DC Share Revival: Review: Donovan - Catch the Wind (Recorded 1965, released 1971)

Fun-Fact: The photo was mirrored by the label, suggesting Donovan
would be playing left-handed, which actually isn't the case.

Rating: 90/100 - Genré's: Folk, Songwriter.

When Donovan's name began circulating in the British folk scene of early 1965, he was swiftly branded as the “British Dylan,” a phrase both promotional and reductive. His first single, “Catch the Wind,” released by Pye Records in the UK in 1965, was already a major hit when Hickory Records in the United States capitalized on his rising profile by releasing a compilation LP in 1971 under the same title: Catch the Wind (LPS 123). Although presented as an album, it was in fact a licensing exercise drawn from Donovan's early Pye material. This very same compilation was also issued the same year (1971) in the UK by Hallmark Records (HMA 200) — a budget imprint under the Pickwick umbrella — targeting a wider but less curated market

The tracklist of LPS 123 and HMA 200, though differing from Donovan's UK debut LP What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid, shows a marked curatorial sensibility, capturing both his traditional folk grounding and emergent lyrical experimentation. It opens with "Catch the Wind", his debut single, presented here in its original acoustic form with harmonica and sparse accompaniment. This version omits the strings and echo found on the single's more commercial UK mix, allowing Donovan’s Dylanesque phrasing and vocal fragility to take center stage. The song’s meter and minor-key solemnity channel both melancholy and romantic idealism, setting the emotional tone for the compilation.

"Candy Man", a folk-blues standard by Rev. Gary Davis, follows. This rendition, featuring a rolling fingerpicked guitar line, shows Donovan's early adoption of American blues idioms. Though the lyrics carry traditional double entendres, Donovan's interpretation is strikingly innocent, emphasizing melody over innuendo. It sits in contrast to the following track, "The Alamo", a lament for the 1836 siege of the same name. A traditional ballad popularized by Tex Ritter, it finds Donovan performing as a storyteller, reverent and distant, highlighting his narrative instincts rather than protest rhetoric.

Side A continues with "Sunny Goodge Street", one of Donovan's most significant early compositions, and a track that foreshadows his drift toward jazz-inflected psychedelia. With oblique references to hashish and bohemian Soho life, the song is notable for its impressionistic urban imagery. It marks a clear departure from pastoral folk into modernist songwriting. The first side concludes with "Ramblin' Boy", a version of Tom Paxton's poignant ballad of transience and companionship. Unlike many versions by American contemporaries, Donovan's reading is marked by restraint, emphasizing loneliness over nostalgia.

Side B opens with "Universal Soldier", written by Buffy Sainte-Marie, one of the most important protest anthems of the 1960s. Donovan's cover brought the song to broader UK audiences and reached number 5 in the UK singles chart in September 1965. His delivery is soft and haunting, stripping back anger in favor of solemnity. The lyric’s indictment of war’s perpetuators through individual complicity marks a philosophical engagement with pacifism more pointed than anything in his original work at that point.

This is followed by "Little Tin Soldier", penned by Shawn Phillips, a friend and occasional collaborator. The song is a folk fable with moral overtones, and Donovan's interpretation respects its whimsy and melancholy. "Turquoise", a Donovan original, is a gently romantic tune, its harmonic simplicity serving a lyric of pure adoration. The song would later be covered by Joan Baez, further cementing Donovan's role in the transatlantic folk dialogue.

"Goldwatch Blues", written by Mick Softley, is a biting satire of labor bureaucracy and a standout moment in the compilation. Unlike Dylan's more caustic protest songs, Donovan here delivers the song with a mix of bemusement and indignation, reflecting a uniquely British sensibility. The final track, "The Ballad of a Crystal Man", returns to Donovan's own pen. A profoundly anti-war lyric, it uses crystalline imagery to critique militarism, drawing from both Blakean and existential motifs. Its haunting sparseness makes it a fitting close to the compilation.

Though Donovan had no creative control over the assembly of Catch the Wind (LPS 123 / HMA 200), the result is surprisingly cohesive. Its emphasis on socially conscious material, folk storytelling, and poetic introspection positions it as a more deliberately curated body of work than its status as a budget-label compilation would suggest. The inclusion of songs by Sainte-Marie, Softley, Phillips, and Paxton shows Donovan as a conduit for contemporary folk voices, not just an imitator of Dylan.

The recording personnel remain minimal. Most tracks were produced by Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, and Geoff Stephens, with Donovan's own acoustic guitar and harmonica serving as the primary instrumentation. Some sessions include sparse contributions from bassist Brian Locking and percussionist Skip Alan, though the album’s soundscape is defined by its bare intimacy.

Catch the Wind (Hickory LPS 123 / Hallmark HMA 200) captures the point at which Donovan, still largely unknown, was articulating a voice that would soon find expression in albums like Sunshine Superman (1966). While often overlooked in critical histories, the compilation offers one of the clearest portraits of Donovan as an artist not yet mythologized: a solitary figure navigating the confluence of folk tradition, pacifist conviction, and poetic ambition.

You might also like the reviews I wrote about Donovan's 1965 albums "Fairytale" and "What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid".

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Review: Donovan - Catch the Wind (Recorded 1965, released 1971)

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