joe Bean's Theme
People Used To
Celtic Rock
Riki Tiki Tavi
Clara Clairvoyant
Roots of Oak
Season of Farewell
Poke at the Pope
New Year's Resolution
Comments (8)
Yep, this is a good one. You wouldn't happen to have a post on Cosmic Wheels would you? That's an even less heard or known album of his that has some true gems on it. I'd welcome hearing some of that after all these years.
I was debating whether to post Cosmic Wheels or not. It's a flawed LP but a personal favorite of mine, too. Let me try to get that together. Thanks for commenting RX.
NP- that would be cool if you could get that together.
You know....I lost track of Donovan before he reached this point....this song though I clearly remember...the chorus is on my biological hard drive & will occasionaly pop up as I'm absent-mindedly singing while I work or whatever.
Hi Deadman,
Yeah, it was one of his last "hits." I kind of lost track of him a couple years later after Cosmic Wheels. He kept working and releasing stuff like Essense To Essence, 7-Tease, Slow Down World and a few others, but I've only heard them after the fact and don't even really recall them. Seems like a lot of folks gave up on him by the time the 60s came to a close. I can't imagine this LP will reshape your thoughts on him, but it has some decent material.
I bought all of his releases, until a teenage dermahrk spent mucho bux for the double LP "Gift From a Flower To a Garden" and was severely disappointed with the contents. Somehow I ended up with two copies (the second must be Mrs. dermahrk's). One of these days I will digitize and re-evaluate.
So this is the best number on the 1970 release? Underwhelming.
Donovan's one of those guys who is best represented by a best of. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he never made a singular, "great" album.
Mark, I wouldn't say this is the best on this album, it's just the single most people remember from the album. There are some good deep tracks on this one and Cosmic Wheels.
I'd love to see a compilation of his best deep tracks or least radio friendly and most trippy tracks, but I doubt we ever will.