Once upon a time there was a singer called Donovan. He was trumpeted as Britain’s answer to Dylan and his hits included Mellow Yellow. This was back in 1967. Fast forward to the year 2005. There is a new 'Britain’s answer to Dylan'. It may interest you to know that his name is also Donovan. Edd Donovan. Mellow Indeed Edd Donovan’s EP Paint It What You Like is a folky, whimsical collection of eight tracks. If you believe the back cover, they were recorded in one take each by the aptly named 'One Take Heroes' (Edd Donovan on vocals and guitar, Mark Peters on lead and John Vickers on bass). The songs are divided into two types. Some of them are quiet, optimistic numbers: "There’s not a lot you can’t do", Donovan sings on You Can Do (Whatever) while on Show Goes On there is the promise that "side by side we can make things right." Elsewhere the tracks are just as quiet but slightly less well disposed towards the world. "You may think you’re so well educated, you may think you’re going places, but you’re not" is the message of Show Goes On. Meanwhile the final (and possibly best) track, Idiot, rants against people who are "slaves to your ideas and your moods/fed from the day you were born with a silver spoon." It’s the fieriest song on the E.P. and does the job perfectly. Edd Donovan’s Blues Life, according to the Gospel of Edd is something to be cherished. Something we should make the most of. He will either praise those who share his ambition or decry those who lack the creativity to seize the day. And This One’s Called… The music itself is subtle, refreshing – chill out music for the more intelligent listener. The Dylan comparisons are not necessarily out of place. Rather quirkily, Donovan introduces some of the tracks with the a mumbled title giving the recording a more live feel. "I’ll Be Home Soon", he whispers into your ear before the jangling guitar melody commences. It all adds to the intimacy of the recording – as if it’s a concert performed for an audience of one. The Show Must Go On Paint It What You Like is a simplistic collection of songs in the purest and most positive sense of the word: stripped down to the bare essentials, allowing all the goodness to come out. Here is a vulnerable singer/songwriter writing heart-on-sleeve lyrics and tunes that will touch your soul. Listen with a tear in your eye, a glass of wine in your hand and the faintest of smiles on your face. Everything’s going to be all right after all. | 
