''Cosmic Wheels'' is the tenth studio album, and eleventh album overall, by Scottish singer-songwriter

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), 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 ...

. It was released in both the UK (Epic SEPC 65450) and the US (Epic KE 32156) in March 1973.

History

After the introspection of fatherhood and family life contained in the songs of ''HMS Donovan'', Donovan turned his attention to popular music again in 1972. It had been three years since " Atlantis" entered the top 10. Since that time, Donovan had released a mildly successful album with band Open Road and a solo children's album that failed to make the charts in the UK and did not even see a release in the US. In hopes of fomenting success, Donovan brought in

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...

to share the producer duties on his next album. The ''Cosmic Wheels'' sessions were recorded in Morgan Studios in London, England. In the UK at that time,

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

ruled the top of the charts, defined by bands and artists such as T. Rex,

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

among others. Several of these bands and artists claimed Donovan as a key influence in their music. This praise coupled with the chart success of the genre likely had great influence on the musical direction ''Cosmic Wheels'' would take. While Donovan was recording ''Cosmic Wheels'',

were recording their 1973 album '' Billion Dollar Babies'' in the same studio. Alice Cooper guitarist Michael Bruce suggested asking Donovan to sing co-lead on the title track with

himself. Donovan agreed, and the resulting song helped propel '' Billion Dollar Babies'' to No. 1 in the US. ''Cosmic Wheels'' reached the top 20 in both the US and UK, enjoying the same chart success as many of Donovan's previous albums. By 1973 the music business had shifted to promoting album-oriented rock, relegating singles to less promotion and fewer sales. An edited form of "I Like You" reached No. 66 in the U.S. and became the last charting single Donovan has had to date.

Reissues

* On August 15, 1994,

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

's Rewind Records label reissued ''Cosmic Wheels'' (Epic/Rewind 477378 2) on CD in the UK. * On February 23, 2004, Diablo Records released ''Cosmic Wheels/Essence to Essence'' (DIAB8051) in the UK on CD. This compilation includes all of ''Cosmic Wheels'' and all of ''Essence to Essence'' on one disc. * "Cosmic Wheels" is the third release of THE SEVENTIES COLLECTION as Digital Download on iTunes. The digital release of the original 1973 album "Cosmic Wheels" was on August 19, 2010.

Track listing

All tracks by Donovan Leitch.
Side one # "Cosmic Wheels" – 4:00 # "Earth Sign Man" – 3:55 # "Sleep" – 3:45 # "Maria Magenta" – 2:10 # "Wild Witch Lady" – 4:20 Side two # "The Music Makers" – 4:25 # "The Intergalactic Laxative" – 2:50 # "I Like You" – 5:10 # "Only the Blues" – 3:10 # "Appearances" – 3:36 * Note: "Sleep" is incorrectly listed as 4:45 on both the album centre label and the album insert. This is an error by 1 minute: the correct time is 3:45.

Personnel

* Donovan – guitar, harmonica, design, vocals * Chris Spedding – guitar, strings, bouzouki * Dennis Ball – bass Name misspelled as "Dennis Wall" * Clive Chaman – bass * Phil Chen – bass *

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet, B ...

– drums * Alan White – drums * John "Rabbit" Bundrick – piano, Moog synthesizer, mellotron * John Cameron - electric piano on "Appearances" * Tony Carr – percussion * Jim Horn – alto saxophone * Bobby Keys – tenor saxophone * Patrick Halling – violin * Jack Emblow – accordion * Leslye Ash – vocals * Valerie Charrington – soprano vocals * Nick Curtis – vocals * Lesley Duncan – vocals on "The Music Makers" * Julie Forsythe – vocals * Leslie Fyson – vocals * John McCarthy – vocals *

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" ...

– vocals on "The Music Makers" * Gaynor Stewart – vocals * Jill Utting – soprano vocals * Cary Wilson – vocals ;Technical *Mike Bobak – engineer * John Kosh – design *Tony Evans – photography

References

External links

''Cosmic Wheels'' – Donovan Unofficial Site

Donovan official website
{{Authority control Donovan albums 1973 albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Mickie Most Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios