Mellow Yellow – DONOVAN****

Mellow Yellow/Writer In The Sun/Sand & Foam/The Observation/Bleak City Woman/House Of Jansch/Young Girl Blues/Museum/Hampstead Incident/Sunny South Kensington

Mellow Yellow was a US only release from Donovan, which includes some earlier recordings. The title track hit single reached No. 2 in the US and No. 8 in the UK. (US:14)

"Mellow Yellow is a US only mishmash of singles, outtakes, and old album tracks featuring Donovan at his hippie-era peak. It blends fanciful psychedelia, like the title track - one of his finest singles - with earthier material like House Of Jansch, the witty Swinging London tribute Sunny South Kensington and the downright bleak Writer In The Sun. This is one of Donovan's most consistently entertaining albums, with very few weak songs and some excellent psych-pop arrangements."

"Mellow Yellow has its moments of deep introspection, bordering on guitar-voice folk, the chief highlights of these being the solo Young Girl Blues and the incredibly ethereal Sand & Foam with stream of consciousness lyrics. Beatnik jazz however is the driving force on the album."

"Very uneven folk with some psych and jazz influences. Some of them are very slow driven and sound pretentious just for the sake of it, while highlights like Mellow Yellow and Sunny South Kensington are down to earth and somewhat carefree." ,p> "I think what makes Mellow Yellow so successful is the many different styles that are found on it. The haunting acoustic ballads, jazzy romps and 60s psychedelic tunes work extremely well together. If you want to see what Donovan is all about, this might be a good album to get."

"Not as good as Sunshine Superman in my book but still boasts much that's worth checking out in terms of 60s folk/psych pop. The title track is just a brilliant arrangement and will bring a smile to your face. Sand & Foam and House Of Jansch are haunting acid folk which see Donovan at his most melodically convincing. Elsewhere he experiments with baroque stylings and tries some beat poetry jazz on The Observation, but the record feels a little weak in places."

"Donovan was definitely into jazz at this point. His perfect voice, combined with his knack for a great tune and awesome lyrics is hard to resist."