Donovan: Mystic Troubadour or Dylan Wannabe?
Donavan has been a beguiling figure in the history of popular music, but for many he’s seen as a kind of British verison of Bob Dylan – and a pale faxcimile at that. But is that a fair assessment?
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@astolatpere11
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I listen to Donovan's '66 – '70 lps often.
@micosenor3148
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
~ deffo not a dylan wannabe , sure donovan admired bob's work , and maybe magpied bits of tunes , but donovan shines with his own light . I could name many songs of his that I love . Catch the wind …. was this an unconscious copy of the blowing in the wind theme .. ? Check out don's song 'mister wind ' . Donovan was my inspiration as a teen , still is .. met him a couplo times .
@cookster1001
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
Love Donovan. Particularly the years 65-73. ‘A gift from a flower to a garden’ is just wonderful
@ARIZJOE
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
In the 60s, Donovan was Romantic with a capital "R." He used the past, the exotic, and the remote to make art. I agree with the insightful distinctions here between Donovan and Dylan. Dylan was a poetic lyricist and great, great songwriter. But years ago, I found him bleak. Donovan was not only more of a mainstream artist, he had that Gaelic mysticism element, his unusual guitar picking, friendship with Beatles, and use of first-rate studio musicians to make great records.
@johnnykawakid
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
Definitely not a Dylan copycat. Love Donovan too. Great musican. Keep the videos coming man.
@gregmackinnon3663
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
The "Dylan knockoff" accusations always struck me as absurd. Dylan frequently raided the song traditions of the British isles for inspiration, and here was poor Donovan, an Irish Scot steeped in ancient Celtic music, being accused of ripping him off!
@stevemalek2970
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I don't know all his songs, but I do enjoy what I have heard. Would love to see an albums ranking of his.
@njandrews4105
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
Donovan is tenfold more real than Bob Dylan that’s not even his real name.. Donovan could and has out-sing, out-play guitar and out-write Dylan any day
@michaelyeiter2447
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I'm American and I feel Robert Zimmerman is Mind amd Body 💪… but Donovan is Spirit ⭐💫💥✨ and Body too!
@JWilgus57
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I absolutely love Donovan! The album he released in 1973 "Cosmic Wheels" is brilliant and the song "The Intergalactic Laxative" still brings a smile to me. I never understood the needless comparison to Dylan back in the day. Donovan, being a Scot, brought a wonderful, seemingly mystic Celtic vibe to his work, whilst Dylan was pent up in NYC at first struggling to fit in the the Beat generation poets and imitating Woody Guthrie.
I'll take the chap speaking from the Celtic side of life any day, it beats the misery of life in the U.S.
@maxcuthbert100
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I suspect he started out as a Jansch wannabe ! Especially the early stuff ; he covered at least two of Jansch's songs, wrote another dedicated to Bert and seemed besotted with the man- much more than he ever was with Dylan.
@elderhiker7787
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
My Opinion: I loved Donovan’s music. I never saw him in juxtaposition to Dylan. They were two totally different kinds of performers. I must confess., however, Donovan resonated with me because I was heavily influenced by the zen/meditation movement and Donovan’s music had an other-worldly quality to it. Bob Dylan was protesting societal norms and I was moving into transcendental meditation. Donovan was my guy and Dylan was not. Double thumbs up to Donovan.
@ndogg20
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
The Dylan Complex: John Cougar Mellencamp reflecting on being called a Springsteen wannabe replied something along the lines that when Springsteen was coming up, he was called a Dylan Wannabe.
Couldn't think of more artists who have less in common other then they started in the same pop music genre.
@Af1st1
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
Donovan is fantastic they are ground breaking albums in folk and fantastic sixties hippie and rock!I cannot pick an album from the 60s which is not great!The albums came out with a load of great unreleased material and worth getting! I do not like Bob never got on with his voice!I prefer covers of his songs which many artists made great versions of over the years!Donovan to me is better!
@Misfitnz8
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
Yes I love Donovan music very much
@sixbladeknife44
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
He’s always been a bit hit or miss for me, but he’s always been prolific and there certainly are some exceptional tunes. Sand and Foam has always been a big favorite of mine.
@sspbrazil
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I love Donovan. He’s quite different than Dylan and a great artist in his own right.
@shoogerkane
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I like Donovan very much. Maybe not quite as much as Dylan, but not because I think there is any comparison. That whole thing is stupid.
@TheVanmanderpootz
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
My favourite album of all time is "Open Road" (1970) – there , finally I have admitted it. It annoys me that it is hardly ever mentioned. I also like "Essence To Essence" too.
@234cheech
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
donovan was a scottish folk geinus
@gjermundification
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
To me Donovan is a one hit wonder; and for me it's all about Hurdy Gurdy man.
@johannasaninocencio7458
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
Donovan has been one of my favorite artists since I discovered music. The Dylan comparisons weren’t really fair and I believe they were cultivated by the recording industry.
@donovantooley8707
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I'm clearly biased, as my parents named me Donovan, but I remember first hearing of him on a beat up record of his greatest hits my dad had. I still cherish that record to this day, as it is now in my collection.
@danaaronmusic
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I never got to know a lot of Donovan's music, but I'll say this: if you want to experience something truly beautiful, 1972 style, watch Brother Sun, Sister Moon, a Zeffirelli film featuring songs by Donovan.
@kevinericsongs
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
'gypsy' is out of bounds now? i can't keep up with this stuff
@davidrauh8118
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
I've been a Donovan fan since I bought the LP Sunshine Superman the year it was released. I confess I prefer his acoustic stuff as opposed to his more Rock n Roll electric music. For Little Ones, HMS Donovan and Love Is Only Feeling I my 3 favorite albums. And the last two I mentioned were never released in the States. Beat Cafe is another tasty treat, a bit more jazzy but lovely at the same time.
@syater
January 19, 2026 at 11:07 pm
Wow, what an insightful articulation of Donovan's art. I'm no Donovan expert, but seems to me, as songwriter, the change for Donovan appears to start during summer 1965, after Dylan's UK tour and Newport. Although he probably still had a few older songs to release, I think Sunny Goodge Street was a sign Donovan might have been rethinking Dylan, just as Dylan was himself turning from the constraints of Guthrie/protest mold. Goodge is still a bit beatnik, with an almost a Leonard Cohen feel, lyrically. But ultimately his pastoral-psychedelic sails were starting to unfurl.
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