DONOVAN: "COSMIC WHEELS"

ORIGINAL RELEASED AS LP EPIC SEPC 65450
(UK 1973, March 24)
SIDE 1
Cosmic Wheels (4:10)
Earth Sign Man (4:03)
Sleep (3:53)
Maria Magenta (2:20)
Wild Witch Lady (4:35)
SIDE 2
The Music Makers (4:29)
The Intergalactic Laxative (2:53)
I Like You (5:22)
Only The Blues (3:18)
Appearances (3:44)

Line Up:
Donovan: vocals / guitars / strings
Chris Spedding: guitars / strings / bouzouki
Clive Chaman: bass
Phil Chen: bass
Cozy Powell: drums
Alan White: drums
Pat Halling: violin
Bobby Keys: sax
Notes:

All compositions by Donovan Leitch
Produced by Donovan and Michael Peter Hayes
Engineered by Mike Bobak
at Morgan Studios, London, 1972
Cover Designed by John Kosh & Donovan
Photography by Tony Evans
The Cosmic Wheels sessions were recorded in Morgan Studios in London, England. In the UK at that time, glam rock ruled the top of the charts, defined by bands and artists such as T. Rex, Alice Cooper, and David Bowie among others. Several of these bands and artists claimed Donovan as a key influence in their music. This praise coupled with the chart success of the genre likely had great influence on the musical direction Cosmic Wheels would take.

There are some amazing and powerful orchestrations on this album, particularly on the title track, arranged by Chris Spedding. "Intergalactic Laxative" is pretty funny - a traditional folk song about poop and pee. Yes, it's crude but the lyrics are clever and funny. "Maria Magenta" is the obvious pop hit and the song "I like you" is really the high point - great lyrics, great arrangement, and a haunting melody.

Cosmic Wheels reached the top 20 in both the US and UK, enjoying the same chart success as many of Donovan's previous albums. By 1973 the music business had shifted to promoting album-oriented rock, relegating singles to less promotion and fewer sales. An edited form of "I Like You" reached #66 in the U.S. and became the last charting single Donovan would have.