Mellow Yellow (Donovan)

• 19 Sep 15:38
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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)

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 music 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...

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