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The Hurdy Gurdy Man

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Untitled

The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the sixth studio album and seventh album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in October of 1968 (Epic Records BN 26420 (stereo)), but was not released in the UK because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow from a UK release.

History

Donovan wrote and recorded much of The Hurdy Gurdy Man in late 1967 not long after recording the songs that would form A Gift from a Flower to a Garden. The rest of The Hurdy Gurdy Man was recorded in April of 1968, after Donovan visited Rishikesh, India to study under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. John Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Mia Farrow, Prudence Farrow, and Mike Love were there as well. Donovan has since said in concerts that George Harrison wrote a line for "Hurdy Gurdy Man" when they were in India, but it wasn't recorded for the studio version. On his 1973 live album Live in Japan: Spring Tour 1973 and his 1990 live album Rising, Donovan explains the story and sings the previously omitted line.

Donovan's songwriting for The Hurdy Gurdy Man centered around drones on such songs as "Peregrine", "The River Song" and "Tangier", and pop music on most of the other tracks. "As I Recall It" continues Donovan's infatuation with jazz. "Jennifer Juniper" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" were both released as singles well before the album was released.

The recording sessions for The Hurdy Gurdy Man are known to have included future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. Jimmy Page was in The Yardbirds at the time and was actively looking to rebuild the band. There have been claims that John Bonham was present at the session for "Hurdy Gurdy Man", and that Led Zeppelin grew out of this. The drumming does sound much like John Bonham's bombastic style on both "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "Hi It's Been a Long Time". However, whether Bonham was actually there is contested.

It has been claimed that Donovan wrote "The Hurdy Gurdy Man" for his friend Mac McLeod and wanted Mac's band Hurdy Gurdy to record it. However, Donovan's version was a hit and the band never recorded the song. Some people claim Donovan wanted Jimi Hendrix to cover the song, but this is not proven.

Reissues

  • On October 24, 1994, EMI released Four Donovan Originals (EMI 7243 8 30867 2 6) in the U.K.. Four Donovan Originals is a compact disc box set containing four Donovan albums that were not previously released in the U.K.. The Hurdy Gurdy Man is disc three of that set.

Track listing

Original album (U.S.)

Side 1

  1. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (Donovan Leitch) - 3:13
  2. "Peregrine" (Donovan Leitch) - 3:34
  3. "The Entertaining of a Shy Girl" (Donovan Leitch) - 1:39
  4. "As I Recall It" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:06
  5. "Get Thy Bearings" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:47
  6. "Hi It's Been a Long Time" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:32
  7. "West Indian Lady" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:15

Side 2

  1. "Jennifer Juniper" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:40
  2. "The River Song" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:14
  3. "Tangier" (Donovan Leitch) - 4:10
  4. "A Sunny Day" (Donovan Leitch) - 1:52
  5. "The Sun Is a Very Magic Fellow" (Donovan Leitch) - 3:31
  6. "Teas" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:29

2005 EMI version (U.K.)

  1. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (Donovan Leitch) - 3:13
  2. "Peregrine" (Donovan Leitch) - 3:34
  3. "The Entertaining of a Shy Girl" (Donovan Leitch) - 1:39
  4. "As I Recall It" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:06
  5. "Get Thy Bearings" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:47
  6. "Hi It's Been a Long Time" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:32
  7. "West Indian Lady" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:15
  8. "Jennifer Juniper" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:40
  9. "The River Song" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:14
  10. "Tangier" (Donovan Leitch) - 4:10
  11. "A Sunny Day" (Donovan Leitch) - 1:52
  12. "The Sun Is a Very Magic Fellow" (Donovan Leitch) - 3:31
  13. "Teas" (Donovan Leitch) - 2:29

Bonus Tracks

  1. "Teen Angel" (Donovan Leitch) -
  2. "Poor Cow" (Donovan Leitch) -
  3. "Laleña" (Donovan Leitch) -
  4. "Aye My Love" (Donovan Leitch) -
  5. "What a Beautiful Creature You Are" (Donovan Leitch) -
  6. "Colours" (Donovan Leitch) -
  7. "Catch the Wind" (Donovan Leitch) -
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