Sunshine Superman (1966 album)

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Sunshine Superman
Sunshine Superman cover
Studio album by Donovan
Released September 1966
Recorded 1965-1966
Genre Folk-rock, Psychedelia
Length 42:59
Label Epic Records
Producer(s) Mickie Most
Professional reviews
Donovan chronology
The Real Donovan
(1966)		 Sunshine Superman
(1966)		 Mellow Yellow
(1967)


Sunshine Superman is the third album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in September of 1966 (Epic Records LN 24217 (monaural) / BN 26217 (stereo)), but was not released in the UK because of a contractual dispute. In June 1967, a compilation of the Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow albums was released as Sunshine Superman (Pye Records NPL 18181) in the UK. Sunshine Superman was named after Donovan's hit single released the previous July.

Contents

[edit] History

These recordings mark a distinct change in Donovan's music, representing some of the first psychedelia released. A full rock band backs up Donovan on many of the songs, and the instrumentation has been expanded to include sitar and other unique musical instruments. This change is partially the result of working with producer Mickie Most, whose pop sensibilities led to chart hits for many other artists at the time.

Donovan's lyrics began to encompass his increasing ability to portray "Swinging London" and give listeners an insider's look into the mid-sixties pop scene. He was known to be close to The Beatles and Brian Jones at this time, and he became widely known after "Sunshine Superman" became a chart-topper in the US, and hit #2 in the UK. Donovan's penchant for name-dropping in songs such as "The Trip" and "The Fat Angel" (written for Mama Cass) coupled with his chart success helped elevate him to superstar status. In addition to noting the people in the pop scene, Donovan recorded "Bert's Blues" for his friend and folk music notable Bert Jansch.

Contrasting this modern bent was Donovan's fascination with medieval themes in such songs as "Legend of a Girl Child Linda" (written for Brian Jones' girlfriend Linda Lawrence) and "Guinevere". The rich descriptions of color and environment that Donovan developed in individual songs on Fairytale were now evident throughout his writing.

Several other songs were recorded for Sunshine Superman, but did not make the cut. These include "Museum" (later rerecorded and released on Mellow Yellow), "Superlungs My Supergirl" (later rerecorded and released on Barabajagal) and "Breezes of Patchulie" (originally called "Darkness of My Night" and released on Donovan's 1964 demo collection Sixty Four). The Sunshine Superman recordings of these songs were all included on Troubadour The Definitive Collection 1964-1976.

In the video for the Beatles' "A Day in the Life", a close up of a spinning turntable shows the Epic Records version of Sunshine Superman playing. The film was shot at the recording sessions for the song, which was included on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

[edit] Reissues

  • On October 5, 1990, Epic Records reissued the U.S. version of Sunshine Superman (Epic EK 26217) in the U.S. on compact disc.
  • 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 U.S. version of Sunshine Superman is disc one of that set.
  • On October 7, 1996, EMI reissued the U.S. version of Sunshine Superman (EMI CDGOLD1066) on compact disc.
  • On May 24, 2005, EMI reissued the U.S. version of Sunshine Superman (EMI 8735662) on compact disc in the UK with seven bonus tracks.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Original album (U.S.)

All tracks by Donovan Leitch.

[edit] Side one

  1. "Sunshine Superman" – 3:15
  2. "Legend of a Girl Child Linda" – 6:50
  3. "Three King Fishers" – 3:16
  4. "Ferris Wheel" – 4:12
  5. "Bert's Blues" – 3:56

[edit] Side two

  1. "Season of the Witch" – 4:56
  2. "The Trip" – 4:34
  3. "Guinevere" – 3:41
  4. "The Fat Angel" – 4:11
  5. "Celeste" – 4:08

[edit] 2005 EMI version (UK)

All tracks by Donovan Leitch.

  1. "Sunshine Superman" – 3:15
  2. "Legend of a Girl Child Linda" – 6:50
  3. "Three King Fishers" – 3:16
  4. "Ferris Wheel" – 4:12
  5. "Bert's Blues" – 3:56
  6. "Season of the Witch" – 4:56
  7. "The Trip" – 4:34
  8. "Guinevere" – 3:41
  9. "The Fat Angel" – 4:11
  10. "Celeste" – 4:08

Bonus Tracks

  1. "Breezes of Patchulie" – 4:35
  2. "Museum" – 2:52
  3. "Superlungs" – 3:17
  4. "Land of Doesn't Have to Be" – 2:42
  5. "Sunshine Superman" – 4:44
  6. "Good Trip" – 1:37
  7. "House of Jansch" – 3:47
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