''Sixty Four'' is the 21st studio album and 26th album overall from Scottish singer-songwriter

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

. It is composed of demo tracks recorded by Donovan in 1964. ''Sixty Four'' was released in the United States in February 2004 by Donovan Discs, his own record label.

History

In the summer of 1964, Donovan negotiated his first record contract with

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

and recorded several demo songs. At the time, these demos were intended to circulate within the record company and were not intended for public release. The tapes were subsequently archived and their existence was relatively unknown to the public. When Donovan was assisting with the compilation of his first compact disc boxed set '' Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964–1976'' in the early 1990s, he gained possession of the original demos. Two of the songs were released on the boxed set; covers of

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", becam ...

's "London Town" and

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American (Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these are ...

's "Co'dine". The remainder of the tapes remained unreleased. After the release of ''

Sutras ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

'' in 1996, Donovan focused on reorganizing his business around his own website and launching his own independent music label, Donovan Discs. Donovan Discs issued the set of demos as ''Sixty Four'' exclusively through Donovan's new website. A limited number of copies were signed by Donovan and also sold from the website. The demo tapes feature an 18-year-old Donovan playing guitar and mouth harp. His style is remarkably close to that of both

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, but the songs also feature a distinct style that further developed on Donovan's first two albums, ''

What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid ''What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid'' is the debut album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the UK four days after his nineteenth birthday on 14 May 1965, through Pye Records (catalog number NPL 18117). Terry Kennedy, P ...

'' and ''

Fairytale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cul ...

''.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Donovan Leitch; except where indicated #"Crazy 'Bout a Woman" (

Jesse Fuller Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 – January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". Early life Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta. He was sent by his mother to live with ...

) – 2:42 #"Talkin' Pop Star Blues" – 3:29 #"

Dirty Old Town "Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and The Pogues. History The song was written about Salford, Lancashire, England, the city where MacColl was born and brought up. It was original ...

" (

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

) – 2:31 #"Keep on Truckin'" (Traditional; arranged by Donovan Leitch) – 2:19 #"Co'dine" (

) – 4:47 #"London Town" (

) – 4:08 #"Isle of Sadness" – 3:03 #"Darkness of My Night" – 3:28 #"Freedom Road" (Emerson Harper,

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

) – 2:06

References

External links

''Sixty Four'' – Donovan Unofficial Site
{{Authority control Donovan albums 2004 albums