Open Road is a Rock album by Donovan, originally released in 1970. On Gatefold: 44 pressings tracked, owned by 6 collectors.
About
Aligning himself so closely to the psychedelia of the late ‘60s, Donovan ran into commercial difficulties as a new decade began. Released in 1970, <i>Open Road</i> is a very good Donovan album at a time when people had started to look elsewhere and his record label was not perfectly aligned with his star. How else to explain the lack of interest in such solid material? The album begins with a tougher British blues underlying “Changes,” but “Song for John” and the modest hit “Riki Tiki Tavi” are prime Donovan. The beautiful psychedelia revisited of the piano-mad “Celtic Rock” set the template for Led Zeppelin’s folk excursions where rock is very much part of the British folk equation. “Clara Clairvoyant” slinks with a sexy funk that leads to a scream. “Roots of Oak” spooks out with a psych-folk groove from the not-so-distant past. ”Poke At the Pope” simply rocks like Donovan never had before. Donovan wouldn’t be much of a commercial force in the ‘70s, but his legacy was intact for future generations.
via Apple Music
The Clerk says
The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.
Tracklist
- 1Changes2:55
- 2Song for John2:17
- 3Curry Land4:24
- 4Joe Bean's Theme2:52
- 5People Used To3:51
- 6Celtic Rock3:35
- 7Riki Tiki Tavi2:55
- 8Clara Clairvoyant2:49
- 9Roots of Oak4:53
- 10Season of Farewell3:25
- 11Poke at the Pope2:46
- 12New Year's Resolution5:09
Sound DNA
- Rock
- Folk Rock
- jangly
- wistful
- pastoral
Open Road is the eighth studio album, and ninth album overall from Donovan. It is also considered the debut album from the band Open Road (opens in a new tab). The album was released in the US sometime before July 25, 1970 (Epic Records E 30125 (stereo)), and in the UK sometime before September 12, 1970 (Dawn Records DNLS 3009).
After splitting with Mickie Most during the Barabajagal sessions, Donovan decided to move back to the UK against the wishes of his management, who most likely objected due to the heavy taxation in the country and the distance from the American market. There he began recording and producing the tracks that would form his next studio album. Donovan's production was much rougher and more organic than Mickie Most's cleanly polished production on Donovan's hits of the 1960s.
During these sessions, Donovan assembled the band Open Road with drummer John Carr, keyboardist Mike O'Neil, and bass and guitar player Mike Thomson. The band played a style that was dubbed celtic rock by Donovan. Many of the songs on Open Road ponder the negative side of industrialization and the lost peacefulness of a previous time. While some of this had been touched on in Donovan's previous work, this is the first album where the topic is expounded at length.
On August 22, 2000, Repertoire Records reissued Open Road (RR 4880) on CD in Germany. This marks the first CD release of the album.
Credits
The people behind it.
Performers
- DonovanGUITAR, BLUES HARP , VOCALS, COMPOSED BY GUITAR, HARMONICA, VOCALS GUITAR, HARP, VOCALS
- John CarrDRUMS, VOCALS
- Mike O'NeillPIANO, VOCALS
- Mike ThomsonBASS, GUITAR, VOCALS BASS, GUITAR, VOCALS, LEAD GUITAR BASS, VOCALS, GUITAR
- Gypsy DaveVOCALS
6 collectors on Gatefold own this · 44 pressings tracked on Gatefold
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