Donovan, Try For the Sun: the Journey of Donovan (DVD) (Legacy, 2005)
A few weeks ago I reviewed the music portion of this lush new boxset which seeks to cover the long and varied career of Scottish balladeer and poet Donovan Leitch. Sixty tracks over three CDs, all of his hits, a large dollop of unreleased material, live cuts, a rare demo, and even a re-recorded version of an old song for a 2004 TV commercial! As far as the music goes...an almost perfect anthology! Well, I just received the completed four-disc package. The three CDs are now presented in cardboard sleeves, just like the vinyl albums Donovan released over the years. These cardboard sleeves are held in a box which is covered with plush purple velvet. It looks like a new Prince album! Feels quite luxurious. Donovan's name is stamped into the velvet, and the whole thing is fit for a king. The book which accompanies the set is printed on heavy paper, and as well as the literate and informative notes (written by Anthony DeCurtis) its 60 pages hold dozens of photographs, memorabilia, and tributes from other artists giving credit to Donovan for the impact he had on their music. Did you know, for instance, that he sang on Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies? Well, he did!
Aside from all this, there is a fourth disc. A DVD. This is what I was really jonesing for! So as soon as the package arrived (by FedEx no less!) I rushed to the DVD player to watch. The disc holds a previously unreleased 40-minute documentary made by Donovan and his Open Road band in 1970. It follows the group and family on a trip to Greece, and shows them sailing, playing, visiting, talking, all very cinema verite. It even shows Donovan's young son peeing off the top of a cliff. All very fascinating. All very '60s!
The film has the same feel as the Beatles' Let It Be film; misty soft-focus shots of locations, plus intimate live recordings of the band's quiet "Celtic rock." The Greek goat-herders and fishermen seemed amused and entertained. Donovan's gentle finger-picked guitar and warbly tenor are ably backed by John Candy Carr (on bongos and bells) and Mike Thomson (on second guitar).
The narration is the soft poetic-prose that long-time listeners have come to expect from Donovan, read in his lilting, semi-pretentious, rhythmic voice. Think, "The continent of Atlantis was an island, which lay, before the great flood...etc., etc." and you'll get the idea.
It is such a product of its time, as to be almost essential viewing for anyone who would understand the '60s. The addition of this brief documentary to an already excellent cross-section of songs makes Try For the Sun a must-have for any of Donovan's fans, a perfect introduction for newcomers to his gentle music, and a fine example of the art of the box set.
