The ’80s weren’t too kind to Donovan Leitch, and he retired from studio projects after “Lady Of The Stars” was out in 1984. It would take the veteran another twelve years to come up with “Sutras” – the the Rick Rubin-produced album that demonstrated public respect for the singer-songwriter, even though the platter didn’t find any commercial success – but 1990 saw the artist try and get back on track with a record which PolyGram passed up on and which his manager attempted to release as a bootleg. Titled “One Night In Time” and originally issued on cassette to accompany a fanzine, that artifact has seen the light of day now, as part of the great Scot’s celebration of his six decades in the business.
Rechristened “What’s A Girl” and laid down in the company of such luminaries as Robbie Blunt, Danny Thompson, Jim Keltner and Moya Brennan, it contains two more tracks than the unofficial release, so there’s a dozen cuts on the previously “lost” album: eleven penned by Donovan and a cover of “The Sensitive Kind” by J.J. Cale. At the time, it’s out only in digital form, yet the hard-copy variant might be in the cards as well.
What’s A Girl
1. What’s A Girl
2. Do You Belong
3. One Night In Time
4. Forever Your Love
5. Dear Heart
6. When All The World Is Young
7. The White Gold Ring
8. The Sensitive Kind
9. Only For You
10. American Girl
11. Runaway
12. There Are No Roads
