"I have performed his music since I was 12 years old. (over 25 years ago). I know his music quite well and was looking for a good collection since most of mine were on Vinyl. These are not his originally released works. The digital remastering is actually of poor quality in my opinion. It is a great collection but if you are looking for original commercially released versions, this is not the CD to buy."
IF you buy only one John Denver CD
Thomas Voytko | New Middletown, Ohio USA | 04/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a two CD set that spans JD's entire career. What I especially liked about this collection was Volume 1, which contains all his early material. It was digitally remastered from the original recordings, so I heard once again the songs as he first recorded them. Even his early material on Greatest Hits - Volume 1, as he said himself on the liner notes, was redone. If you want to hear how those early, early songs were originally recorded, this is the only CD that I am aware of that gives you that opportunity.For first timers to JD's music, you get both an excellent historical compilation of his songs and you also will see how his singing and phrasing have changed over the years. A must buy."
A Wonderful Collection
Andrea Neault | Port Ludlow,, WA USA | 08/27/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I received this CD set shortly after John Denver died. Many of the tracks are from his RCA albums, and I appreciated the raw character of his earlier recordings to the mush that often came with re-releases, the orchestration, etc. Eagle and the Hawk has the original guitar and organ ending, and I do not have another CD with Aspenglow on it. I feel the songs chosen for this collection are outstanding. A great CD to have if you have no others by this incredible songwriter."
An excellent collection but with dissappointing recordings
Joseph | San Diego, CA United States | 11/21/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I was a serious John Denver fan throughout high school. His music fit in well with my outdoor sports, camping trips to the mountains, and guitar playing. By 1976, my first year in college, I owned at least 12 of his albums and knew every song intimately. Unfortunately, JD wasn't "cool" during my college years and I found myself selling his albums and moving on to new music tastes. I don't think I listened to him again until I moved to Denver a decade later and heard him play at an outdoor Red Rocks concert. His voice and music was still incredible - to me and to the screaming crowd that gave him a standing ovation. Like many JD fans, I too was grieved to hear of his death later - and disappointed that I'd never bothered to get an autograph from the best, most important, influential singer (to me)of my lifetime. Since then, and as I grow older, I've been missing his music and wanting to give him space back into my small collection of favorite artists. I wanted a twin cd / single jewel case that would completely cover my favorite songs of his. After spending hours on this site, looking at all of his albums and songs, I chose the Rocky Mountain Collection. Its got a lot of songs packed on each disc (unlike too many others)and includes most of my favorites. Unfortunately, some of the old time favorites have been rerecorded from the origianl recordings and, in my opinion, are NOT as good. The sound quality is OK and the JD vocals are still wonderfull, but I think some of the guitar has been lost. For someone like me that was intimately familiar with his original recordings, and wants a collection of those recordings, this disc will be a disaapointment. Today I've gone through all the Amazon listings again and found no compilation replacement offering these favorites in a single cd jewel case. For anyone wanting a simple, complete, original recording compilation with Leaving on a Jet Plane, Rymes and Reasons, Sunshine On My Shoulders, Take Me Home Country Roads, Poems, Prayers, and Promises, Goodbye Again, Rocky Mountain High, This Old Guitar, Looking For Space, Come and Let Me Look In Your eyes, and I want To Live, you may want to wait or plan on customizing your own cd."
An outstanding selection of work
CA Smith | Barre, Vermont | 09/20/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is indispensable for both fans and newly interested listeners. Song after song the album delivers vintage John Denver. Although a couple of the versions are not the best, there are an incredible number here, including many timeless songs. I highly recommend it as the first JD work to buy."