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What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid

 
Album Review: What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid

  • Artist: Donovan
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: May 14, 1965
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Donovan's album debut, What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid, presented his breakout British single "Catch the Wind" and added an assortment of pleasant folkie jams. Though he was often derided at the time as a pale imitation of Bob Dylan, there isn't a lot of evidence here; true, he does cover a Woody Guthrie song ("Car Car Riding in My Car") and gives it some twang worthy of the master, but his style is his own, slanted toward the mysticism of British folk less than the earthiness of its American cousin. Donovan summons the proper age-old weariness for "Goldwatch Blues," gets a bit bluesy for "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond," and lets it all hang out for "Keep on Truckin'." ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Josie Donovan (3:28)
Catch the Wind [Album Version: No Strings] Donovan (2:56)
Remember the Alamo (Lyrics) Donovan (3:04)
Cuttin' Out Donovan (2:19)
Car Car (Riding in My Car) Donovan (1:31)
Keep on Truckin' Traditional Donovan (1:50)
Goldwatch Blues Donovan (2:33)
To Sing for You Donovan (2:45)
You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond (Lyrics) Traditional Donovan (4:04)
Tangerine Puppet Donovan (1:51)
Donna Donna Donovan (2:56)
Ramblin' Boy Donovan (2:32)

Credits

Donovan (Guitar), Donovan (Harmonica), Donovan (Arranger), Donovan (Vocals), Donovan (Main Performer), Gypsy Dave (?), Brian Locking (Bass), Skip Alan (Drums), Phil Smee (Package Design), Antony Amos (Project Coordinator), Steve Hammonds (Project Coordinator)
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Wikipedia: What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid
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What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid
(Catch the Wind, USA-title)
Studio album by Donovan
Released 14 May 1965 (UK)
June 1965 (USA)
Recorded Feb-Mar 1965, Peer Music, Denmark Street, London
Genre Folk music
Length 31:50
Label Pye NPL18117 (UK)
Hickory LPM 123 (USA)
Producer Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, Geoff Stephens
Professional reviews
Donovan chronology
What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid
(1965)
Fairytale
(1965)
Singles from What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid
  1. "Catch the Wind" b/w "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?"
    Released: March 1965
  2. "Josie" b/w "Little Tin Soldier"
    Released: Feb 1966
  3. "Remember the Alamo" b/w "The Ballad of a Crystal Man"
    Released: April 1966, withdrawn
  4. "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" b/w "The Little Tin Soldier"
    Released: November 1965, USA
1996 reissue
Sequel Records version (Catch the Wind)
2002 reissue
Sanctuary Records (slipcover)

What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid is the debut album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United Kingdom four days after Donovan's 19th birthday on 14 May 1965, through Pye Records (catalog number NPL 18117). Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, and Geoff Stephens produced the album. What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid was released in the United States as Catch the Wind on Hickory Records in June 1965. Hickory Records changed the title to match that of Donovan's debut single.

Contents

History

In late 1964, Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens offered Donovan a recording contract with Pye Records in the United Kingdom. Donovan had performed around Britain and had become well known in British folk circles before his record contract. His 1964 demo tapes (released as Sixty Four in 2004) show a great resemblance to both Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, which probably prompted the "British answer to Bob Dylan" press line that was subsequently released. What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid is notable because it captures Donovan at a point where his style and vision were starting to significantly diverge from those of Guthrie and Dylan.

The music primarily consists of Donovan singing and playing mouth harp and acoustic guitar, much like his live performances of the time. He still had some vestiges of Woody Guthrie's style, and covers Guthrie's "Riding in My Car (Car Song)" here (retitled "Car Car"). What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid also includes British folk ("Tangerine Puppet") and even some jazz ("Cuttin' Out").

Donovan rerecorded "Catch the Wind" for the album, which was initially released as his debut single in the United Kingdom on 12 March 1965.

Other musicians featured on the album are Brian Locking on bass, Skip Alan (from the Pretty Things) on drums, and Gypsy Dave on kazoo.

Reissues

  • On 13 September 1968, What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid was reissued in an edited form (Marble Arch Records MAL 795) in the UK. "Car Car" and "Donna Donna" were both removed from the album, possibly because they were not written by Donovan.
  • On 26 February 1996, Sequel Records reissued What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid in the U.S. under its U.S. title Catch the Wind on compact disc. Three bonus tracks were added to the track listing. The first bonus track, "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?", was released as the B-side to Donovan's UK debut single. The second bonus track is the A-side of Donovan's UK debut single. The third bonus track, "Every Man Has His Chain", was originally released on Donovan's Catch the Wind EP in France.
  • On 22 January 2002, Sanctuary Records reissued the complete What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid for the first time on compact disc, although a CD for the U.S. version, Catch the Wind, was released six years earlier. The CD features four bonus tracks. The first two tracks are Donovan's debut single "Catch the Wind" (a different take than the album track) and its b-side "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?". The third bonus track "Every Man Has His Chain" was once a rare track in Donovan's discography, and was originally released on the French EP Catch the Wind in 1965. Donovan's second single "Colours" is also released here, in a version different from the one included on the Fairytale album.

Track listing

Original album (UK)

Side 1

  1. "Josie" (Donovan Leitch) – 3:28
  2. "Catch the Wind" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:56
  3. "Remember the Alamo" (Jane Bowers) – 3:04
  4. "Cuttin' Out" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:19
  5. "Car Car" (Woody Guthrie) – 1:31
  6. "Keep on Truckin'" (traditional; arranged by Donovan Leitch) – 1:50

Side 2

  1. "Gold Watch Blues" (Mick Softley) – 2:33
  2. "To Sing for You" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:45
  3. "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" (traditional; arranged by Donovan Leitch) – 4:04
  4. "Tangerine Puppet" (Donovan Leitch) – 1:51
  5. "Donna Donna" (Aaron Zeitlin, Sholom Secunda, Arthur S Kevess, Teddi Schwartz) – 2:56
  6. "Ramblin' Boy" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:33

1996 Sequel Records CD-reissue (Title: Catch the Wind)

The original album plus the following bonus tracks:

  1. "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:56
  2. "Catch the Wind" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:18
  3. "Every Man Has His Chain" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:09

2002 Sanctuary Records CD-reissue

The original album plus the following bonus tracks

  1. "Catch the Wind" (single version with strings) (Donovan Leitch) – 2:18
  2. "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?" (single b-side) (Donovan Leitch) – 2:56
  3. "Every Man Has His Chain" (French EP track) (Donovan Leitch) – 2:12
  4. "Colours" (single version) (Donovan Leitch) – 2:45

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid" Read more