There Is an Ocean | |
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Directed by | Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon |
Written by | Donovan P. Leitch |
Produced by | Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon |
Starring |
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Cinematography | David Reid and Chris O'Dell |
Edited by | Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon |
Music by | Donovan and Open Road |
Distributed by | Small Smile Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 35 minutes |
Language | English |
There Is an Ocean is a film documenting the Scottish songwriter Donovan during his time spent in Greece with his band Open Road in 1970. The film remained unreleased until 2005 when it was included in the box set Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan .
In 1969 Donovan left the United States at the height of his popularity, leaving his longtime producer Mickie Most, and returned home to explore new directions in his music. With drummer "Candy" John Carr and bassist/guitarist Mike Thomson, he formed a band called Open Road, who released an eponymous album in 1970. Donovan's plan was to tour the world with the band for one year, primarily by boat, as a "tax exile" from the UK. In order to avoid Britain's exorbitant taxes, he needed to be gone from the 5th of April one year to the 5th of April the next, so at the onset of spring, Donovan flew to Greece where he met up with friends, family, bandmates, and his yacht, christened Vagrant. [1]
The band stayed on the island of Crete where they rehearsed for upcoming dates in France, Italy, and Japan, and sailed to various fishing villages on the islands of Sikinos, Ios, and Ithaca to play pop-up gigs for locals and tourists. It is these impromptu concerts, along with the beauty of Greece's landscapes and views of the Aegean and Ionian Seas, that There Is an Ocean documents.
The film was directed, edited, and produced by British filmmaker Nigel Lesmoir-Godon, who had also made a film about Syd Barrett during the early days of Pink Floyd. [2]
Although Donovan and Open Road had electric instruments in their rehearsal space on Crete, these sessions do not appear on film. All songs are performed by Mike Thomson and Donovan playing acoustic guitars and John Carr on bongo drums and bells. Sometimes the group use microphones, sometimes not. Donovan also sings "The Pee Song" with his three-year-old son.
At the time of filming, none of the songs featured in There Is an Ocean had appeared on any of Donovan's albums, with the exception of "Riki Tiki Tavi". Most other songs would appear on subsequent releases between 1971 and 2010.
Studio recordings of the songs in the film appear on the following Donovan albums:
Donovan Phillips Leitch, known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965, and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles and albums during the late 1960s. His work became emblematic of the flower power era with its blend of folk, pop, psychedelic rock, and jazz stylings.
Island of Circles is a tribute album to singer-songwriter Donovan that was released on June 26, 1992, by Nettwerk. The title song "Island of Circles" is provided by Donovan himself. Along with Donovan's contemporaneous box set collection Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964–1976, the album contributed to a resurgence of interest in Donovan's music in the early 1990s, after he had been deemed unfashionable and out of step with changing musical tastes in the 1970s.
Fairytale is the second album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was first released in the UK on 22 October 1965 through Pye Records. The US version of Fairytale was released by Hickory Records in November 1965 with a slightly different set of songs. Peter Eden, Geoff Stephens and Terry Kennedy produced the original album.
Keith "Mac" MacLeod, was an English musician who was a part of the Hertfordshire folk and blues scene from 1959 onwards. He played in St Albans alongside Mick Softley and Maddy Prior and toured with John Renbourn. Influences include Softley, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Derroll Adams, Jesse Fuller, Big Bill Broonzy, Snooks Eaglin, Reverend Gary Davis and Davey Graham.
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.
Barabajagal is the seventh studio album and eighth album overall from British singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released by Epic Records in the United States on 11 August 1969, but was not released in the United Kingdom because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman, Mellow Yellow, and The Hurdy Gurdy Man from being released in the UK. The album reached No. 22 in Canada and the title single reached No. 20.
Open Road is the eighth studio album, and ninth overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan and the debut album from the short-lived band Open Road. While his previous work was composed by his playing solo on acoustic guitar and then recorded with a shifting cast of session musicians, Open Road was Donovan's effort toward writing and recording music as a member of a band.
HMS Donovan is the ninth studio album, and tenth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It marks the second album of Donovan's children's music, after the For Little Ones portion of A Gift from a Flower to a Garden. HMS Donovan is the second double album of Donovan's career, and was released in the UK only, in July 1971.
Essence to Essence is the eleventh studio album, and thirteenth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in both the UK and the US in December 1973.
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.
Rising Again is an expanded version of the 1990 live album Rising from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the UK on 22 May 2001.
Brother Sun, Sister Moon is the 22nd studio album and 27th album overall from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Brother Sun, Sister Moon was released exclusively on the iTunes Music Store in 2004.
Donovan File is a compilation album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United Kingdom in 1977.
Definitive Collection is a compilation album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the Netherlands and Austria on 7 November 1995.
Donovan in Concert is the sixth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, and the first live album of his career. It was recorded in the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on 17 November 1967. It was released in the United States in June 1968 and in the United Kingdom in September 1968. The album reached No.18 on the US charts.
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.
A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding in Your Mind: Volume 1 is a 2008 compilation album with selections by Amorphous Androgynous It was released on CD in November 2008. It is an extensive compilation mix album featuring a wide variety of artists, selected and mixed by the duo. Cosmic Space Music is the first in the series, and focuses on the band's psychedelic side, featuring everything from 1960s pop to film scores and modern psychedelia.
When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water was an American experimental psychedelic rock band from New York City active from 1986 to 1996. Their three albums and several EPs consist of experimental cover versions of songs from various genres of popular music.
Cosmic Wheels is the tenth studio album, and eleventh album overall, by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in both the UK and the US in March 1973.
Open Road was a short-lived band originally assembled by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan for his 1970 album of the same name, with original members Mike Thomson on guitar, bass and vocals and John Carr on drums and vocals. Having previously played solo then with a shifting cast of session musicians, Open Road was Donovan's effort toward writing and recording music as a member of a band.