Beat Cafe is the twenty-third studio album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, and twenty-eighth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan

Donovan

Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...

. It is his first collection containing newly written songs since his 1996 album Sutras

Sutras (album)

Sutras is the nineteenth studio album, and twenty-second album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the UK and the US on October 14, 1996...

. Beat Cafe was released worldwide (Appleseed Records 1081) on August 24, 2004. The first 1000 CDs were autographed and hand numbered.

History

After the launching of his website and three new releases within two years, Donovan entered the studio with a new band including his longtime friends Danny Thompson

Danny Thompson

Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...

 on bass and Jim Keltner

Jim Keltner

James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...

 on drums. The new sessions, produced by John Chelew, mixed rock and roll with a beatnik

Beatnik

Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...

 style. In addition to handling production duties, Chelew contributed keyboards to many of the songs on the finished album.

While many of the songs were new compositions, Donovan also revamped a few older compositions. Among these songs are "Poorman's Sunshine", originally titled "Poor Man's Sunshine (Nativity)", and "Lord of the Universe". Both originated during the Barabajagal

Barabajagal

"Barabajagal" is a song by Donovan released by Donovan in 1969. It was later used as title track to the album Barabajagal. The instrumentation is provided by the Jeff Beck Group....

 sessions. "Lover O Lover" was originally released on Love Is Only Feeling

Love Is Only Feeling

Love Is Only Feeling is the sixteenth studio album, and eighteenth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in West Germany in October 1981 and belatedly in the UK in 1983.-History:...

 in 1983.

Original album

1. "Love Floats" – 4:18
2. "Poorman's Sunshine" – 4:02
3. "Beat Cafe" – 4:14
4. "Yin My Yang" – 3:35
5. "Whirlwind" – 4:46
6. "Two Lovers" – 3:42
7. "The Question" – 3:06
8. "Lord of the Universe" – 4:47
9. "Lover O Lover" – 4:56
10. "The Cuckoo" (traditional) – 3:49
11. "Do Not Go Gentle" (poem by Dylan Thomas
    Dylan Thomas
    Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
    
    , music by Donovan Leitch) – 4:27
12. "Shambala" – 5:29

External links

• Beat Cafe - Donovan Unofficial Site