blindboygrunt Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Am I the only one in here that things he's over rated Dylan fanatic who knew who to hang around with , and eventually started to believe his own bulls#+t ? Any interviews I've seen with him almost make me feel sorry for him , I think he's definitely not got a proper grip on reality. Every star needs a pretty big ego , but I think his is way overinflated . A borderline novelty act that thinks he's real . Sorry to all the fans , but I've read 5 pages of praise and had to say something :) Yours , confused Bbg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Zomby, this might brighten your day. The Queen of the hippy chicks............. Many of us had the hots for Gracie. I loved it when Grace got invited to a party thrown by Tricia Nixon (both she and Grace had attended Finch College and apparently Tricia did not know that Grace Wing was now Grace Slick) and she showed up with Abbie Hoffman as her date. They never made it past the front door but the thought of what might have been Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Am I the only one in here that things he's over rated Dylan fanatic who knew who to hang around with , and eventually started to believe his own bulls#+t ? Any interviews I've seen with him almost make me feel sorry for him , I think he's definitely not got a proper grip on reality. Every star needs a pretty big ego , but I think his is way overinflated . A borderline novelty act that thinks he's real . Sorry to all the fans , but I've read 5 pages of praise and had to say something :) Yours , confused Bbg No, you ain't alone. I found many of his songs in the 1960s just plain silly with the low point being "Atlantis." And nothing about his guitar playing got my attention. Best I can say about Donovan is I really liked some of his songs when done by others such as the Blues Project's rendition of "Catch the Wind" (with a fantastic Danny Kalb solo) on their first LP and the Super Session take (again with Kooper) on "Season of the Witch." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Yeah, I guess he is overinflated and much of that comes from his own opinion of himself that is seen and heard in his interviews. He found a niche and made the most of it. He kind of fell between folk and rock without being either. He made himself different: his clothes, no shoes, way-out-there lyrics, and soft, gentle tunes. He wasn't a musical prodigy or great lyricist, but he was smart enough to go along with what worked for him. I think his appeal was strongest with those who were experimenting with the "hippie lifestyle" at the time. I don't think his typical fan or follower was the kid who lived and breathed The Beatles and Beach Boys. One can choose to love or hate the music, but the guy is a survivor. He's still playing today and trying to keep his own music relevant. Those of us who grew-up in the 60's are drawn to songs that take us back to our youth. It doesn't have to necessarily be one of our favorites or even a good song from the era. It just needs to be a song from that time. Donavan is tapping in on that. He wasn't and never will be The Beatles, Beach Boys, Dylan, Cash, Neil Diamond, The Stones, Lightfoot, or many, many others, but he did make a name for himself and he squeezed himself into the mix. If I never hear another one of his songs, I don't think I'll have missed anything. Still, seeing him once in a "live" concert gave me a different perspective. He wasn't "full of himself" or arrogant in the concert. He was down-right likeable. Perhaps in interviews, the British aura comes through too vividly and he comes across as a snob and he doesn't mean it that way. This thread has been pretty funny, because there's been lots of joking and "give and take" in regards to Donovan. Does he deserve all these pages?...lol...I don't know, but he's got them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Check this out - the Blues Project doing "Catch the Wind." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 That was nice, 'Woof. But what YouTube's autoplay served up afterwards was more down Blues Project's alley: Two Trains Running. Nice background blues music, which wouldn't be the same if not for the spring reverb. Thx for the heads-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Check this out - the Blues Project doing "Catch the Wind." Yes, a bit of project - but it works. Good vox - and the keys (perhaps also a Vox) really cuts. Time for the original. Have to be made of iron not to surrender to this pearl. 1965 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hjEYTpwE8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 ... or, with all due respect, not to hear the similarities: 1964: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOXONBoP0So Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Cannot take Dylan down here (Sony blocks) - but here is some friends - 1965 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h80l4XIPJC4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 That blues project version was a little vanilla…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Time for the original. Have to be made of iron not to surrender to this pearl. 1965 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hjEYTpwE8 For those blocked by Sony: A rough recording made of Dylan's Back Pages. Similarities with Catch the Wind, melody (somewhat), chord progression, key, strumming style? 1964~ : https://soundcloud.com/62burst/my-back-pages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfish Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Donovan gets props from me for writing Season of the witch The super sessions album the best version zombie Blues Project, forgot all about them. thanks for rekindling old memories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Thanx for the SC link - my ears still hear 2 absolutely different songs. But both good, , , Rational Dylan carves his reasoning out in cream-white dino-bone - Leitch comes through the evening breeze like a flying-seed under a heart shaped red-orange wounded sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretplay Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Am I the only one in here that things he's over rated Dylan fanatic who knew who to hang around with , and eventually started to believe his own bulls#+t ? Any interviews I've seen with him almost make me feel sorry for him , I think he's definitely not got a proper grip on reality. Every star needs a pretty big ego , but I think his is way overinflated . A borderline novelty act that thinks he's real . Sorry to all the fans , but I've read 5 pages of praise and had to say something :) Yours , confused Bbg My sentiments entirely BB, read my posts on this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickthemiller Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Here in the UK - at the time, 60s - we thought Donovan was just a Dylan clone. However the Beatles have made mention of him and his finger picking "lesson" in India. Sir Paul tells it different about Blackbird and says its built on something they (presumably the Beatles) messed about with in a pseudo Bach/Baroque style when they were younger. I first learned a finger picking style from John Pearse in his TV programme "Hold down a chord" - He called it Ripple Picking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Here in the UK - at the time, 60s - we thought Donovan was just a Dylan clone. Ahaa, but he doesn't sound like Dylan at all. Okay there are similarities in the early recipes (we see 2 folkie-caps) and a couple of tracks from 1966 third album Sunshine Superman have a Dylanesq flavour. Apart from that, forward through the decade and further, he is a completely different act. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretplay Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Here in the UK - at the time, 60s - we thought Donovan was just a Dylan clone. However the Beatles have made mention of him and his finger picking "lesson" in India. Sir Paul tells it different about Blackbird and says its built on something they (presumably the Beatles) messed about with in a pseudo Bach/Baroque style when they were younger. I first learned a finger picking style from John Pearse in his TV programme "Hold down a chord" - He called it Ripple Picking. You are right Mick, the Beatles had lots of chord influences in the early days one being the jazz guitar player who worked in the local guitar shop in Liverpool. Most Rocker and Rollers in those days played three chords only or maybe five if you were a Buddy Holly fan. Then along came the Beatles and we said; where did the chords come from! Some of the Bach tunes fall into the Blackbird net Owe To Joy being one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 This is a great thread. For me, I don't care much at all TODAY about how I felt about the various artists back in the 60s. I mostly only care about how I feel about them now. My musical tastes/appreciation is a tad more developed. I could only 'discern' 'Catch the Wind" or "Season of the Witch" back then - in comparison to what was recorded up until then. Now, I can compare them to lots of other more recent things. It seemed that almost everyone back then was playing or faking playing - the guitar. For Donovan to have risen to the firmament - major or minor star is immaterial. What matters now - to me, is what I put on my Playlists in iTunes. That's where the rubber soul hits the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Dovovan might be a Timex Watch: takes a lickin', but keeps on tickin'. This is "the little thread that could." Like him or not, the guy made his mark. A lot of music success revolves around knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time. He obviously succeeded at both. For me, he's no where near being a legend and he's not on my playlist, but he is a success.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yggdrasil Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Some of the Bach tunes fall into the Blackbird net Owe To Joy being one. Get Bach, Ludwig...No.9...No.9...No.9... Roll Over Beethoven! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icVm9ZVtLhk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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