The Universal Soldier (EP)

The Universal Soldier is the first EP by Scottish folk singer Donovan. The EP's tracks were recorded in June 1965 at Southern Music's studios in London and was produced by his management. The EP contains one of Donovan's songs, "The Ballad of a Crystal Man", with the rest being covers of musicians influential to him, including the title track, written by Buffy Sainte-Marie. The EP's content consists of anti-war protest songs, characterized by Donovan's finger-picking guitar technique and lyrical content regarding the contemporary Vietnam War.

Pye Records released The Universal Soldier on 13 August 1965, and marketed it as a single. Promoted by an early music video depicting Donovan in Normandy, France, The Universal Soldier reached number one on Record Retailer's EP chart and also made the top 20 on the singles charts published by Disc Weekly, Melody Maker, and the New Musical Express. The EP was not released in the US, where the title track was released as a single. Upon release, The Universal Soldier received critical acclaim by journalists, most of whom praised the lyrical topics. It was Donovan's only release that reached number one on a British chart.