Remembering John Denver

I've loved John's music since I first heard him many years ago when he made his debut...I got to talk to John's bass player Dick Kniss in length about his working with John throughout the years and touring.

 

That is a great song. I just discovered it last year; don't recall hearing it on the radio back in the day.
I also think "Summer" (the version released on the "Evening With John Denver" album) would have been a great hit single. Terrific song. (The studio version is marred by a pretty bad arrangement.)
Other semi-obscure Denver favorites:
Yellowstone (Coming Home)
Eclipse
The Weight
For You
Carolina In My Mind

 

Absolutely loved him. An Evening w.......was one of my first records as a kid and I wore it out. Even though I haven't played a JD record in years (decades? - need to remedy that) I still find myself humming one of his various songs when I'm in a particularly good/giddy mood.

Was a fine actor as well. Tremendous talent/loss.

 

Oddly enough, his last album was songs about trains, if only he'd stayed on the train.
I really didn't care for a lot of his stuff when I heard it in the 70's, as it was kinda of soft and syrupy and I thought I was some kind of punk rock bad ass.
It wasn't until I heard that original demo of "Jet Airplane", that I raided my parents record collection to give him another listen

 

I agree - "Id Rather Be a Cowboy" is one of his best songs. It was drowned on the album "Farewell Andromeda", which had a lot of good songs, but the arrangements/productions were extremely muddy. Thus, even the good songs sid not sound good. I have heard a "cleaner" mix of "Id Rather Be a Cowboy" since, but I am not sure whether this was a new recording or just a cleaned up mix. Yes, it is a great song, and I always include when I make John Denver compilations. Another one I always include is "Eclipse", surely one of his most evocative and haunting songs.

 

The 2-CD version of "An Evening With John Denver" may be the very best sounding JD CD ever issued. Really great sound quality, plus a nice assortment of bonus tracks. Just make sure you don't get the old single-CD version....

 

Like the Carpenters, John Denver made some great TV specials & I'd love to see them released on DVD / Blu-Ray.

 

A good song is a good song and he had a lot of them

 

His first TV special, which focused on wildlife and longhorn sheep in the Rockies, is available in its entirety (as bonus material!) on the 5-DVD set Around The World. The set primarily consists of live concerts from the mid 70s through the mid 80s, but there's also a ton of impressive bonus features, like this TV special and some Farm Aid appearances. Well worth the $30 or so it costs.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely pick it up.

 

Love Denver's music his songs are the soundtrack to my early youth.

Darryl

 

His voice is so underrated! And he was such a monster talent, Carson let him host "the Tonight Show" for corn-ball sakes!!!!

 

Michael, can you share a little bit about what Dick Kniss said about his time with Denver? I guess they parted ways about 1976 or 1977 when Denver got what I call "the Elvis band." Kniss was a constant in touring and recording for several years through what I thought was Denvers artistic peak. I think the best he ever got was when it was just him, Mike Taylor on guitar, and Kniss on bass.

Kniss was just as well known, if not more so, for his work with Peter Paul & Mary. An incredible bass player.

 

Blimey, 10 years already!

I have a collection of John Denver albums which I've had for almost 4 decades, buying them as a teenager.
I'm sure my friends thought I was weird, I didn't and don't care - these albums have given me, and still give me, enormous pleasure.



Take Me To Tomorrow is perhaps my favourite album of his, but I like them all.
Not only is the singing and musicianship great, these LPs are beautifully produced and sound gorgeous.

Perhaps most importantly for me his songs showed me, as a youngster, that music can tell beautiful, important and life-enhancing stories.
This set me on a journey which continues unabated.

For that and giving me so much pleasure, thank you John, R.I.P.

 

Actually, it has been 19 years now. The original post in this thread was in 2007! Hard to believe so much time has passed...

 

Double blimey!! -Apologies, I must be more observant, I blame my age

Thanks for that, anyway everything I say still holds true, I think.

But, almost 18 years, where'd they go?

 

I about wore out a copy of An Evening With... He was one of the greatest singer/songwriters of his time, and he fit in perfectly with the hiking/camping thing that I was heavily into at the time.

 

I grew up on John Denver also. I recently had my parents to stay (I'm in my late 40s now) and had a John Denver playlist for the car when I was driving them around (my wife is not a JD fan, so this was a bit of a treat!). I tend to avoid the really over familiar songs just because I have heard them too often. I think the albums I listen to more often than any others are I Want to Live and Spirit. Both are full of great songs, not all John's own. Just listened to the alternate take of Eli's Song on Spotify (from the recent boxed set). I wonder if there are more songs like this, all stripped down, in the vault. It almost sounds like a demo. On second thoughts, they have probably plundered the vaults several times over by now.

 

Yes Dick was with PP&M...I discussed John Denver with Dick Kniss at Peter Yarrows home.
He talked about the grand scale of the JD tours...and how much he enjoyed being part of it all...also discussed music in length. It was a wonderful time spending time with a great musician...

 

Wish the cds sounded as good as the LPs.
Been hoping for years AF would remaster Greatest Hits.

 

they do... even better than the vinyl...all my Japanese import CDs are fabulous...

 

I have the Japan imports, too bright.

 

not in a million years...they are perfect beyond perfect! LOL!

 

Do the Japanese remasters use the same mastering as the discs in the "Complete RCA Albums Collection" boxed set?

 

that I do not know...