Saw David Fincher's Zodiac a couple of weeks back, the opening scene of which uses Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" to eerily brilliant effect. This isn't the first time his music has been put to good use by a film-maker either, "Atlantis" famously accompanied the murder of Billy Bats in Goodfellas, "Colours " made a slightly incongruous appearance on The Rules Of Attraction's eighties-centric soundtrack and "Jersey Thursday" slotted perfectly into Rushmore's nostalgic blend of sixties whimsy. Donovan has actually undergone something of a revival in popularity in recent years, he put in a memorable guest appearance in Futurama, he's been feted by the new breed of folkies like Devendra Banhart and he even soundtracked a Bulmers ad (So much for the hippie dream, you big sellout!). The popularity of that Bulmers ad also led to me having to endure hearing Ray D'arcy say "Dunavin" at work every morning and pretty much ruined "Sunshine Superman" for me. As if i needed more reasons to hate Ireland's most inexplicably popular cider. Unfortunately, this recent critical re-evaluation has caused Donovan to get a bit carried away with his status as a musical great. In his recent autobiography, he regales the reader at length with tales of his influence on acts as diverse as Van Morrison and Led Zeppelin and comes out with some absolute gems of delf-deprecating insight e.g. "As I listen to my earliest recordings, I am surprised to hear I was a virtuoso of all the folk-blues guitar styles by the time I reached 17." or "I had pulled off a folk-classical-blues-pop-jazz-poetical-ethnic jam of far-reaching influence in the years to come" If you can put aside the deluded ramblings of a burned-out old hippie though, the man has tunes galore. "Season Of The Witch" is maybe his best single track, it's sinister loping beat and stinging guitar lick coupled with Donovan's spooked wails makes for a superb bit of acid-rock that still sounds fresh today."Get Thy Bearings" is a more relaxed downtempo groove with some moody saxaphone and more than a hint of trip-hop about it. Yes, he invented trip-hop aswell. Donovan lives in Cork these days, next time you're down there, seek him out and ask him to play you some "folk-classical-blues-pop-jazz-poetical-ethnic jams"
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
And Also Jane Fonda Was There...
Saw David Fincher's Zodiac a couple of weeks back, the opening scene of which uses Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" to eerily brilliant effect. This isn't the first time his music has been put to good use by a film-maker either, "Atlantis" famously accompanied the murder of Billy Bats in Goodfellas, "Colours " made a slightly incongruous appearance on The Rules Of Attraction's eighties-centric soundtrack and "Jersey Thursday" slotted perfectly into Rushmore's nostalgic blend of sixties whimsy. Donovan has actually undergone something of a revival in popularity in recent years, he put in a memorable guest appearance in Futurama, he's been feted by the new breed of folkies like Devendra Banhart and he even soundtracked a Bulmers ad (So much for the hippie dream, you big sellout!). The popularity of that Bulmers ad also led to me having to endure hearing Ray D'arcy say "Dunavin" at work every morning and pretty much ruined "Sunshine Superman" for me. As if i needed more reasons to hate Ireland's most inexplicably popular cider. Unfortunately, this recent critical re-evaluation has caused Donovan to get a bit carried away with his status as a musical great. In his recent autobiography, he regales the reader at length with tales of his influence on acts as diverse as Van Morrison and Led Zeppelin and comes out with some absolute gems of delf-deprecating insight e.g. "As I listen to my earliest recordings, I am surprised to hear I was a virtuoso of all the folk-blues guitar styles by the time I reached 17." or "I had pulled off a folk-classical-blues-pop-jazz-poetical-ethnic jam of far-reaching influence in the years to come" If you can put aside the deluded ramblings of a burned-out old hippie though, the man has tunes galore. "Season Of The Witch" is maybe his best single track, it's sinister loping beat and stinging guitar lick coupled with Donovan's spooked wails makes for a superb bit of acid-rock that still sounds fresh today."Get Thy Bearings" is a more relaxed downtempo groove with some moody saxaphone and more than a hint of trip-hop about it. Yes, he invented trip-hop aswell. Donovan lives in Cork these days, next time you're down there, seek him out and ask him to play you some "folk-classical-blues-pop-jazz-poetical-ethnic jams"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
If there ever was a reason to go to Cork it is to ask that very question!
Great piece, an man gotta love that title.
Post a Comment