''Slow Down World'' is the thirteenth studio album (fifteenth overall) by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

, released in the US ( Epic PE 33945) in May 1976 and the UK (Epic SEPC 86011) on 4 June 1976.

Background

Over his past few album releases, Donovan had hired a succession of popular record producers in hopes of chart success:

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...

for ''

Cosmic Wheels ''Cosmic Wheels'' is the tenth studio album, and eleventh album overall, by British singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in both the UK (Epic SEPC 65450) and the US (Epic KE 32156) in March 1973. History After the introspection of fath ...

'',

Andrew Loog Oldham Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style. Early life Loog Oldha ...

for ''

Essence to Essence ''Essence to Essence'' is the eleventh studio album, and thirteenth album overall, from British singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in both the UK (Epic SEPC 69050) and the US (Epic KE 32800) in December 1973. History By late 1973, Donov ...

'' and

Norbert Putnam Norbert Auvin Putnam (born August 10, 1942) is an American musician, studio owner and record producer who was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019.Robert McFarland, Jr"Norbert Putnam."'' Delta Business Journal''. November 2004. Acce ...

for ''

7-Tease ''7-Tease'' is an album by the British singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the US (Epic PE 33245) in November 1974 and in the UK (Epic SEPC 69104) in January 1975. The album peaked at No. 135 on the ''Billboard'' 200. History After t ...

''. The success of these albums was mild at best, and indicated a shift in Donovan's popularity away from the superstardom of the 1960s and towards a distinctly smaller fan base. For his next album, Donovan decided to embrace this fan base by taking on the producer duties himself and writing a set of songs that were directly at odds with the popular sounds of the time. While ''Slow Down World'' does contain some upbeat numbers, many of the songs feature tired and resigned lyrics. Two of the songs on ''Slow Down World'' were written by Donovan's longtime friend

Derroll Adams Derroll Adams (November 27, 1925 – February 6, 2000) was an American folk musician. Biography He was born Derroll Lewis Thompson in Portland, Oregon, United States. At 16, he served in the Army, but was discharged when his true age of 16 was ...

. Adams was the influence behind "Epistle to Derroll" from Donovan's 1968 album ''

A Gift from a Flower to a Garden ''A Gift From a Flower to a Garden'' is the fifth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, and marks the first double-disc album of his career and one of the first box sets in folk music. It was released in the US (Epic Records L2N 6071 (m ...

''. Donovan's hit "

There is a Mountain "There Is a Mountain" is a song and single written and performed by British singer-songwriter Donovan, released in 1967. Background The lyrics refer to a Buddhist saying originally formulated by Qingyuan Weixin, later translated by D. T.&nbs ...

" has similar lyrics to "The Mountain", one of the Derroll Adams songs covered here. ''Slow Down World'' reached #174 on the US charts, matching the success of ''Essence to Essence'' but not reaching the success of Donovan's last album, ''7-Tease''. More importantly, ''Slow Down World'' marked the last album of his Epic Records contract. Without access to the label's promotion mechanisms, he never again achieved chart success or the same level of record sales.

Reissues

*On 19 April 2004, Diablo Records released ''7-Tease/Slow Down World'' (DIAB8052) in the UK on CD. This compilation includes all of ''7-Tease'' and all of ''Slow Down World'' on one disc, and marks the first time all of ''Slow Down World'' was released on CD.

Track listing

All tracks by Donovan Leitch, except where noted.

Original album

Side one

#"Dark-Eyed Blue Jean Angel" – 3:50 #"Cryin' Shame" – 4:29 #"The Mountain" (

) – 3:32 #"Children of the World" – 3:22 #"My Love Is True (Love Song)" (Adams) – 3:41

Side two

#"A Well Known Has-Been" – 7:25 #"Black Widow" – 5:44 #"Slow Down World" – 4:22 #"Liberation Rag" – 2:56

Personnel

*Donovan – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica * Philip Donnelly – guitar *

David Hungate William David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his T ...

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...

Lee Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so fre ...

Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Wan ...

– bass guitar *

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

– keyboards *

Jay Graydon Jay Joseph Graydon (born October 8, 1949, Burbank, California) is an American songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, keyboardist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards (in the R&B category) wi ...

– synthesizer, programming *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...

– drums *

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for Motown and move to ...

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the Hartfor ...

– percussion * Tom Scott – saxophone *

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical abilities ...

– trumpet, flugelhorn * Lew McCreary – trombone *Douglas Davis – cello *Al DeLory, B.J. Cook, Donny Gerrard, Ed Whitting, Jeanette Clinger, Jennifer Hicklin, John Merlino, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Ron Hicklin, Stacy Jo Clinger, Susie Ives – background vocals

References

External links

''Slow Down World'' - Donovan Unofficial Site''1976 Donovan – Slow Down World''
at Sessiondays.com. {{Authority control Donovan albums 1976 albums Epic Records albums