The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the sixth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in North America in October 1968 on Epic Records, but not in the UK due to a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman (1966) and Mellow Yellow (1967) from being released there. A songbook of lead sheets to the album was nonetheless issued in both countries.

Background

Donovan's December 1967 album, the double-disc box set A Gift from a Flower to a Garden had charted in the top 20 in both the US and UK upon its release, following a highly successful North American tour in the fall of 1967. The singer continued to appear on television, plugging his latest single "Jennifer Juniper" in early 1968, which became another hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

In mid-February Donovan joined John Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, Jenny Boyd, Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Ringo Starr, Mia Farrow, Prudence Farrow and Mike Love in Rishikesh, India to study Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. While abstaining from drink and drugs (as he had recently called on all his fans to do in the liner notes to Gift) he wrote a number of songs during his stay, while also teaching John Lennon an acoustic picking style which would be featured on several songs on the Beatles' White Album. "Jennifer Juniper" was recorded with string and woodwind arrangements once again undertaken by John Cameron, including distinctive parts for shaker, harp and Cor anglais. George Harrison wrote a verse for "Hurdy Gurdy Man" when they were in India, but it was cut from the studio version in order to ensure that the song was not overly long for a single.

The sessions lasted into May and included a wide variety of eclectic styles, more so than any other Donovan album. Most of the musicians who had accompanied the singer on his prior albums appeared, including John Cameron, Harold McNair, Danny Thompson and Tony Carr. "The River Song", "Peregrine" and "Tangier" centered on drones, with the latter two featuring Donovan on harmonium. "Superlungs" (a song first attempted during sessions for both Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow), "Where Is She" and "Happiness Runs" (originally titled "Pebble and the Man" when it first appeared on 1968's Donovan in Concert) would find their way onto 1969's Barabajagal.

The Hurdy Gurdy Man was released worldwide in October 1968 with the exception of the United Kingdom, where the backlog of releases caused by the contractual hang-ups of 1966 continued to affect his release schedule.

Upon release, Cashbox called it "another collection of low-keyed folkish tales" which would garner quick sales with the artist's teen and college following. Billboard noted "this gem featuring hits "Jennifer Juniper" along with the title track should keep him riding high", with the other selections described as "exceptional". Retrospectively, John Bush at AllMusic opined the songs "featured inventive, sympathetic arrangements, combined with Donovan's usual spot-on delivery" but complained that "the terrible problem of pacing and song placement continually affects Hurdy Gurdy Man, rendering ineffective many solid songs".

Reissues

  • On 25 October 1990, Epic Records reissued The Hurdy Gurdy Man (Epic 26420) on CD in the US.
  • On 24 October 1994, EMI released Four Donovan Originals (EMI 7243 8 30867 2 6) in the UK. Four Donovan Originals is a CD 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 24 May 2005, EMI reissued The Hurdy Gurdy Man (EMI 8735682) on CD in the UK with seven bonus tracks.
  • In May 2013, Sundazed reissued The Hurdy Gurdy Man in its rare 1968 mono mix configuration, previously only available as a radio promo LP.
  • On 1 October 2018, The state51 Conspiracy reissued The Hurdy Gurdy Man (CON235LP) on LP in the UK and Ireland.

Track listing

Original album (US) on LP

All tracks credited to Donovan Leitch. According to BMI, "A Sunny Day" and "The River Song" were collaborations with David J. Mills, but "Tangier" was written solely by Mills under its original title of "In Tangier Down a Windy Street". According to the biography of the Beatles assistant Mal Evans by Kenneth Womack, "Working with Donovan, Mal helped craft the breezy, evocative lyrics of 'The Sun Is a Very Magic Fellow'..."

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

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" – 2:42
  6. "Teas" – 2:29

2005 CD (EMI, UK) bonus tracks

All tracks by Donovan Leitch.

<ol start="14">

<li>"Teen Angel"</li>

<li>"Poor Cow"</li>

<li>"Laléna"</li>

<li>"Aye My Love"</li>

<li>"What a Beautiful Creature You Are" (Duet with Lulu)</li>

<li>"Colours" (1968 re-recording)</li>

<li>"Catch the Wind" (1968 re-recording)</li>

</ol>

Cover versions

  • King Crimson played "Get Thy Bearings" live in 1969 and '71. The song was primarily used as a launching pad for extended improvisation. While Boz Burrell kept close to the original words during 1971, Greg Lake took some liberties with the lyrics in 1969. Recordings of King Crimson performing the song were released on Epitaph, The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson – Volume One – 1969–1974, and Ladies of the Road.
  • American rock band the Butthole Surfers recorded a version of "Hurdy Gurdy Man" on their 1991 album Pioughd.
  • L.A. Guns covered "Hurdy Gurdy Man" for their 2004 album Rips the Covers Off.
  • Steve Hillage covered "Hurdy Gurdy Man" on his progressive rock album L in 1976, backed by Todd Rundgren's Utopia and produced by Rundgren.

Charts

{| class="wikitable"

! Chart (1968)

! Peak<br />position

|-

| US Billboard Top LPs

| align="center"|20

|-

| US Cashbox Top 100 Albums

| align="center"|18

|-

| CAN RPM Top 100 Albums