JOHN DENVER
The Essential John Denver (Madacy)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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This two disc set is slightly mistitled, but in a good way. I suppose the only truly 'essential' John Denver would be the nine top ten hits he scored in the 1970s, all of which, including five number ones, are here. This set offers another 15 tracks, though, which may not have had the chart success of some Denver offerings, but are all welcome additions to any collection of pop/country crossover music.

Denver's relentlessly sunny disposition (the Rocky Mountain version of John Edwards in his day) led to plenty of room for parody, and familiarity with his consistent run of hits in the early seventies may have bred a degree of hipster contempt, but he was an exceptional craftsman, both as a writer and a performer, and this collection offers an excellent opportunity to renew acquaintance with his music.

I have to confess, I have an emotional attachment to Denver's tunes, or at least a couple of them, that colors my view. The Peter, Paul & Mary version of his "Leaving On A Jet Plane" was on every radio in '69, when I was boarding jet planes for foreign ports as a young soldier, and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" hit while I was in Vietnam, where it became something of an anthem for homesick GIs. Still, my attachment was forged in part because John Denver wrote and performed music to which an emotional attachment could be formed.

I'm grateful to have known this music at a certain time, and grateful to have it in this form to enjoy again. I think you'll enjoy it, too.

Track Lists:

Disc One: Sunshine On My Shoulders * Back Home Again * Thank God I'm A Country Boy * Leaving On A Jet Plane * Dreamland Express * Perhaps Love * Take Me Home, Country Roads * Love Again * Rocky Mountain High * Seasons Of The Heart * For You * Annie's Song

Disc Two: Windsong * Cowboy's Delight * Spirit * Looking For Space * Shipmates And Cheyenne * Late Night Radio * Love Is Everywhere * Two Shots * I'm Sorry * Fly Away * Calypso * Song Of Wyoming

© 2004 - Shaun Dale