Showing posts with label Donovan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donovan. Show all posts
January 22, 2023
November 3, 2021
April 28, 2014
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 62: Judy Collins ~ In My Life
Reel-to-Reel tape box cover
front cover photo & design by William S. Harvey
photo of front cover by Styrous®
photo of front cover by Styrous®
In addition to my 20,000 Vinyl LP collection I'm selling, I have reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes for sale as well (see link below). If interested, contact me by email please, not by a comment.
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In My Life is an album by American singer and songwriter, Judy Collins, released in 1966. It peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts in 1967.
Working with arranger Joshua Rifkin,
many of the songs on the album featured dramatic orchestral
arrangements, a departure from Collins' previous albums, which had all
been more straightforward folk music. The album included work by Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Richard Farina. Collins' version of the song Suzanne is considered to be the recording that first introduced Leonard Cohen's music to a wide audience.
I think the rendition of Suzanne, by Judy Collins is one of the most beautiful of all, although, I dearly love the version by Cohen. There is a sensational cover of the tune by The Flying Lizards, that absolutely should be heard (links to music videos below).
It was the music of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and the traditional songs of the folk revival of the early 1960s that piqued Collins' interest and awoke in her a love of lyrics. Her music became popular at the University of Connecticut, where her husband taught. She performed at parties and for the campus radio station along with David Grisman and Tom Azarian. While Collins' first few albums comprised straightforward guitar-based folk songs, with 1966's In My Life, she began branching out and including work from such diverse sources as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Jacques Brel, and Kurt Weill. Mark Abramson produced and Joshua Rifkin arranged the album, adding lush orchestration
to many of the numbers. The album was regarded as a major departure for
a folk artist and set the course for Collins' subsequent work over the
next decade.
The title track, In My Life, has to be one of the loveliest love songs ever written (lyrics below). The song by the Beatles was released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul. It is ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" as well as fifth on their list of the Beatles' 100 Greatest Songs. The song placed second on CBC's 50 Tracks. Mojo magazine named it the best song of all time in 2000. Although it has a wistful, almost sad kind of feel to it, the depth and sincerity of love is breathtaking.
For sheer drama, nothing comes close to her renditions of La Colombe, Pirate Jenny and Marat/Sade. The songs are elegant protests against war and the injustice inflicted on the poor and downtrodden.
Pirate Jenny, with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Bertolt Brecht and arrangement by Marc Blitzstein, is a vitrolic statement of vengence due to those who mistreat others.
Marat/Sade, by Richard Peaslee, is a desperate but defiant prayer for justice for those who have nothing. The song is from the stage production, The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade, which was also made into a film by the same name which starred Glenda Jackson. Both songs really need to be listened to (links to music videos below).
Of course, there are fun songs on the album. One in particular is, Hard Lovin' Loser., which was written by Richard Fariña, brother-in-law to Joan Baez. The lyrics are hysterical!
For sheer drama, nothing comes close to her renditions of La Colombe, Pirate Jenny and Marat/Sade. The songs are elegant protests against war and the injustice inflicted on the poor and downtrodden.
Pirate Jenny, with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Bertolt Brecht and arrangement by Marc Blitzstein, is a vitrolic statement of vengence due to those who mistreat others.
Marat/Sade, by Richard Peaslee, is a desperate but defiant prayer for justice for those who have nothing. The song is from the stage production, The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade, which was also made into a film by the same name which starred Glenda Jackson. Both songs really need to be listened to (links to music videos below).
Of course, there are fun songs on the album. One in particular is, Hard Lovin' Loser., which was written by Richard Fariña, brother-in-law to Joan Baez. The lyrics are hysterical!
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins was born on May 1, 1939 in Seattle, Washington. Her father was a blind singer and radio disc jockey; he took a job in Denver, Colorado in 1949, and the family moved to Colorado. Collins studied classical piano with Antonia Brico, making her public debut at age 13, performing Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos.
Three years after her debut as a piano prodigy, she was playing guitar. Her music became popular at the University of Connecticut, where her husband taught. She performed at parties and for the campus radio station along with David Grisman and Tom Azarian. She eventually made her way to Greenwich Village, New York City, where she busked and played in clubs like Gerdes Folk City, until she signed with Elektra Records, a record label she was associated with for 35 years. In 1961, Collins released her first album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow; she was 22.
