The Hurdy Gurdy Man

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The Hurdy Gurdy Man
The Hurdy Gurdy Man cover
Studio album by Donovan
Released October 1968
Recorded November 1967 – April 1968
Length 35:02
Label Epic Records
Producer(s) Mickie Most
Professional reviews
Donovan chronology
What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid
(1968)		 The Hurdy Gurdy Man
(1968)		 Moon in Capricorn
(unreleased)


The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the sixth studio album and seventh album overall from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in October of 1968 (Epic Records BN 26420 (stereo)), but was not released in the UK because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow from a UK release. A songbook of lead sheets to the album was nonetheless issued in both countries.

The Hurdy Gurdy Man, the song, is notable also for inspiring a cover by Texan punk-psychedelic rockers The Butthole Surfers. Both versions of the song have featured in an inordinate number of films, although the cover is somewhat better known among younger audiences for its drug-hazed style. Indeed, the vocals on the cover version are almost incomprehensible until one has heard Donovan's original. Donovan has been quoted in the booklet of the Love Is Hot, Truth Is Molten compilation as saying he loves the Surfers' cover, although "they tore it to bits.

Contents

[edit] History

Donovan wrote and recorded much of The Hurdy Gurdy Man in late 1967 not long after recording the songs that would form A Gift from a Flower to a Garden. The rest of The Hurdy Gurdy Man was recorded in April of 1968, after Donovan visited Rishikesh, India to study under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. John Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Mia Farrow, Prudence Farrow, and Mike Love were there as well. Donovan has since said in concerts that George Harrison wrote a line for "Hurdy Gurdy Man" when they were in India, but it wasn't recorded for the studio version. On his 1973 live album Live in Japan: Spring Tour 1973 and his 1990 live album Rising, Donovan explains the story and sings the previously omitted line.

Donovan's songwriting for The Hurdy Gurdy Man centered around drones on such songs as "Peregrine", "The River Song" and "Tangier" (the later two being compositions by Donovan's good friend Gypsy Dave AKA David J Mills), and pop music on most of the other tracks. "As I Recall It" continues Donovan's infatuation with jazz. "Jennifer Juniper" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" were both released as singles well before the album was released.

The recording sessions for The Hurdy Gurdy Man are known to have included future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. Jimmy Page was in The Yardbirds at the time and was actively looking to rebuild that band. There have been claims that John Bonham was present at the session for "Hurdy Gurdy Man", and that Led Zeppelin grew out of this. The drumming does sound much like John Bonham's bombastic style on both "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "Hi It's Been a Long Time". However, whether Bonham was actually there is contested as both John Paul Jones and Clem Cattini (who is now credited as the drummer on the song) have stated that Bonham was not on the title track.

In interviews with Keith Altham for Hit Parader and Tony Wilson for Melody Maker [1] in 1968 Donovan explained he wrote "Hurdy Gurdy Man" for his friend Mac MacLeod and wanted Mac's band Hurdy Gurdy to record it. However, Donovan's version was a hit and the band never recorded the song. Donovan has stated in an interview with Little Steven Van Zandt that he had originally desired Jimi Hendrix to play on "Hurdy Gurdy Man," but as he was unavailable, he got Jimmy Page to play. Jimmy Page has often been credited as playing electric guitar on the track but Alan Parker has been named by Page, Jones and Cattini.

[edit] Reissues

  • On October 24, 1994, EMI released Four Donovan Originals (EMI 7243 8 30867 2 6) in the UK. Four Donovan Originals is a compact disc box set containing four Donovan albums that were not previously released in the UK. The Hurdy Gurdy Man is disc three of that set.
  • On May 24, 2005, EMI reissued The Hurdy Gurdy Man (EMI 8735682) on compact disc in the UK with seven bonus tracks.
  • The last verse of Hurdy Gurdy Man written by George Harrison is: "When the truth gets buried deep, beneath a thousand years of sleep, time demands a turn around, and once again the truth is found".

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Original album (U.S.) on LP

All tracks by Donovan Leitch.

[edit] Side one

  1. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" – 3:13
  2. "Peregrine" – 3:34
  3. "The Entertaining of a Shy Girl" – 1:39
  4. "As I Recall It" – 2:06
  5. "Get Thy Bearings" – 2:47
  6. "Hi It's Been a Long Time" – 2:32
  7. "West Indian Lady" – 2:15

[edit] Side two

  1. "Jennifer Juniper" – 2:40
  2. "The River Song" – 2:14
  3. "Tangier" – 4:10
  4. "A Sunny Day" – 1:52
  5. "The Sun Is a Very Magic Fellow" – 3:31
  6. "Teas" – 2:29

[edit] 2005 EMI version (UK) on CD

All tracks by Donovan Leitch.

  1. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" – 3:13
  2. "Peregrine" – 3:34
  3. "The Entertaining of a Shy Girl" – 1:39
  4. "As I Recall It" – 2:06
  5. "Get Thy Bearings" – 2:47
  6. "Hi It's Been a Long Time" – 2:32
  7. "West Indian Lady" – 2:15
  8. "Jennifer Juniper" – 2:40
  9. "The River Song" – 2:14
  10. "Tangier" – 4:10
  11. "A Sunny Day" – 1:52
  12. "The Sun Is a Very Magic Fellow" – 3:31
  13. "Teas" – 2:29

Bonus Tracks

  1. "Teen Angel" –
  2. "Poor Cow" –
  3. "Laleña" –
  4. "Aye My Love" –
  5. "What a Beautiful Creature You Are" –
  6. "Colours" –
  7. "Catch the Wind" -
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