A Gift from a Garden to a Flower: A Tribute to Donovan

by Gift From A Garden To A / Vario

Overview

A Gift From a Garden to a Flower: A Tribute to Donovan features 18 Donovan songs covered by bands who travel in the Darla universe of indie pop and rock. Pas/Cal starts the collection off right with a joyous, sunshine-filled take of "Oh Gosh," complete with a surprisingly good trombone solo. Most of what follows is first-rate turn-of-the-millennium indie music as well. Highlights include My Morning Jacket's lush and spooky take on "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," the Photon Band's trippy West Coast-influenced "To Sing for You," Great Lakes' echoey and beautiful version of "Teen Angel," and Ashley Park's stately country-rock redo of "Widow With a Shawl (A Portrait)." One of the most interesting aspects of a tribute compilation is to see what kind of liberties the artists take with the source material. For the most part, the groups here are a respectful lot, but Sweet Trip winningly turns "Sunny Goodge Street" into a glitchy, bubbly dance track; Lenola turns "Atlantis" into an eight-minute guitar freak-out; and the unfortunately named Watoo Watoo turns "Jennifer Juniper" into a low-key, slinky bit of indie electronica. As with most compilations, there are a few less-than-stellar moments scattered here and there among the gems. Some of the bands let down their side with weak vocals (Lowlights, Screen Prints) and some treat Donovan's tunes too seriously and turn them into dirges (Pale Horse and Rider, the Blood Group). The low point of the disc is Color Filter's ill-advised destruction of "Hurdy Gurdy Man," which manages to combine bad arrangements and weak singing. Still, for the most part the record is a success, full of energy and fine songs. A Gift From a Garden to a Flower: A Tribute to Donovan is worth picking up just to hear the track by 2002's most exciting new pop group, Pas/Cal. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	11/19/2002
Label:	Darla Distribution
UPC:	0708527013021
Rank:	145572

Tracks

1. Oh Gosh  -  Donovan  -  PasCal
2. Wear Your Love Like Heaven  -  Donovan  -  My Morning Jacket
3. To Sing for You  -  Donovan  -  Photon Band
4. The Fat Angel  -  Orange Alabaster Mushroom
5. There Is an Ocean  -  Pale Horse and Rider
6. Sadness  - Alsage Lorraine
7. The Divine Daze of Deathless Delight  -  Scarboro Aquarium Club
8. Jersey Thursday  -  Donovan  -  Greater California
9. Widow With Shawl (A Portrait)  -  Ashley Park  -  Donovan
10. Catch the Wind  -  Donovan  -  Lowlights
11. Celeste  -  Screen Prints
12. Teen Angel  -  Great Lakes  - Jean Surrey  - Red Surrey
13. Jennifer Juniper  -  Watoo Watoo
14. Colours  -  Blood Group
15. Sunny Goodge Street  -  Donovan  -  Sweet Trip
16. Hurdy Gurdy Man  -  Color Filter  -  Donovan
17. Mellow Yellow  -  Ciao Bella  -  Donovan
18. Atlantis  -  Lenola

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Screen Prints   Primary Artist
Alsage Lorraine   Primary Artist
Ciao Bella   Primary Artist
Pas/Cal   Primary Artist
Great Lakes   Primary Artist
Lenola   Primary Artist
Scarboro Aquarium Club   Primary Artist
Lowlights   Primary Artist
The Blood Group   Primary Artist
Pale Horse and Rider   Primary Artist
Sweet Trip   Primary Artist
Ashley Park   Primary Artist
Watoo Watoo   Primary Artist
Photon Band   Primary Artist
Orange Alabaster Mushroom   Primary Artist
My Morning Jacket   Primary Artist
Color Filter   Primary Artist
Greater California   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Jean Surrey   Composer
Donovan   Composer
Red Surrey   Composer