Mellow Yellow (album)
Encyclopedia
Mellow Yellow is the fourth album
from Scottish
singer-songwriter
Donovan
. It was released in the United States
in March 1967 (Epic Records
LN 24239 (monaural) / BN 26239 (rechanneled stereo), but was not released in the UK
because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman
from a UK release. In June 1967, a cross-section of both albums was released as Sunshine Superman (Pye Records
NPL 18181) in the UK. "Mellow Yellow
" was the name of Donovan's hit single
released the previous November. (Most of the tracks on this album, along with the preceding "Sunshine Superman", have never been mixed into stereo, with the exception of those marked +, see below)
scene. On Mellow Yellow this is still evident in "Sunny South Kensington", "Museum
" (originally recorded for the Sunshine Superman album
and rerecorded for Mellow Yellow) and the title track, but is also tempered with world-weary observations of that scene ("Young Girl Blues"). The contractual problems that prevented the release of Donovan's music in the UK led him to write such songs as the resigned "Writer in the Sun", where he contemplates the possibility of his own forced retirement from the music business at age 20.
Mickie Most
's production and the arrangements of John Paul Jones
accommodate these two divergent traits of Donovan's songwriting throughout Mellow Yellow. The peppier songs feature a diverse selection of instruments similar to Sunshine Superman and helped make a top 10 hit out of the title track on both sides of the Atlantic. The introspective ruminations feature sparse instrumentation that highlights Donovan's guitar
playing, singing
, and lyrics
.
On Mellow Yellow, Donovan gave a nod to his friend Bert Jansch
on "House of Jansch", marking the third Donovan album in a row that paid tribute to the British folk
personage.
It has been rumored that Donovan's friend Paul McCartney
whispers the "quite rightly" part of "Mellow Yellow", but this is actually whispered by Donovan. It is possible that Paul was in the studio crowd heard cheering at the end of the song but it has been contested whether or not Paul was there at all.
John Cameron - blues piano, harpsichord, arrangement
.
Side two
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...
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 released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in March 1967 (Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
LN 24239 (monaural) / BN 26239 (rechanneled stereo), but was not released in the UK
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...
because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman
Sunshine Superman (album)
Sunshine Superman is the third album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in September 1966. but was not released in the United Kingdom because of a contractual dispute. In June 1967, a compilation of the Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow albums was...
from a UK release. In June 1967, a cross-section of both albums was released as Sunshine Superman (Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
NPL 18181) in the UK. "Mellow Yellow
Mellow Yellow
"Mellow Yellow" is a song and single release by Donovan. It reached #2 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. in 1966 and #8 in the UK in early 1967....
" was the name of Donovan's hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
released the previous November. (Most of the tracks on this album, along with the preceding "Sunshine Superman", have never been mixed into stereo, with the exception of those marked +, see below)
History
The songs on Mellow Yellow represent a transition in Donovan's writing. Donovan's songs had previously illustrated his infatuation with an ability to define the mid-sixties pop musicPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
scene. On Mellow Yellow this is still evident in "Sunny South Kensington", "Museum
Museum (song)
Museum is a song by Donovan, that was covered by Herman's Hermits. Their version peaked at #39 in the US in September 1967 but failed to chart in the UK....
" (originally recorded for the Sunshine Superman album
Sunshine Superman (album)
Sunshine Superman is the third album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in September 1966. but was not released in the United Kingdom because of a contractual dispute. In June 1967, a compilation of the Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow albums was...
and rerecorded for Mellow Yellow) and the title track, but is also tempered with world-weary observations of that scene ("Young Girl Blues"). The contractual problems that prevented the release of Donovan's music in the UK led him to write such songs as the resigned "Writer in the Sun", where he contemplates the possibility of his own forced retirement from the music business at age 20.
Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
's production and the arrangements of John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
accommodate these two divergent traits of Donovan's songwriting throughout Mellow Yellow. The peppier songs feature a diverse selection of instruments similar to Sunshine Superman and helped make a top 10 hit out of the title track on both sides of the Atlantic. The introspective ruminations feature sparse instrumentation that highlights Donovan's guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
playing, singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, and lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
.
On Mellow Yellow, Donovan gave a nod to his friend Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
on "House of Jansch", marking the third Donovan album in a row that paid tribute to the British folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
personage.
It has been rumored that Donovan's friend Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
whispers the "quite rightly" part of "Mellow Yellow", but this is actually whispered by Donovan. It is possible that Paul was in the studio crowd heard cheering at the end of the song but it has been contested whether or not Paul was there at all.
John Cameron - blues piano, harpsichord, arrangement
Legacy
According to a recent biography ("Darker Than The Deepest Sea: The Search For Nick Drake") the album was a significant influence on Nick DrakeNick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
.
Reissues
- On October 24, 1994, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
released Four Donovan Originals (EMI 7243 8 30867 2 6) in the UK. Four Donovan Originals is a compact discCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
box set containing four Donovan albums that were not previously released in the UK. Mellow Yellow is disc two of that set.
- On January 16, 2001, Collectables RecordsCollectables RecordsCollectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Greene was previously associated with New York City's Times Square Record Shop, Philadelphia's Record Museum retail chain, and the Lost Nite and Crimson record labels....
released Mellow Yellow/Wear Your Love Like Heaven (Collectables 6644), which contained all of Mellow Yellow and the first record of A Gift from a Flower to a GardenA Gift from a Flower to a GardenA Gift from a Flower to a Garden is the fifth album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, and marks the first double album of his career and one of the first box sets in rock music...
, Wear Your Love Like Heaven.
- On May 24, 2005, EMI reissued Mellow Yellow (EMI 8735672) with ten bonus tracks.
Original album
Side one- "Mellow YellowMellow Yellow"Mellow Yellow" is a song and single release by Donovan. It reached #2 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. in 1966 and #8 in the UK in early 1967....
" – 3:47 - "Writer in the Sun" – 4:33 +
- "Sand and Foam" – 3:19
- "The Observation" – 2:23
- "Bleak City Woman" – 2:24
Side two
- "House of Jansch" – 2:43
- "Young Girl Blues" – 3:45
- "MuseumMuseum (song)Museum is a song by Donovan, that was covered by Herman's Hermits. Their version peaked at #39 in the US in September 1967 but failed to chart in the UK....
" – 2:54 - "Hampstead Incident" – 4:41 +
- "Sunny South Kensington" – 3:48 +
2005 EMI CD version
The ten tracks as on the original release plus the following bonus tracks:- "Epistle to DippyEpistle to DippyEpistle to Dippy is a song and single by Donovan, released in 1967 only in the USA. It charted in the USA .Musicians featured are Donovan on vocals and acoustic guitar, Jimmy Page on electric guitar, John Cameron on keyboards and arrangement, Danny Thompson on bass and Tony Carr on drums...
" – 3:11 - "Preachin' Love" – 2:40
- "Good Time" – 1:54
- "There is a MountainThere Is a Mountain"There is a Mountain" is a song and single by Donovan, released in 1967. It charted in the USA and UK .Featured musicians are Donovan , Tony Carr on percussion, Harold McNair on flute and arrangement and Danny Thompson on bass.Chart positions: # 11 , # 9 , # 11 , # 8 The Allman...
" – 2:36 + - "Superlungs" – 3:17
- "Epistle to Dippy" – 3:13 +
- "Sidewalk (The Observation)" – 2:29
- "Writer in the Sun" – 3:30
- "Hampstead Incident" – 3:52
- "Museum" – 3:49