Donovan - Moon in Capricorn (1969)

Donovan released his sixth studio album in October 1968 through Epic Records. Titled Hurdy Gurdy Man, it was again produced by Mickie Most and came on the heels of the highly successful "Hurdy Gurdy Man" single. Centered around pop songwriting and some drone-influenced tracks, it followed the steps of previous Donovan albums such as Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow, with a nice mix of folk music and psychedelic pop. Following its release, Donovan toured the United States extensively in late 1968, appearing in many TV shows and performing live throughout the country. In between his appearances, the singer booked time at the American Recording Company in LA that November to begin recording his next LP. There, he recorded such songs as "Moon in Capricorn", supposed to be the title track to the follow-up to Hurdy Gurdy Man, as well as other unrelated songs such as "I Love My Shirt" and "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting", which would end up in Barabajagal. Recording sessions meant both for the Moon in Capricorn project and for singles and different projects continued into early 1969. However, at the same time, Donovan's relationship with producer Mickie Most was quickly deteriorating, with the two severing their professional collaboration for good in mid-1969. 

As a result of the breakup between the artist and producer, the Moon in Capricorn album was then left unfinished, and Donovan quickly gathered together an album made up of May 1968 outtakes, some early 1969 recordings with the Jeff Beck Group and other odds and ends and released as Barabajagal in August 1969. Most of what we now know to have been a part of the project was later released on HMS Donovan in 1971 or left unreleased until the To Try for the Sun box set came out. That leaves us with the question: what if Donovan had released Moon in Capricorn? To answer that, we first need to set up some rules. Nothing that was later made part of Barabajagal can be included, in other to make the two companion pieces and standalone albums. Other than that, we'll include everything we know was meant for the album and is available to us at the moment, as most songs were short, acoustic children's songs, and that way you can comfortably fit seven or more tracks on one side. Preferably Mickie Most-produced tracks, even though due to the more stripped-down nature of the album you can't really tell who produced most of these songs. Anyway, not to further extend myself, here's the album:

Celia of the Seals (HMS Donovan)
Moon in Capricorn (To Try for the Sun)
John Riley (Buried Treasures)

The Unicorn (HMS Donovan)

She Moved Through the Fair (To Try for the Sun)

Wily O'Winsboro (Buried Treasures)

Can Ye Dance (HMS Donovan)

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In an Old Fashioned Picture Book (HMS Donovan)

Song of the Wandering Aengus (HMS Donovan)
The Travelling People (To Try for the Sun)
Lord of the Reedy River (HMS Donovan)

The Owl and the Pussycat (HMS Donovan)

The Ferryman's Daughter (To Try for the Sun)

Mr. Wind (HMS Donovan)

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod (HMS Donovan)

Bonus track:
The Walrus and the Carpenter (HMS Donovan)

Download link:
Donovan - Moon in Capricorn (1969) 

Donovan at his farm, sometime in 1969.

Out of the sixteen songs that we know were meant for the Moon in Capricorn album, only one hasn't been released in any form, "A Jewel Day". Of the remaining fifteen, a whopping nine were released in the double HMS Donovan in 1971, including the minor hit "Celia of the Seals". Because of that, we will be mimicking whenever possible the tracklist to HMS Donovan, as most songs were included there and the context of the album highlighted those nine tracks very well. As for the other six, four were released on the To Try for the Sun box set, including the title track, while the remaining two, were only released on the Buried Treasures series after versions recorded in 1970 at Morgan Studios were discovered. Not from these sessions, but for the time being, close enough. As for outtakes, even though he demoed "The Walrus and the Carpenter" alongside "Mr. Wind" and "Unicorn" with Paul McCartney in 1968, we aren't sure the song was meant for the album. And since the album is well over forty minutes without it, I'm comfortable enough to leave it out, just to be safe. With that, we only need to add those new six songs in between our HMS Donovan cornerstones and we have a finished album.

Clocking in at 42 minutes with two sides that are roughly the same length, Moon in Capricorn is a gentle, acoustic album that more closely resembles the For Little Ones disc of the A Gift from a Flower to a Garden double LP than any other Donovan album up to that point. It's a departure from his psychedelic pop sound to be sure, but a welcome one at this stage of his career, certainly making for a much more concise listen than Barabajagal. I have little doubt the lead single off the album would be "Celia of the Seals", a nice catchy song that had no trouble becoming a minor hit three years after being recorded in 1971. I'm sure "Celia" would have done even better at a time Donovan was an established artist and guaranteed presence at the top of the charts, helping the album to a very respectable chart position. The faux-psychedelic and astrology-inspired front cover is courtesy of myself, as I couldn't help making the cover be a goat surrounded by stars. And I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out! It's a shame Donovan couldn't realize his vision for this project, as he surely had some great songs ready before his estrangement from Most put a stop to this. Oh well, maybe the stars weren't right.

Sources:
- Donovan - HMS Donovan

- Donovan - To Try for the Sun

- Donovan - Buried Treasures

- Donovan - Moon in Capricorn