| The Essential Donovan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 10 April 2012 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 2:02:53 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Donovan chronology | ||||
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The Essential Donovan is a greatest hits album by the Scottish musician Donovan. Originally released in 2004, [1] it was re-released to higher acclaim as a part of Sony Legacy's Essential series in 2012.
The album was released to coincide with Donovan's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (2004) |    [3] |
| AllMusic (2012) | [4] |
| American Songwriter | [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
In a review for the original 2004 issue, AllMusic's John Bush states that it "merely reissues Donovan's Greatest Hits "; he notes that "the music is obviously excellent, beginning with Donovan's wistful debut 'Catch the Wind' and progressing through his psychedelic pop hits of the late '60s, but Donovan's Greatest Hits presents the same material with perspective and a flair that this series compilation lacks." [3]
Reviewing the 2012 reissue, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that the album is "perhaps better compared to the 1992 box Troubadour: The Definitive Collection , another two-CD set that delved deeply into Donovan's career", going on to state that the album "emphasizes Donovan's psychedelic mod hipster side over his wannabe Dylan folkie". [4] Joe Marchese of The Second Disc stated the album is a "poetic rumination of diverse images that come together as a portrait of youth", going on to state the album's first disc includes "ten songs that truly made psychedelia mainstream." [6]
Super Fly is the third studio album by American soul musician Curtis Mayfield, released on July 11, 1972, by Curtom Records. It was released as the soundtrack for the Blaxploitation film of the same name. Widely considered a classic of 1970s soul and funk music, Super Fly was a nearly immediate hit. Its sales were bolstered by two million-selling singles, "Freddie's Dead" and the title track. Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied.
"Sunshine Superman" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released as a single in the United States through Epic Records in July 1966, but due to a contractual dispute the United Kingdom release was delayed until December 1966, where it appeared on Donovan's previous label, Pye Records. The single was backed with "The Trip" on both the US and UK releases. It has been described as "[one of the] classics of the era", and as "the quintessential bright summer sing along".
Rearviewmirror is a two-disc compilation album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 16, 2004 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States. It was reissued in 2013 as The Essential Pearl Jam.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American rock band Journey, originally released in 1988 by Columbia Records. It is the band's best-selling career disc, spending 828 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Additionally, as of November 2024, it has logged 1,464 weeks on Billboard's Catalog Albums chart.
Biograph is a 53-track box set compilation spanning the career of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on November 7, 1985, by Columbia Records. Consisting of 53 released and unreleased tracks from 1962 to 1981, the box set was released as a five-LP set, a three-cassette tape set, and a three-compact disc set. Biograph reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
The Stooges is the debut studio album by American rock band the Stooges, released on August 5, 1969 by Elektra Records. Considered a landmark proto-punk release, the album peaked at number 106 on the US Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The tracks "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "1969" were released as singles; "1969" was featured on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs" at number 35. In 2020, it was ranked number 488 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American group Sly and the Family Stone. It was first released on November 21, 1970, by Epic Records. The album includes all of the singles from the albums Dance to the Music (1968), Life (1968), and Stand! (1969).
The Essential Alice in Chains is a two-disc compilation album by the rock band Alice in Chains, and part of Sony BMG's The Essential series. Originally scheduled to be released on March 30, 2004, it was delayed until September 5, 2006. The album was reissued in 2010 with different artwork. A DVD with the mockumentary The Nona Tapes came as a bonus disc with the compilation.
Sunshine Superman is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States on August 26, 1966, but was not released in the UK because of a contractual dispute. In June 1967, a compilation of tracks from this album and the follow-up Mellow Yellow was released as Sunshine Superman in the UK.
A Gift From a Flower to a Garden is the fifth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, released in December 1967 through Pye Records in the UK and Epic Records in the US. It marks the first double-disc album of Donovan's career and one of the first box sets in music. In the US, Epic also released the two discs separately as the stand-alone albums Wear Your Love Like Heaven and For Little Ones.
Mellow Yellow is the fourth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the US in February 1967 (Epic Records LN 24239 / BN 26239, but not released in the UK because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman from a UK release. In June 1967, a cross-section of both albums was released as Sunshine Superman in the UK. "Mellow Yellow" was the name of Donovan's hit single released the previous November.
Donovan's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in January 1969 on Epic Records and in the United Kingdom in March 1969 on Pye Records. Donovan's Greatest Hits peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. In Canada the album reached No. 2.
Whitney: The Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released on May 15, 2000, by Arista Records. Anticipation over a greatest hits album from Houston arose as far as 1995, when Billboard first announced the album's release. However, it was continuously postponed as Houston focused on film projects, before deciding to record several new tracks for the belated collection in 1998. The effort was quickly expanded into her fourth studio album My Love Is Your Love, released in November 1998 to widespread success, which effectively postponed Whitney: The Greatest Hits again.
Rising is the third live album, and twentieth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released on Permanent Records in 1990. The live versions of Donovan's hits guaranteed that Rising would receive a release in both the United States and United Kingdom. Rising was retitled The Classics Live in the United States, 25 Years in Concert in Europe and Atlantis in the UK for marketing reasons. Since the release of Rising, there have been many reissues of the songs from the album under many different titles.
The Byrds' Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1967 on Columbia Records. It is the top-selling album in the Byrds' catalogue and reached number 6 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, but failed to chart in the UK.
Donovan's Greatest Hits and More is a compilation album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United Kingdom in September 1989.
Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan is the second CD boxed set from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released on 13 September 2005.
This is the discography of Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist Donovan.
"Auf Wiedersehen" is a song co-written by Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson and first released on the band's 1978 album Heaven Tonight. It was also released as a single as the B-side of "Surrender". Since its original release, it has also been released by Cheap Trick on several live and compilation albums, including Budokan II; Sex, America, Cheap Trick; The Essential Cheap Trick, and the 30th Anniversary Edition of Cheap Trick at Budokan, which also includes a DVD with a video performance of the song. Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as one of the peaks of Heaven Tonight and as one of Cheap Trick's "stone-cold classics." It has often been used by the band to close their concerts. Since its original release, it has been covered by Anthrax, Cell, John Easdale, and Steel Pole Bath Tub.
The Apple Years 1968–75 is a box set by the English musician George Harrison, released on 22 September 2014. The eight-disc set compiles all of Harrison's studio albums that were originally issued on the Beatles' Apple record label. The six albums are Wonderwall Music (1968), Electronic Sound (1969), All Things Must Pass, Living in the Material World (1973), Dark Horse (1974) and Extra Texture (1975). The final disc is a DVD containing a feature titled "The Apple Years", promotional films from some of his previous posthumous reissues, such as The Concert for Bangladesh, and other video clips. The box set marks the first time that the Dark Horse and Extra Texture albums have been remastered since their 1991 CD release.
