John Denver - The Essential John Denver
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Artist: John DenverEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-02-27
Music Label: RCA
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Leaving On A Jet Plane
- Rhymes And Reasons
- Take Me Home, Country Roads
- Poems, Prayers And Promises
- I Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado
- Friends With You
- Rocky Mountain High
- Goodbye Again
- I'd Rather Be A Cowboy (Lady's Chains)
- Farewell Andromeda (Welcome To My Morning)
- Sunshine On My Shoulders
- Back Home Again
- Matthew
- Thank God I'm A Country Boy
- Annie's Song
- Sweet Surrender
- Looking For Space
- I'm Sorry
- Calypso
- Fly Away
- Baby, You Look Good To Me Tonight
- Like A Sad Song
- How Can I Leave You Again
- It Amazes Me
- I Want To Live
- My Sweet Lady
- Autograph
- Some Days Are Diamonds (Some Days Are Stone) (Digitally Mastered)
- The Cowboy And The Lady
- Seasons Of The Heart
- Shanghai Breezes
- Perhaps Love
- Wild Montana Skies featuring Emmylou Harris
- Love Again
- Dreamland Express
- Is It Love? (Album Version)
Music reviews of The Essential John Denver
Music Review: Essential hits, near-hits and album tracks
Rating: 5 Stars
Denver's run of signature hits made him both one of the 1970s most beloved country-folk singers and one of the decade's most lampooned. His earnest "Far Out!" trademark was at once a echo of the '60s hippie vibe, and a good fit for the mainstream of the '70s. RCA/Legacy celebrates Denver's rich catalog with this 2-CD anthology that spans his biggest pop hits, lower-charting singles, album tracks and a few odds and ends. It's a perfect overview for those who love Denver's hits and want a collection that offers a bit more. Yes, this set reiterates material that's already been reissued many times, but that's the nature of the retail music industry - new reissues garner new reviews, renew shelf space and spur sales. And that's the point of this release - to preserve the artistic relevance of Denver's core catalog by promoting its commercial vitality among new generations of fans.
Denver debuted as a solo artist in 1969 with his "Rhyme and Reason" LP, the title track of which is included here alongside Denver's original recording of his own "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Though neither were a hit, they showed Denver to be a songwriter whose words could provide a personal touch in a mass market. "Leaving on a Jet Plane" was a memorable, emotion-drenched hit for Peter, Paul & Mary, but as rendered here without Mary Travers' gut-wrenching vocal it's equally poignant, with Denver's bittersweet delivery backed by an arrangement of high-hat, guitar, bass and organ that's as light as the dawn underlying the lyrics.
Two albums in 1970 ("Whose Garden Was This" and "Take Me to Tomorrow") failed to generate any hits, and are left off this anthology. The first of the two is largely comprised of covers, the latter finds Denver striving for a social relevancy that detracts from the wondrous humanity of his signature works. Instead, this set jumps to Denver's 1971 breakthrough, "Poems, Prayers & Promises" and its career-launching hit "Take Me Home Country Roads." This is the epitome of Denver's art, showcasing his talent for turning the world's natural wonders into warm, homespun songs. The album's other hit, "Sunshine on My Shoulders," is included in the re-recorded single version from Denver's 1973 greatest hits LP. This version, with its magnificent string arrangement, topped both the pop and adult contemporary charts.
From that start, Denver built himself into one of the most popular and best-selling singer-songwriters of the 1970s. He not only spun off more indelible hits ("Rocky Mountain High," "Back Home Again," "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," "Annie's Song," "I'm Sorry"), but filled his albums with thoughtful songs of simpler pleasures and wide-eyed wonder. Denver was the Country Music Association's entertainer of the year in 1975, famously prompting Charlie Rich - 1974's award winner - to set fire to the award envelope and derisively announce Denver's achievement. But while Nashville's industry took a liking to Denver, he never really wrote in the reigning pop-country idiom. Instead, songs like "Back Home Again" leveraged Denver's folk roots to bring pop melodicism to country sentiment without forcing one to be the other.
By mid-decade Denver had fashioned a parallel television and film career, including dozens of TV specials, guest-hosting appearances and a big screen turn with George Burns in "Oh, God." The hits continued throughout the latter-half of the '70s, albeit without reaching the top of the charts. The material is surprisingly consistent with his earlier work, suggesting that the mainstream market moved on to the next big thing, rather than Denver's material having declined in quality. Disc two is filled out with a pair of 1975 successes, "Calypso" and "Fly Away" (the latter with Olivia Newton John providing backing vocals) and a nice helping of lower- and non-charting singles, including the 1976 country love song, "Baby, You Look Good to Me Tonight," and duets with Emmylou Harris (1983's "Wild Montana Skies"), French vocalist Sylvie Vartan (1984's "Love Again"), and Placido Domingo ("Perhaps Love").
As the hits slowed, Denver used both his music and his fame to further numerous charitable and political endeavors, including the Hunger Project (of which he was a co-founder), and sustainable living programs. He toured Russia and China, testified against censorship in front of the U.S. congress, published an autobiography, and promoted several nature-based programs. His last song, "Yellowstone, Coming Home" (not included here) appeared in an episode of "Nature" in which he was featured.
All fifteen of Denver's pop top-40 hits are here, and many of his top-100s. There are several missing chart entries, "Everyday," "Please, Daddy," "Christmas for Cowboys," "It Makes Me Giggle," "Dancing with the Mountain" and Denver's latter-day country hit, "And So it Goes," but their absence is balanced by the presence of key album tracks like "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado," "Matthew," and "Looking For Space." The collection's studio works end in 1985 with the title track of "Dreamland Express," and disc two closes with a recording of "Is It Love?" from Denver's Wildlife Concert. Missing are selections from his final quintet of albums for his own Windstar Records.
This is a nicely selected set, featuring all of Denver's major pop hits, a strong selection of his lower charting works, well-picked album tracks and non-charting singles. It provides a deeper look than a single-disc can achieve, and does a good job of balancing original LP recordings with later greatest hits re-recordings, and studio versus live takes. Those who want to go deeper should look for the 3-CD "Legends" and "Ultimate Collection" sets, or the 4-CD "Country Roads Collection," but first-time buyers of Denver's works will find this double-CD to be just the right length. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]
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