Donovan: Meditation Is Like A Miracle Cure
Keith Altham, Record Mirror, 3 January 1970
IT IS A FAR CRY from 'Catch The Wind' to songs like 'Winking Blinking and Nod' or 'A Poke At The Pope' but then Donovan has walked a long road since he first materialized on 'Ready, Steady Cathy McGowan' carrying a guitar labeled 'This Machine Kills' only to draw inevitable but imperceptive comparisons with Bob Dylan. People have always underestimated Donovan Leitch — particularly in Britain where a hyper-critical public finds great difficulty distinguishing between that which is and that which was i.e. 'The Fab Four' and the Beatles now — 'Wicked Mick and Co.' and the Rolling Stones today. Some critics find it almost impossible to assess an artist on their merit now with the subconscious bias of what they were.
Total word count of piece: 895
Best Databases: RBP is Runner-up in Best Niche category
Video: Johnny Marr talks about Rock's Backpages
RBP on Spotify: The Very Best of 40-year-old Virgin
RBP Album Club, June 13th: Miki Berenyi and Lucy O'Brien celebrate a Blondie classic
Essential Listening: Green Day grilled by Roy Trakin
RBP Album Club, July 11th: Nick Hornby and Nick Coleman celebrate Southside Johnny's debut
Essential Reading: Bud Scoppa's 1971 Byrds classic