Jack Elliott

Like Johnny Cash before him, Donovan was selected by producer Rick Rubin as a childhood hero he would like to restore to glory. With Rubin's encouragement and production, Donovan does make an impressive comeback with Sutras, which is reminiscent of his earliest records. Sutras abandons the colorful psychedelic pop of his best-known songs for the spare acoustic folk of his first records, and while Donovan's songwriting is a little uneven, the warmth of the performances is charming and welcoming, especially for long-time fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

These are two of Donovan's best albums of the 70s. I consider them both better than either Cosmic Wheels or Essence to Essence. Maybe not as great as Open Road, but the styles are so different its hard to compare. 7-Tease is full of high energy songs as well as a couple of slower ballads…

Although it was a disappointing seller and signaled the start of Donovan's commercial decline, Open Road could have been a new beginning for the singer. Stripping down to a Celtic rock format that managed to be hard and direct, yet still folkish, Donovan turned out a series of excellent songs, notably the minor hit "Riki Tiki Tavi," that seemed to show him moving toward a roots-oriented sound of considerable appeal. Unfortunately, he was derailed by record company hassles and perhaps his own burnout, and Open Road turned out to be a sidestep rather than a step forward. ~ William Ruhlmann

Beat Cafe is Donovan's first record in nine years. His last, the Rick Rubin-produced Sutras was issued in 1993 and was hopelessly misunderstood – especially coming as it did on the heels of Rubin's first collaboration with Johnny Cash. This side, produced by the rootsy yet eclectic John Chelew who has worked with everyone from Richard Thompson to the Blind Boys of Alabama and John Hiatt goes right to the heart of Donovan's particular musical esthetic. The title on this set is significant. The instrumentation is spare, with drums by Jim Keltner, acoustic , upright bass by the legendary Danny Thompson, and keyboards by Chelew…

Donovan's last truly great album of the 1960s, 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…