Live in Japan – Spring Tour 1973 is the twelfth album from Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 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 was only released in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 (Epic ECPM 25) in 1973. The album has never been released in either the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 or the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

History

The tracks on Live in Japan – Spring Tour 1973 were recorded at Donovan's March 25, 1973 and March 26, 1973 shows in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

. Around the time of this concert, Donovan released Cosmic Wheels

Cosmic Wheels

Cosmic Wheels is the tenth studio album, and eleventh album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in both the UK and the US in March 1973.- History :...

, and had started recording Essence to Essence

Essence to Essence

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 U.S. in December 1973.-History:...

. With the exception of "Hurdy Gurdy Man", the songs on this set largely avoid Donovan's chart hits of the 1960s in favor of more obscure and even unreleased songs.

The recordings of "Sadness" and "Universal Soldier" were also included in the album 1990 album Rising

Rising (Donovan album)

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...

.

Album origins of tracks

The following is a list explaining the original releases of each song. Tracks that were previously unreleased are noted with *, followed by explanations of their origin.

• "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (1968 single release)
• "Only the Blues" (from Cosmic Wheels
  Cosmic Wheels
  Cosmic Wheels is the tenth studio album, and eleventh album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in both the UK and the US in March 1973.- History :...
  
  , released March 1973)
• "Sadness" (from 7-Tease
  7-Tease
  7-Tease is the twelfth studio album, and fourteenth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the US in November 1974 and in the UK in January 1975.-History:...
  
  , released November 1974)
• "A Working Man"* (no studio version released)
• "Your Broken Heart" (from 7-Tease
  7-Tease
  7-Tease is the twelfth studio album, and fourteenth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the US in November 1974 and in the UK in January 1975.-History:...
  
  , released November 1974)
• "Universal Soldier
  Universal Soldier (song)
  "Universal Soldier" is a song written and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. The song was originally released on Sainte-Marie's debut album It's My Way! in 1964. "Universal Soldier" was not a popular hit at the time of its release, but it did garner attention within the...
  
  " (from The Universal Soldier EP
  Extended play
  An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
  
  , released August 15, 1965)
• "The Dignity of Man" (from Essence to Essence
  Essence to Essence
  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 U.S. in December 1973.-History:...
  
  , released December 1973)
• "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)
  Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)
  "Hey Gyp " is a song by Donovan. The name "Gyp" refers to his friend Gyp Mills. It has been covered by Eric Burdon and The Animals and The Soul Survivors. It has also been covered by The Belfast Gypsies, Keith Shields, and the Truth....
  
  " (b-side of "Turquoise", released October 30, 1965)
• "Tinker Tune"* (no studio version released)
• "Living for the Love Light"* (from Lady of the Stars
  Lady of the Stars
  Lady of the Stars is the seventeenth studio album, and nineteenth album overall, from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the UK and the US in January 1984.-History:...
  
  , released January 1984)
• "Josie
  Josie (Donovan song)
  "Josie" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "Josie" single was backed with a cover of "The Little Tin Soldier" by Shawn Phillips and released in the United Kingdom on 18 February 1966 through Pye Records ....
  
  " (1966 single, from the album What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid
  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 United Kingdom four days after Donovan's 19th birthday on 14 May 1965, through Pye Records . Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, and Geoff Stephens produced the album...
  
  , released May 14, 1965)
• "Sailing Homeward"* (from Essence to Essence
  Essence to Essence
  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 U.S. in December 1973.-History:...
  
  )
• "The Ferryman's Daughter"* (no studio version released)
• "Life Is a Merry-Go-Round" (from Essence to Essence)

Side one

1. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" – 3:17
2. "Only the Blues" – 3:20
3. "Sadness" – 3:04
4. "A Working Man" – 3:07
5. "Your Broken Heart" – 3:42
6. "Universal Soldier" (Buffy Sainte-Marie
   Buffy Sainte-Marie
   Buffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
   
   ) – 2:48
7. "The Dignity of Man" – 4:45

Side two

1. "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)" – 2:26
2. "Tinker Tune" – 2:47
3. "Living for the Love Light" – 2:53
4. "Josie" – 3:21
5. "Sailing Homeward" – 3:23
6. "The Ferryman's Daughter" – 2:38
7. "Life Is a Merry-Go-Round" – 3:52

External links

• Live In Japan: Spring Tour 1973 - Donovan Unofficial Site