live in japan spring tour 1973 | Every Moment Has A Song

Donovan: Live in Japan–Spring Tour 1973 (1973)

Donovan Leitch had a nice run on the US and UK pop charts in the 1960’s, but by 1973 his top 40 days were well behind him.

That’s not to say he didn’t continue to write good songs.

But other than the criminally overlooked 2 LP collection of nursery rhymes and bucolic children’s fare HMS Donovan in 1971, his early 70’s releases were uneven–at times lacking the pretty melodies and poetic lyrical sensibility he was known for, and at others slathering a bit too much musical makeup over a song’s simple beauty.

What makes Donovan Live in Japan: Spring Tour 1973 such a satisfying–if obscure–live album, is that it not only puts beautiful, lyrical folk pop songwriting in a spare, sympathetic setting, but it plucks the musical diamonds from the rough of the uneven albums of the period to assemble one essential musical statement.

It may be Donovan’s best album. And it’s certainly this writer’s favorite live album, by any artist.

Unfortunate then that Epic Records only released it to the Japanese market, where Donovan remained very popular at the time. Despite being a sought-after collector’s item as an import, Live in Japan never saw vinyl release in the US.

It has recently, however, finally come into print in a CD edition, now offered for sale on the artist’s official website. Obviously, it comes highly recommended.

Recorded at Osaka Festival Hall and Koseinenkin Hall in Osaka on March 25th and 26th of 1973, Live in Japan‘s setlist included material from the Cosmic Wheels and Essence to Essence albums, both from 1973, and two songs that would appear on 1974’s 7-Tease.

And the stripped-down arrangements–Donovan is the only musician on the stage and in the album credits–peel away any overproduction in the studio versions, bringing the artist’s warm vocals, capable guitar accompaniment and fine writing to the fore.

One could easily consider these live renderings definitive, especially since most of the studio versions remained relatively obscure (Donovan’s sales by this time weren’t what they’d once been).

Of its 14 songs, only set opener “Hurdy Gurdy Man” had been a top 40 hit (listen for a third verse, not on the hit version, and written by George Harrison while with Donovan in India).

This wasn’t a Greatest Hits tour, and the performance is a better one for it. Rather, it’s a folk singer playing folk songs, moving from beautiful ballad to lively jig and back again, and mesmerizing an adoring crowd with his gift.

“Mellow Yellow” would only have broken the wonderful spell he casts here.

Note: With only an exception or two, extraneous chatter, song intros, guitar tuning, etc. has been edited out for your greater enjoyment.

Listen to: “The Hurdy Gurdy Man”