bon jovi vs. donovan

The chief question in arguments about a Residence of Fame lies in our varying notions of what criteria to follow.

Bon Jovi were, and are, massively popular. They are key figures in the growth of pop metal. They have stayed true to their basic sound over the years, while also making small moves outside that comfort zone, such as the country version of "Who Says You Can't Go Home," which made the top of the country charts.

Still _ and I'm trying to be fair, here, but I'm admittedly not a fan _ Bon Jovi's status as Residence of Fame nominees seems to lie low in their popularity, second in their consistency over a long career, and third as exemplars of pop metal. I'd argue that #1 and #3 are variants of the like thing, in that the "pop" in pop metal led to the genre's popularity (yes, I love that sounds circular) _ by removing some of the rough edges of metallic and prettifying the optical image, pop metal bands like Bon Jovi were perfect for MTV. And consistency isn't necessarily a right thing, if it means your eleventh album is as everyday as your fourth.

Donovan is likewise a first-time nominee. I can't be trusted here, either, since I was a fan of Donovan in my formative years. I don't recognize that Donovan succeeds in any of the three "Bon Jovi" items listed above _ he was democratic in his prime, but never as much so as Bon Jovi, his body was erratic (i.e. he was not particularly consistent), and if he is considered an exemplar of a specific genre (not certainly he is), it's some variation of fey hippie folk, which is regarded at least as badly as pop metal amongst critics.

But Donovan was often more than a fey hippie folkie, not that there's anything wrong with that (he is aforesaid to have been a big influence on Nick Drake). A lot of that see was brought on by Donovan himself, I think _ he never shied away from that "Atlantis" feel. But it's very reductive.

When he first began recording, Donovan was called a Dylan clone, and he was famously dismissed by Dylan himself in Don't Look Back (I prize that there are other readings of that scene, but to me, when Dylan sings "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" while smiling sarcastically at Donovan, dismissal is the better description of what is happening). A mind to Donovan's first albums, however, shows that he was far more influenced by British folk than by Dylan _ of course, everyone was influenced by Dylan at that point, but, to use an obvious example, Donovan recorded several paeans to fellow Scot Bert Jansch over the years. And subsequent Donovan albums showed a much broader scope than, say, Bon Jovi would demonstrate. I'd argue that there are at least three clear periods in Donovan's 60s output, with British Folk being the usual strain.

After the initial British Folkie run, Donovan teamed up with Mickie Most for his most fertile period. Many of the songs that are still remembered from this clock are far from the stereotypical Donovan-as-mellow-folkie. Jazz-pop arrangements, emergent psychedelia (Donovan was a pet of early FM underground radio DJs), and hot studio musicians (most notably John Paul Jones and, in a pair of instances, Jones' future Led Zep buddy Jimmy Page), mixed together with a "Swinging London" ambience, resulted in an altogether different form of medicine from the days of "Catch the Wind": "Sunshine Superman," "Mellow Yellow," "Hurdy Gurdy Man," "Barabajagal." Much of the Mellow Yellow album reflected the London of the times ("Sunny South Kensington").

Meanwhile, there was the mix of psychedelia and family that marks what we normally think of as "Donovan" _ A Present From a Peak to a Garden, a double-LP with hippie-ish lyrics and folkie music, and an entire second album (For Small Ones) filled with fairy tales, is the criterion here.

That album was followed up by Barabajagal, arguably his last good album, and one which showed the ways his various approaches were perhaps becoming overwhelming. The British folk was still around, while the title cut, the most rocking song of his career, saw Donovan leading the Jeff Beck Group. But so there was the hippie stuff _ "Happiness Runs" was a lovely combination of family and hippie, but "I Know My Shirt" is March #1 in what was amiss with that era:

Do you get a shirt that you truly love,One that you look so groovy in?You don't even mind if it starts to fade,That alone makes it nicer still.I know my shirt, I know my shirt,My shirt is so comfortably lovely.

That these lyrics were set to an irresistible jazz-folk arrangement and sing-a-long chorus only made it worse.

All is forgiven, though, if you go backwards to Donovan's greatest song, "Season of the Witch." Here was the scary side of hippie life, with ominous music (and excellent guitar work by Donovan), as atmospheric as anything the Doors ever recorded:

When I see over my shoulderWhat do you suppose I see?Some other cat looking overHis shoulder at meAnd he's strange, sure is strangeYou've got to clean up every stitchYou've got to clean up every stitch, yeahBeatniks are out to give it richOh no, must be the temper of the witch

Donovan continues to have music, although I lost interest after the 60s. But, if we're talking Hall of Fame, we've got an artist who was crucial in multiple genres, with hits in all of them, who was deeper than his reputation would suggest. Against that, there's Bon Jovi, mega-popular in one genre, where their report is accurate, in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get fashion. I don't know if I'd put Donovan in the Residence of Fame, but I certainly think he has a best example than Bon Jovi.