In Brief
Rick Rubin’s spare, “unplugged” production on Donovan’s first studio album in 13 years is lovely but too reverent, overemphasizing the erstwhile psychedelic troubadour’s mannered poetics. Despite beautiful moments, including the love ballad “Please Don’t Bend,” Donovan’s focus on Buddhist themes eventually seems like an attempt to fit his former hippie-guru persona into a new-age-guru mold. Even with several guest performances, this emotionally flat effort has disappointingly little personality.
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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).
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