as i Recall

Having Mickie Most as producer could be a double-edged sword. On The Hurdy Gurdy Man, his over-ambitious nature and scattershot production sense occasionally sabotaged Donovan's songs rather than emphasizing their strengths…

This four CD set consists of Sunshine Superman, Mellow Yellow, Hurdy Gurdy Man, and Barabajagal, remastered and repackaged with detailed historical notes. Each of those titles is available in the U.S. catalog, but this box offers advantages beyond the notes – the sound on each is superior to its domestic Epic equivalent…

Having Mickie Most as producer could be a double-edged sword. On The Hurdy Gurdy Man, his over-ambitious nature and scattershot production sense occasionally sabotaged Donovan's songs rather than emphasizing their strengths. (The credits shamelessly list "Produced by Mickie Most" and "A Mickie Most Production," right next to each other.) As with the last few LPs, the program began with the hit title track (one of Donovan's best singles), a dim, dark song balancing psychedelia with the heavier, earthier rock championed during 1968 by Dylan and the Beatles. Though the next two tracks - an eerie, trance-like "Peregrine" and the endearing acoustic number "The Entertaining of a Shy Girl" - are excellent performances, any sense of mood is soon shattered by a hopelessly overblown music-hall showtune, "As I Recall It"…

With Kempe at the helm we can be assured of elevated and noble performances. The BBC Legends issue captures him in two concerts given four months apart. The February 1976 concert was given at the Royal Festival Hall and gives us not unexpected fare – Berg – and decidedly unusual repertoire for Kempe in the form of Tippett’s Concerto for Double String Orchestra. This positively crackles with rhythmic energy and dynamism, the strings responding with admirable precision and unanimity of attack. The result is a performance of real standing and a precious surviving example of Kempe’s small repertoire of British works.