DONOVAN.

Description

March 1973 Japanese concert tour program 

Large original program book lavishly produced for Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan’s March 1973 Japanese tour, presented by Kyodo Tokyo. The 6-date tour commenced at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on 17th March and ended at the Welfare Pension Hall in Osaka on 26th March, 1973. The Japanese tour captured Donovan in an intimately creative, transitional phase. Unlike his electric, full-band tours of the late 1960s, the 1973 Japanese shows featured Donovan in a completely solo acoustic setting. Accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, his performances showcased his pure storytelling and pristine vocals. At the time of the tour, Donovan had just released his hit album Cosmic Wheels and was beginning to write songs for the next project, Essence to Essence. Instead of relying heavily on his massive 1960s chart-toppers like “Mellow Yellow” or “Sunshine Superman”, Donovan purposely designed a setlist filled with obscurities, deeper cuts, and completely unreleased songs. Apart from “Hurdy Gurdy Man” and Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Universal Soldier”, the shows featured rare live gems like “Only the Blues”, “Sadness”, “A Working Man”, and “Tinker Tune.” The definitive historical record of this tour is the live album Live in Japan – Spring Tour 1973. The audio was captured professionally across two back-to-back nights in Osaka on 25th & 26th March. Originally produced by Toshiyuki Sugano, Epic Records released the live vinyl LP exclusively in Japan in 1974. Because it was locked behind Japanese distribution and featured songs unavailable anywhere else, it became a highly sought-after holy grail for Western vinyl collectors for decades. Donovan was accompanied on the trip by his wife Linda Lawrence and their close family friend, film director Anthony Foutz. Foutz shot a fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary of the couple’s travels, sightseeing, and concert experiences titled Yellow Star. The film remained unreleased in the archive for 50 years.

In original illustrated dull-coated wrappers, staple bound, 25.6 x 36.3 cm, 32 pp. All text in Japanese. In excellent complete condition, tightly bound and clean.