Donny Hathaway - Donny Hathaway

1. Giving Up
2. A Song For You
3. Little Girl
4. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
5. Magnificent Sanctuary Band
6. She Is My Lady
7. I Believe In Magic
8. Take A Love Song

Donny Hathaway’s self-titled follow-up to his debut album “Everything Is Everything” was released in April 1971 and can certainly be regarded as a counterexample to the notorious “difficult second album”. With this collection of cover versions, the artist, who suffered from depression throughout his life, demonstrated not only his talent but also his impeccable taste. For “Donny Hathaway”, he covered Leon Russell’s “A Song For You” from Russell’s debut album, which at that time was barely a year old. Hathaway’s passionately performed version is so good that many listeners are still surprised when they discover that the song is actually a cover version.

With fantastic interpretations of songs by Billy Preston (“Little Girl”), Mac Davis (“I Believe In Music”) and Van McCoy (“Giving Up”), the record may not have reached the very highest chart positions, but it did cement Hathaway’s reputation as a gifted soul singer and musician. Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records handled most of the album’s production, while Hathaway himself produced the self-written “Take A Love Song”.

The Analogue Productions reissue honours this timeless classic and fascinating musician, who recorded only three albums before his tragic death in 1979.