In My Life lyrics
There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more
Songwriters
LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more
Songwriters
LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Track listing:
Side 1:
Side 1:
- "Tom Thumb's Blues" (Bob Dylan) – 5:03
- "Hard Lovin' Loser" (Richard Fariña) – 2:37
- "Pirate Jenny" (Marc Blitzstein, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) – 4:02
- "Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen) – 4:21
- "La Colombe" (Jacques Brel, Alasdair Clayre) – 5:03
Side 2:
- "Marat/Sade" (Richard Peaslee) – 5:33
- "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (Randy Newman) – 2:46
- "Sunny Goodge Street" (Donovan) – 2:55
- "Liverpool Lullaby" (Stan Kelly, aka Stan Kelly-Bootle) – 2:57
- "Dress Rehearsal Rag" (Leonard Cohen) – 5:19
- "In My Life" (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:53
Personnel:
- Judy Collins – vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Joshua Rifkin – arranger, conductor
- Other musicians uncredited
Credits:
Arranged By, Conductor – Joshua Rifkin
Photography By [Front Cover Photo], Art Direction – William S. Harvey
Producer – Mark Abramson
Recorded at A&R Studios, New York, 1966.
Producer – Mark Abramson
Recorded at A&R Studios, New York, 1966.
Elektra - EKC 7320 reel-to-reel tape
Music links on YouTube:
Suzanne (by Leonard Cohen)
Suzanne (by The Flying Lizards)
Marat/Sade
Pirate Jenny
La Colombe
Hard Lovin' Loser
In My Life
In My Life (live 1966)
I Think It's Going to Rain Today (live 1967)
Sunny Goodge Street
Liverpool Lullaby
Marat/Sade
Pirate Jenny
La Colombe
Hard Lovin' Loser
In My Life
In My Life (live 1966)
I Think It's Going to Rain Today (live 1967)
Sunny Goodge Street
Liverpool Lullaby
April 25, 2014
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 61: Donovan ~ Greatest Hits
In addition to my 20,000 Vinyl LP collection I'm selling, I have reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes for sale as well (see link below). If interested, contact me by email please, not by a comment.
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Donovan's Greatest Hits is the first of the greatest hits albums from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in January 1969 (Epic Records BXN 26439 (stereo)), and in the United Kingdom in March 1969 (Pye Records NPL 18283 (monaural) / NSPL 18283 (stereo)). On reel-to-reel tape, Epic - HN 658 (Re-channeled for stereo).
The Greatest Hits album marked the high point of Donovan's popularity in both the United States and United Kingdom. Sunshine Superman reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and subsequently became the title track of Donovan's third album, Sunshine Superman. It was the first product from the highly successful three-year collaboration between Donovan and producer Mickie Most and is generally considered to be one of the first examples of the musical genre that came to be known as psychedelia.
The Greatest Hits album marked the high point of Donovan's popularity in both the United States and United Kingdom. Sunshine Superman reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and subsequently became the title track of Donovan's third album, Sunshine Superman. It was the first product from the highly successful three-year collaboration between Donovan and producer Mickie Most and is generally considered to be one of the first examples of the musical genre that came to be known as psychedelia.
On every album, no matter how many good or great songs there are, there is always one that is THE favorite for everyone. For me, that song is Sunshine Superman. The Greatest Hits album presents the unedited Sunshine Superman (one minute, fifteen seconds longer than the original 1966 single and album release).
There have been many covers of Superman; a sort-of-punk version by Husker Du, Jewel, a VERY mellowed-down one by Mel Tormé, and many others; even Hungarian jazz quitarist, Gabor Szabo, took a turn at it. Links to music videos below.
There have been many covers of Superman; a sort-of-punk version by Husker Du, Jewel, a VERY mellowed-down one by Mel Tormé, and many others; even Hungarian jazz quitarist, Gabor Szabo, took a turn at it. Links to music videos below.
Donovan's Greatest Hits contains three singles that
were previously unreleased on any album, Epistle to Dippy, There Is a Mountain and Laléna.
Donovan's follow-up single, Colours, was also a hit, and after making his American debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he issued Fairytale, his second and last LP for the Hickory label. Signing with Epic in 1966, he released his breakthrough album, Sunshine Superman, which in its exotic arrangements and pointedly psychedelic lyrical outlook heralded a major shift from his previous work; the title track topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, with Mellow Yellow reaching the number two spot a few months later. Donovan remained a chart fixture throughout 1967, generating a series of hits including Epistle to Dippy, There Is a Mountain, and Wear Your Love Like Heaven; that year he traveled to India alongside the Beatles to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a journey which inspired him to renounce drug use and encourage his listeners to turn to meditation. The ambitious double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden followed, and in 1968 Donovan resurfaced with The Hurdy Gurdy Man, scoring a Top Five smash with the hallucinatory title cut; the record also yielded the hit Jennifer Juniper.
Sue Lyon, (Lolita (1962), The Night of the Iguana (1964), The Flim-Flam Man (1967) and Evel Knievel (1971), came into Donovan's life at the end of 1965. This was two or
three years before he met his "Jennifer Juniper" (Jenny Boyd). Lyon had
starred in "Lolita" and "Night of the Iguana" before meeting Donovan.
The couple dated until 1967 when Sue ended the relationship abruptly.
