The song was first released by Pye Records as a single in 1968 and became a worldwide success. It reached number one in the Netherlands and in Switzerland in 1969, while also reaching the top five in the Austria, New Zealand, and West Germany. In the United States, it was initially released as the B-side to "To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting", but was promoted to the A-side after receiving significant airplay, eventually reaching number seven on the US BillboardHot 100. In the singer's native country, the single managed only a modest number 23 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Atlantis" has since been recorded by several artists, including Austrian singer Georg Danzer, German musical project U96 and German actor Thorsten Feller. In 2001, Donovan and German pop band No Angels re-recorded the track for the closing credits of the Walt Disney Feature Animation picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). Included on a concomitant album for the German-speaking music market,[3] it was once more released as a single and re-entered the top five in Austria and Germany.
Background
"Atlantis" was written by Donovan and credited as produced by Mickie Most for his seventh studio album Barabajagal (1969).
Donovan stated his inspiration for the song came from his reading of Frederick Oliver's A Dweller on Two Planets, who claimed to have transcribed it from a being named Phylos the Thibetan.[4] He then wrote a poem over chords taught to him by mentor Derroll Adams, and recorded it at American Recording Company in Los Angeles with producer Gabriel Mekler in early November 1968, at the completion of a North American tour. Mekler played piano on the track, devising chord shapes with the pedal open, while Donovan created a harp-like sound by striking the strings of a grand piano with a quill.[4] Donovan wanted a guitarist to play a solo on the record but as no guitarist had been booked, he used an engineer named Rick who played a Fender Stratocaster. Although Donovan and Mekler had produced the recording, credit was given to his usual producer Mickie Most.
Paul McCartney was rumored to have sung backing vocals for the song. However, Donovan said in a 2008 interview with Goldmine Magazine that McCartney was not involved in the recording sessions.[5]
The introduction of song is a quiet monologue spoken over the song's repeated musical melody, telling of the mythological antediluvian civilization of Atlantis.[2] The second half of the song is more energetic, with Donovan singing of finding his true love in Atlantis. The theme is common for the 1960s: fanciful mythology as a symbol of the counterculture movement, with the hope that true love will be found if Atlantis can be rediscovered.[2]
Contract disputes at the time caused a complicated series of different releases in the United Kingdom and United States. "Atlantis" was originally released in the United Kingdom on November 29, 1968 as a single with "I Love My Shirt" as the B-side. In January 1969 it was released in the US as the B-side to "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting", before appearing on the album Barabajagal that August. The LP was not released in the UK.
The song was not deemed likely to be a hit in the US because of its length and the fact that the first third of the song is spoken prose and therefore not "radio-friendly". It was for this reason that, despite its success in Europe, "Atlantis" was demoted to B-side status. However, the record company A&R executives were proved wrong when the popularity of "Atlantis" far surpassed that of its A-side. The song was quite successful, reaching number seven on the Billboard charts. It became Donovan's final top-10 single in the US.
In 1984, Austrian musician Georg Danzer published a German-language version of the song, which has remained musically faithful to the original. First published on his album Menschliche Wärme, it appeared in the later course on the compilations Greenpeace, Hit Barometer and Überblicke. In Austria, it became a top 20 hit on the Ö3 Austria Top 40.[16]
In the late 1990s, Walt Disney Feature Animation started production on Atlantis: The Lost Empire, an animatedscience fiction/action film, based on the Atlantis saga. Interested in slipping his 1968 version into the film soundtrack, Donovan immediately opened negotiations with the studios; however Disney was barely interested in the song and plans eventually fell through.[3] By 2000, Disney had committed German producerLeslie Mándoki to produce a concomitant album for the German-speaking music markets, entitled Stars Inspired by Atlantis.[3] After stumbling over the original song, Mándoki approached Donovan by phone, describing him his idea of a collaboration with German newcomers No Angels, with whom Mándoki had previously worked on their debut Elle'ments (2001), and a few days later Donovan and the band met at the Lake Starnberg to start recording.[3]
Upon its release, "When the Angels Sing"/"Atlantis" debuted at No. 5 on the German Singles Chart in the week of 3 December 2001.[18] It spent six weeks within the top 10 and fell out of the chart in the 14th weeks,[18] becoming the 79th highest-selling single of 2001 in Germany.[19] In Austria, the double-A single debuted at No. 10 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40.[20] It peaked at No. 5 in its third week and spent four more weeks within the top 10, leaving the top 75 after 14 weeks.[20] In Switzerland, "When the Angels Sing"/"Atlantis" entered the Swiss Hitparade at No. 56 in the week of 2 December.[21] It reached its peak, No. 16, in its second week, becoming the band's first single to miss the top 10. It fell out of the top 100 after twelve weeks on the chart.[21]
Music video
The single's music video was directed by Hannes Rossacher for DoRo Productions and shot in Berlin, Germany in late 2001.[3] It shows Donovan and the band in a recording studio accented by underwater settings, backdrops, and scenes inspired by the animated movie.
1 2 3 C.Grunenberg and J.Harris, Summer Of Love: Psychedelic Art, Social Crisis And Counterculture In The 1960s, (Liverpool University Press), p.140, ISBN0853239193
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