Donovan - Barabajagal - Music & Performance - CD

Donovan's last truly great album, 1968's BARABAJAGAL shows interesting artistic growth at least as marked as his transformation from folk troubadour to daffy hippie-pop guru. The title track and "Trudi" feature the Rod Stewart-era Jeff Beck Group as Donovan's backing band; consequently both these songs have a surprising amount of sonic heft to them.

Of course, Donovan is pretty much incapable of getting heavy, but the hard-candy pop suits him well. A version of Terry Reid's marijuana/fellatio multiple-entendre "Superlungs My Supergirl" is similarly rockin', but for most of the rest of the album, Donovan reverts to his usual twee folkish psych-pop. The hit "Atlantis," the Cat Stevens-like "I Love My Shirt" and the unexpectedly tender "To Susan On the West Coast Waiting" are also highlights.