This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Yes, that Donovan. The Mellow Yellow fellow. The Sunshine Superman man.
Only, get this: he’s not a hippie anymore. Now he’s a beatnik. No, really. On the fittingly titled and enjoyably laid back Beat Cafe — his first disc in eight years — the Hurdy-Gurdy Man trades in his Nehru jacket and love beads for a comfortable black turtleneck and beret. Along the way, he also refits his strummy acoustic guitar, poppy melodies and hushed vocals with snappy boho jazz, Tom Waitsian coffeehouse blues and Bob Dylanesque folk-rock. Of course, you know it’s Donovan because he still writes silly-ass zen gibberish like “yin my yang” and “holla ma golla aholla.” Which only goes to show: Once a hippie, always a hippie.
