Donovan "Celtia - Unreleased Album"{UK}[1990](Folk Rock)

Guess everyone knows there was some sort of World Wide event happening in the Music Industry yesterday to promote the awareness of Global Catastrophe's arising due to the proliference of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

I dunno about you but, I have been aware of global problems in this area ever since my teens - Sort of a gift of the Psychedelic influences I had in my formative years. Third Eye stuff!

So. I get to thinking. Who - in their musical abilities would best suggest the theme the BIG boys wanted to push yesterday. Well, I could only think of Donovan. I love all his work. My favourites are Essence To Essence and Open Road. Essence to Essence contains the song "Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth" I wonder if Al Gore would choose to listen to what WE knew in 1973.

You see, Mysticism offers far more scope for imagination and delving into the unknown than science does. Not that Science is wrong - Indeed Science is excellent and can be combined in many ways with other areas of exploration.

The same goes for Religion!

OK. On to the album.

"Celtia" is an unreleased studio album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Had it been released it would most likely have appeared sometime during 1990. The music on the album was arranged by Maire Bhretnach and engineered by Dan Fitgerald.

Musicians:
• David Gilmour (guitar)
• Nigel Kennedy (violin)
• Sharon Shannon (box accordion, fiddle)
• Noël Bridgeman (congas, drums, percussion)
• Anthony Thistlewait (mandolin, slide mandolin)
• Colin Blakey (whistles, flutes)
• Eleonor McIvoy (violin, backing vocals)
• Maire Bhretnach (violin, celtic strings, backing vocals, electric violin)
• Dan Fitgerald (tambourine)
• Steeve Cooney (bass, didgeridoo, lead acoustic guitar, bass, finger picking guitar)
• Mandy Murphy (backing vocals)
• Astrella Celeste (spoken)

History:
In February 1990, Donovan entered Sulan Studios in Ireland to record tracks for what was likely intended to be his eighteenth studio album and nineteenth album overall. The songs were produced by Donovan's manager Patrick Hehir, who had recorded several of Donovan's concerts for Mellow Records throughout the 1980s. Those recordings would be released in 1990 as Rising in the UK, The Classics Live in the U.S., and 25 Years in Concert in Europe.

The songs recorded during the Celtia sessions were written at various stages throughout Donovan's life. "The Ferryman's Daughter" was originally written and recorded for Moon in Capricorn, another unreleased album whose sessions dated from 1968 and 1969. "Everlasting Sea" was reportedly written during the sessions for The Hurdy Gurdy Man and later appeared on Donovan's 1996 album Sutras. "Lover O Lover" was originally released on Donovan's 1981 album Love Is Only Feeling and later recorded and released on his 2004 album Beat Cafe.

While it is not publicly known why Celtia was not released, it has been speculated that Donovan and his manager and producer Patrick Hehir had disagreements about the running of Donovan's business affairs. Celtia was released in 2002 by Durga Records and was made available on Patrick Hehir's "Donovan's Friends" website. The album was quickly withdrawn, however, and that release of the album is now viewed as a bootleg.

An interesting piece of Trivia is the fact that there was a Bootleg called Donovan and the Waterboys - He appeared live with Colin Blakey and Sharon Shannon (Both of whom played on the Waterboys album "Room To Roam". Not missing a chance the Bootleggers released the concert as "Donovan And The Waterboys" - I guess their attempt at profiteering from both sets of fans. Note - Colin Blakey and Sharon Shannon appear on this album (As does Dave Gilmour and Nigel Kennedy). So maybe we should name this as Donovan and The Waterboys accompany Pink Floyd and Nigel Kennedy in the Studio!

Ok - Tracklisting:
01 - 3'52" - Watchin' The Sun Go Down - Feat Nigel Kennedy
02 - 2'40" - Moon Over Clare - Trad. Donovan sounding fresh.
03 - 3'19" - Glasgow Town - Let's get a Convention Goin'
04 - 3'47" - The Ferryman´s Daughter - Pure Magic (An Old Song).
05 - 8'36" - Ghost of Pagan Song - Donovan up close - Beneath the lonely tree. ***
06 - 3'59" - Where Are You Now - A Love Song - Unrequited.
07 - 2'30" - Living On Love - The Hope Of Man.
08 - 2'56" - Madrigalinda (On Neutronica - Wonderful song)
09 - 2'36" - Lake Isle of Innisfree (A Challenge to choose Peace)
10 - 4'56" - I Love You (I Love You All Too)
11 - 4'43" - Wahine (True Love)
12 - 4'36" - Down By The Harbour (Donovan Turns Tables)
13 - 3'46" - Against Your Will (Magic in the Air)
14 - 4'26" - Rock Me (Gilmour Appears)
15 - 4'49" - Love O´ Lover (Majestic Mover)
16 - 2'13" - Awakening Year (The Year Is Awakening)
17 - 4'17" - Everlasting Sea (Everlasting Sea - Everlasting Sea)