"...Songs For Sunshine People..."
Released in October 1965 –
"Fairytale" was Donovan's 2nd album for Pye Records - and in 2016 is
a very hard-to-find 60ts Folk-Rock classic on original vinyl. The British
version was MONO-only on release while the Hickory Records US edition came in
both MONO and STEREO with a slightly altered track configuration (drops the
Bert Jansch song "Oh Deed I Do" and adds on a hit single – his cover
of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier"). To confuse matters more
– the UK budget label Marble Arch Records reissued the vinyl album as a
10-tracker in 1969 by dropping two key tracks – "Colours" and
"The Little Tin Soldier". Luckily this superb Sanctuary Records
'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue/Remaster from 2002 will allow fans to sequence
all three 'Mono' variants. Here are the breezy details...
UK released February 2002
(reissued April 2010) – "Fairytale" by DONOVAN on Castle
Music/Sanctuary CMRCD 360 (Barcode 5050159136025) is an 'Expanded Deluxe Edition'
CD Remaster and plays out as follows (53:52 minutes):
1. Colours
2. I'll Try For The Sun
3. Sunny Goodge Street
4. Oh Deed I Do
5. Circus Of Sour
6. The Summer Day Reflection
Song
7. Candy Man
8. Jersey Thursday
9. Belated Forgiveness Plea
10. The Ballad Of A Crystal
Man
11. The Little Tin Soldier
12. The Ballad Of Geraldine
Tracks 1 to 12 are his 2nd
album "Fairytale" – released June 1965 in the UK on Pye Records NPL
18128 in Mono Only. All songs are Donovan originals except "Universal
Soldier" by Buffy Sainte-Marie, "Oh Deed I Do" by Bert Jansch,
"The Little Tin Soldier" by Shawn Phillips, "Candy Man" by
Mississippi John Hurt and "Circus Of Sour" by Paul Bernath.
BONUS TRACKS:
13. Universal Soldier
14. The Ballad Of A Crystal
Man
15. The War Drags On
16. Do You Hear Me Now
17. Turquoise
18. Hey Gyp (Dig The
Slowness)
To sequence the US 1965 Mono
LP variant of "Fairytale" (Hickory LPM-127) use the following tracks:
Side One: 13, 2, 3, 1, 5 and
6
Side Two: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
and 12
To sequence the UK 1969 Mono
10-track version of "Fairytale" (Marble Arch MAL 867) use the
following tracks:
Side One: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
Side Two: 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12
The very cool card slipcase
repro’s the original 1965 UK album sleeve with DONOVAN bowing his head on the
rear photo surrounded by Folk-groovy types. The LP's liner notes on the
simulated flip-back cover declared that the contents within were "Songs
For Sunshine People" – and in this particular case - the hype was right.
STEPHEN HAMMONDS and ANTHONY AMOS co-ordinated the project for Sanctuary, LORNE
MURDOCH does the in-depth liner notes (he handled the first 1991 CD reissue)
and long-time and much-respected Audio Engineer ANDY PEARCE did the Remaster at
Masterpiece Studios in London. The audio is great – very clear and clean and
full of presence and not too hissy in that way some Sixties recordings can be.
The album's opener
"Colours" is a balls-to-the-wall 60's classic - it truly is.
"Fairytale" features a lot of tracks like that - just Donovan and his
acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica - more
Folk than Pop really. In fact when you hear almost any track on this very
hard-to-find LP - it's easy to see why Donovan was often referred to as Britain's
Bob Dylan. And it wasn't just because of the similar vocal styles - they were
both such good songwriters and commentators on their times. There are great
lyrics in here as well as tunes.
Highlights include "The
Ballad Of A Crystal Man" which is represented on this disc twice - the full
album version (track 10) and the edited EP version (track 14) - it's a
fantastically strong and emotive anti-Vietnam piece equal to anything his
Bobness put out on the other side of the pond. Lyrically the other songs are
equally clever and even witty too. There's a "...violent hash
smoker..." in "Sunny Goodge Street" - while a quietly sinister
"Jersey Thursday" gives us sly white powder references like
"...on a tiny piece of coloured glass, my love was born...and reds, and
golds and yellows were the colours of the dawn..." A very Nick Drake vibe
oozes out off "Sunny Goodge Street" with its cello and brass and
complimentary flute (flute by Harold McNair). "Oh Deed I Do" is a
Bert Jansch original exclusive to the album (never appeared on one of his own
albums to my knowledge) and it's easy to hear why Donovan loved it – a gorgeous
acoustic strum that would make John Renbourn envious. Shawn Phillips provides
12-string guitar on the lovely "Jersey Thursday" and wrote "The
Little Tin Soldier" which Pye put on the flipside of "Josie" –
his fourth British 45 on Pye 7N 17067 in February 1966.
The 6 Bonus Tracks are
clever inclusions that make the purchase so worthwhile for fans.
"Turquoise" and "Hey GYP (Dig The Slowness)" are the
A&B-sides of his 3rd UK 7" single on Pye Records 7N 15984 released
November 1965 - both tracks being non-album at the time of release. It’s
arguable that “Turquoise” and its Folk-Funky flipside are equal to and better
than some of the album tracks. The other four songs - "Universal Soldier",
"Do You Hear Me Now", "Ballad Of A Crystal Man" and
"The War Drags On" are again non-album and make up the 4-tracks of
the rare UK-only "Universal Soldier EP" on Pye NEP 24219 from
September 1965. Hickory Records in the USA released "Universal
Soldier" as a 7" single with the Bert Jansch cover "Do You Hear
Me Now" on the flipside (Hickory 1338 in September 1965).
So - a good 60ts Folk-Rock
album bolstered up with relevant bonuses, liner notes worth reading and quality
mastering. After this you will need to buy the "Breezes Of
Patchouli..." 3CD set from April 2013 on EMI with stunning Peter Mew
Remasters. It offers his studio output between the halcyon period of 1966 to
1969 and much more (see separate review).
For the uninitiated and
brave - "Fairytale" is a great way of discovering the wildly
underrated Donovan and his great songs - especially those who want to veer away
from his better-known hits. Sanctuary also reissued his 1965 debut album
"What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid" with the same packaging,
mastering and equally cool added bonus-tracks too.
There's just something
wonderful about this album as a stand-alone - and for that matter its straight up
and simple predecessor is the same. Highly recommended...the both of them...
