** Donovan

SUTRAS

(American)

At first, it's refreshing to hear the old boy again, looking and sounding exactly the same, apparently untouched by the ravages of time and current events. The first few tracks are as good as anything he's ever done, but then you hit "Everlasting Sea" and "High Your Love," both of which remind you how he made himself irrelevant in the first place by being too much of a spiritual flower child even for the '60s. The word twaddle comes to mind and doesn't go away for the rest of the CD, despite occasional songs like "The Clear-Browed One" -- twaddle of the sort that, against all reason, seems to work. In their way, flawless vintage production and heaping dollops of spirituality all add up to a perfect Donovan comeback album.

-- Peter Travis

(Donovan plays the Whole Health Expo at the Park Plaza Hotel this Sunday, November 24, at 2. Call 661-3773)