Sunshine Superman (1966)

Sunshine Superman is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States on 26 August 1966, but was not released in the UK because of a contractual dispute. In June 1967, a compilation of tracks from this album and the follow-up Mellow Yellow was released as Sunshine Superman in the UK.

The album featured Donovan's titular hit single, which was initially released in the US in July 1966. The album was Donovan's most successful, peaking at number 11 in the US and remaining on the Billboard Top LPs chart for six months. The 1967 UK edition peaked at number 25.

The tracks from Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow were not mixed into stereo, with the exception of the title track and "Season of the Witch" which appeared in that format on Donovan's Greatest Hits, until the 2011 2-CD deluxe edition issued by UK EMI.

Background

Donovan had enjoyed a year of chart success in both Britain and the United States through 1965, beginning with his first hit "Catch the Wind" that March. However, the singer had been stung by accusations of copying Bob Dylan's look and musical style and was now looking to break out of his established folk image; the jazz-classical backing on "Sunny Goodge Street" from his second album Fairytale pointed in a new direction. Around this same time toward the end of 1965 he suffered a breakup in his relationship with Linda Lawrence, who was unwilling to marry a pop star after a prior relationship (and child) with Brian Jones. The fallout of his relationship with Lawrence would inspire most of the new crop of songs he was writing, in which he pined for her presence and vowed he would win her back again.

In October Donovan's solicitor announced the termination of his contract with managers Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens (who had also co-produced his records up to that point), to be replaced by Ashley Kovack as his business manager and his father Donald Leitch as his personal manager. He signed a new deal with Clive Davis of CBS Records for distribution of his music in America, replacing his old US label Hickory. He was also introduced to producer Mickie Most, who was willing to explore the more progressive musical direction Donovan desired during the upcoming sessions.

Songs and recording

Donovan entered EMI studios at Abbey Road with Mickie Most and new arranger John Cameron on 19 December 1965 to work on the song inspired by his breakup with Lawrence. The word "sunshine" in the song's title was slang for LSD, and the song was given by Cameron a unique musical arrangement of electric bass and double bass, harpsichord, drums, percussion and electric guitars played by Eric Ford (who moved his foot pedal between bass and treble settings to achieve a distinctive sound) and Jimmy Page, which represented some of the first psychedelia on record. Satisfied with the result, most of the same musicians recorded what was intended to be the new single's flip side, "Sunny South Kensington", with the addition of Shawn Phillips on sitar. The single's release was set for 28 January 1966 which would have predated both The Byrds' "Eight Miles High" and The Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things" which, coincidentally, also began work the same week as "Sunshine Superman". The release date was postponed, however, when Donovan's UK label Pye claimed that they could not release a Mickie Most production, since he was contracted to EMI.

Undaunted, Donovan and Most continued to work on the album at Abbey Road through January and February 1966. Innovative chamber arrangements of strings, woodwinds, and harpsichord were added to "Bert's Blues" and "Legend of a Girl Child Linda", both recorded in February. Solo acoustic versions of these songs, along with "Hampstead Incident" and "House of Jansch" which would appear on the following Mellow Yellow, were performed as early as an October 1965 concert at Westfield High School, New Jersey. "Bert's Blues" and "House of Jansch" were penned in tribute to Donovan's friend, British folk personage Bert Jansch, while the artist claimed "Legend of a Girl Child Linda" had come to him in a dream, where he had seen himself composing it. These songs also referenced his intense desire to be with Lawrence, with her first name Linda providing inspiration for the title of the latter song, which was nearly seven minutes long. A similar chamber strings and woodwind arrangement was also recorded for "Guinevere", which was heard when Donovan appeared on Hullabaloo that March, although it would subsequently be re-recorded.