An alternately stalking and storming rendition of the Donovan tune, featuring Vinnie Bell on electric sitar and tabla flavorings from Ed Shaugnessy (!). Jazz/funk firepower minus the fusion wank.
David Axelrod leads ol' Lou through a pent-up take on the Donovan classic. Starts out slow, building momentum as it draws to a fantastic close.
from the single Season of the Witch (Capitol) available on CD - Classic Soul (Magnum Midprice)
14 Apr 05 ·Goes Up To 11: And definitely don't miss the 1968 cover of "Season of the Witch" by Vanilla Fudge -- an absolute triumph of excessive bombast! The phrase "over the top" barely begins to capture that performance. It will leave you shaking your head in amazement at the sheer audacity and monumental bad taste, but it is so much fun! 07 Dec 05 ·Swinging London: Lou Rawls never really cut it for me.
Sounds like '60's soul for housewives.
His voice sounds strained a lot of the time.
I feel like very few people fully appreciate the music of Donovan, which is a shame because he may be the greatest musician of the psychedelic era in the 60's. Atlantis is his best song. A sort of whimsical and beautiful song which tells the story of the lost continent. Probably the best psychedelic song there is. It lacks the self-indulgent meandering that plagued the Grateful Dead, and lacks the obvious drug references of most psychedelic music. It's not overly rock and roll, but not overly folk either. A brilliant song with a very strong, beautiful melody.
