John Denver - Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits - RCA Records

10/20/04
Reviewed by - George Bennett


John Denver Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits

It seems that liking John Denver's music has become less cool, or totally uncool, in the last 15 years or so, what with everything becoming so disaffected, angst ridden, grunge, death-metal, shredder/heavy metal, goth, gangsta...blah, blah...That his music is corny, or too schmaltzy, too sentimental, or too precious...twee. Well, it seems to me that one is either cool, or isn't. You can't try to be cool. If you do - by definition, you are not. If you think that the music you listen to, or the car you drive or the clothes you wear or who you know is what makes you cool - you are not cool. Period. Cool is within - and, once again, you're either cool or you're not. Whether you think me cool or not is up to you. I'm not worried.

I'm here to tell you that, in the 1970s, like-minded singer/songwriters such as John Denver and Jim Croce (and lesser knowns such as Phil Ochs and Tim Buckley and Judy Collins and Sandy Denny and Leonard Cohen and Gene Clark - and the likes of today's Damien Rice and David Smith and Jeff Buckley and Ron Sexsmith and Lucinda Williams and Emmy Lou Harris)) were the titz. Idealists and dreamers who wore their hearts on their sleeves and who could relate their feelings perfectly, succinctly, through their music. Universal feelings that we all share. I dare say that every single one of you who has ever truly been in love (and truly loved), or had your heart broken, or been sorry for things you've said or done, or, in a certain time in your life, were just in love with the world and life itself and the promise it held, will be touched by John Denver's down-home, honest beauty - musically and lyrically (if you haven't been already). And, to top it all off, he possesses one of the most beautiful, sparkling, crystal-clear tenors to ever record a tune.

Maybe you didn't know that Denver wrote Peter, Paul and Mary's huge hit "Leaving on a Jet Plane". It's here - starts this outstanding set. The pseudo-bluegrass acoustic beauty of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is here, as is "Sunshine on My Shoulders". That song used to bring tears to my eyes way back when, before life jaded me a little more each year as time went by. It still sends a shiver down my spine today. No less than an exquisite celebration of being alive. "Poems, Prayers and Promises" is, perhaps, one of those you-had-to-be-there songs. A perfect encapsulation of the neo-hippie ethic, like a Norman Rockwell painting in song. So meaningful to this writer that words cannot express.

The classic "Rocky Mountain High" is here. Visions of snowy mountain peaks, camping in the cold, crisp, clean air, surrounded by nature...idealistic to a fault. The great love paean "Annie's Song"...is there one among us who doesn't wish we could have written this perfect love song? The simple scene summoned by the self-explanatory "Back Home Again". Denver 's homage to undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau, his crew and ship "Calypso". The wistful sadness of loss in "I'm Sorry" - a hurting soul, honest and bared to the world. And the list goes on and on, top-notch songs, each and every one. I'll close this short list with "Fly Away" - transcendant beauty, loneliness, escape - and prescient. John Denver flew away on October 12, 1997, when the private plane he was piloting crashed to the earth.

Now, if you just don't care for John Denver's music, so be it. But be sure it's truly you who doesn't like it, and not some fear of what others might say if they knew, in fact, that you did like it. Hell, if they're really friends, they won't care anyway, as long as it makes you happy. I am truly blessed when it comes to my love of music. I can love John Denver's stuff, and Green Day, and Gene Clark, Frank Zappa, Blue Rodeo, The Who, Townes Van Zandt, Jimmy Smith, Procol Harum, Blink-182 , Nancy Griffith, Emmy Lou Harris, The Byrds, Van Morrison, Guided by Voices, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Delays, John Cale, Anonymous Four, Kronos Quartet, Mose Allison, Gavin Bryars, Neil Diamond...and on and on and on. I'm not all constipated or fixated on any one genre of music, or one group, or one time-frame. I can ALWAYS find something new to enjoy, because my tastes are not limited, and my prejudices are. I don't really care who likes the music I like. The ONLY thing that matters to me is that I like it. Oh yeah...and I hope I can turn some of you on to some of the better stuff I find. That, in the end, is the reason I do this review business. It's not to see my name in print, and, Lord knows, it's not for the money (heheh).

Yeah, I know his real name was John Deutschendorf, but he was cool. And he'll always be John Denver to me. And I love him for it. Bringing more "human" to humanity (both beauty and sadness) is far too lacking in today's world. Pick up John Denver's "Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits" and allow yourself to feel again. Make a move away from that media-blitzed, politically-spun, punch a time card, not enough time for your loved ones, much less time to just enjoy life, increasingly robotic world. Let John Denver remind you of what's important...and oh, so cool.

(20 remastered songs plus a second disc of four extras. Excellent extensive liner notes by David Wilde, a song by song commentary from Denver producer and friend Milt Okun and a song by song digest incl chart positions, original album placement and recording dates.)

Release Date: October 05, 2004
Tracks: 24 - Time: 90:58
Produced by: Various
Format: CD w/ Bonus CD
Website: www.johndenver.com

Track Listing:

Leaving on a Jet Plane / Take Me Home, Country Roads / Sunshine On My Shoulders / Poems, Prayers, and Promises / The Eagle and The Hawk / Rocky Mountain High / Farewell Andromeda (Welcome to my Morning) / Annie's Song / Back Home Again / Sweet Surrender / Thank God I'm a Country Boy / I'm Sorry / Calypso / Fly Away / Looking for Space / Like a Sad Song / My Sweet Lady / Perhaps Love / Shanghai Breezes / Wild Montana Skies.

Bonus CD:

Leaving on a Jet Plane (Babe, I Hate to Go) (previously unreleased original version) / The Weight (previously unreleased) / Annie's Song (previously unreleased acoustic version)/ Calypso (previously unreleased acoustic version).

John Denver:

John Denver - Vocals / Guitar.