Donovan had evidently slipped LSD in Sue's and her friend's drinking cup
at a party. Sue described her trip as "frightening and disturbing" and
she "felt her self-control disintegrating". After this incident Lyon
never spoke to Donovan again until 1975. The two are now good friends
and Sue attended Ione Skye's (Donovan's daughter) marriage to King
Ad-Rock (with the Beastie Boys)
When Donovan hit the scene he was called "Britain's answer to Bob Dylan,". However, where most of Dylan's music is bleak introspection and bitter realism, Donovan embraced the wide-eyed optimism of the flower power movement, his ethereal, ornate songs radiating a mystical beauty and childlike wonder; for better or worse, his recordings remain quintessential artifacts of the psychedelic era, capturing the peace and love idealism of their time to perfection.
Donovan was born, Donovan Leitch, on May
10, 1946 in Glasgow and raised outside of London; at 18 he recorded his
first demo, and in 1965 was tapped as a regular on the television pop
showcase Ready, Steady, Go! He soon issued his debut single "Catch the
Wind," earning the first round of Dylan comparisons with his ramshackle
folk sound and ragamuffin look; the single nevertheless reached the U.K.
Top Five, with a subsequent meeting between the two singer/songwriters
captured in the classic D.A. Pennebaker documentary, Don't Look Back.
Sunshine Superman lyrics
Sunshine came softly through my a-window today
Could've tripped out easy a-but I've a-changed my ways
It'll take time, I know it but in a while
You're gonna be mine, I know it, we'll do it in style
'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine
I'll tell you right now
Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find
Everybody's hustlin' just to have a little scene
When I say we'll be cool I think that you know what I mean
We stood on a beach at sunset, do you remember when?
I know a beach where, baby, a-it never ends
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
I'll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind
'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine
I'll tell you right now
Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find
Superman or Green Lantern ain't got a-nothin' on me
I can make like a turtle and dive for your pearls in the sea, yeah!
A you-you-you can just sit there a-thinking on your velvet throne
'bout all the rainbows a-you can a-have for your own
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine
I'll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine
I'll pick up your hand
I'll pick up your hand
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Could've tripped out easy a-but I've a-changed my ways
It'll take time, I know it but in a while
You're gonna be mine, I know it, we'll do it in style
'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine
I'll tell you right now
Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find
Everybody's hustlin' just to have a little scene
When I say we'll be cool I think that you know what I mean
We stood on a beach at sunset, do you remember when?
I know a beach where, baby, a-it never ends
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
I'll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind
'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine
I'll tell you right now
Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find
Superman or Green Lantern ain't got a-nothin' on me
I can make like a turtle and dive for your pearls in the sea, yeah!
A you-you-you can just sit there a-thinking on your velvet throne
'bout all the rainbows a-you can a-have for your own
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine
I'll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine
I'll pick up your hand
I'll pick up your hand
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Track listing:
All tracks written by Donovan Leitch.
Side one:
1 - Epistle to Dippy – 3:08
2 - Sunshine Superman (long version) – 4:32
3 - There Is a Mountain – 2:33
4 - Jennifer Juniper – 2:40
5 - Wear Your Love Like Heaven – 2:23
6 - Season of the Witch – 4:54
Side two:
1 - Mellow Yellow – 3:37
2 - Colours (1968 version) – 4:10
3 - Hurdy Gurdy Man – 3:15
4 - Catch the Wind (1968 version) – 5:01
5 - Laléna – 2:54
All tracks written by Donovan Leitch.
Side one:
1 - Epistle to Dippy – 3:08
2 - Sunshine Superman (long version) – 4:32
3 - There Is a Mountain – 2:33
4 - Jennifer Juniper – 2:40
5 - Wear Your Love Like Heaven – 2:23
6 - Season of the Witch – 4:54
Side two:
1 - Mellow Yellow – 3:37
2 - Colours (1968 version) – 4:10
3 - Hurdy Gurdy Man – 3:15
4 - Catch the Wind (1968 version) – 5:01
5 - Laléna – 2:54
Personnel:
- Donovan – guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Mickie Most – producer
- Mike Thompson – guitar, vocals
- Big Jim Sullivan – guitar on Colours
| Released; | January 1969 |
|---|---|
| Recorded; | January 1966 – September 1968 |
| Length; | 39:07 |
| Label: | Epic - HN 658 |
Links to music videos on youTube:
Epistle To Dippy (alternate take)
Sunshine Superman (long version)
Sunshine Superman (Gabor Szabo cover)
Sunshine Superman (long version)
Sunshine Superman (Gabor Szabo cover)
There Is a Mountain
Jennifer Juniper (1968 color clip)
Wear Your Love Like Heaven
Season of the Witch
Mellow Yellow
Colours (1968 version)
Hurdy Gurdy Man (1968) Original Video
Catch the Wind
Jennifer Juniper (1968 color clip)
Wear Your Love Like Heaven
Season of the Witch
Mellow Yellow
Colours (1968 version)
Hurdy Gurdy Man (1968) Original Video
Catch the Wind
Styrous® ~ Friday, April 25, 2014
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