The "Real" John Denver
Jim | College Station, Texas United States | 01/15/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Denver's follow-up to "Rocky Mountain High" is pretty close to as real Denver as it gets--before he was a superstar and doing Vegas with Sinatra. Some fantastic originals--"Id Rather Be a Cowboy," "Rocky Mountain Suite," "Whiskey Basin Blues" and "Zachary and Jennifer." But the covers are really perfect too--Bill Danoff's "We Don't Live Here No More" is exquisite and still one of my favorite songs, and Denver's cover of "Angels From Montgomery" is the best version I've ever heard of that song. John Summer's "River of Love" is heartbreaking bluegrass--just the way it ought to be. Hoyt Axton's "Sweet Misery" sticks in your head. "Berkeley Woman"--that's such a guy song--not at all the wildflowers and "lite-ness" some associate with Denver. The only weak track is the famous one--the title track, which sounds like an add-on he came up with to justify the album title. I think what I like about it is the same thing I like about the fact that Denver wears a t-shirt on the inside jacket of the Rocky Mountain High album that says "Be kind to animals...kiss a BEAVER." He was a "guy" through and through, despite the homogenized version that became the superstar."
Repeat after me "And Western"
BGroovy2 | Tidewater Va. | 03/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"John had a real love for the American west and all that it stood for. No where did that shine through more then on this record. I had it on vinyl and now on cd. The first few songs on this cd have to do with broken relationships, then he moves onto the out-of-doors with "Rocky Mountain Suite." This has always been one of my personal fav's on this cd. It ends with the up-beat title track.
John played his music with a technical precision that few folk artists have ever achieved, wheather live or studio recorded. His music on this cd has a lot of layers to it. There always seems to be a lot going on. The dual guitars in the left and right track in some of the cuts give it a feel of fullness, almost surreal. This is a cd that you will find very enjoyable and play often!"
A solid outing for John Denver
J. Carey | oregon | 09/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I just about wore this album out when I first got it and missed having it to listen to so decided to order it as a CD. It has one of my favorite songs on it "Berkley Woman" and even though John didn't write it he does a great job with it."