The John Denver appreciation thread.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Twelvepitch, Jul 4, 2019.

  1. cadesdad

    cadesdad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Conway, AR
    The Wildlife Concert feels, in retrospect, like a summary of John's career. He melds the old with the new, both in terms of song selection and the composition of his backing musicians. Great singing, great musicianship, and a great cause. This is one of my desert island DVD's.
     
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  2. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    GREAT!! I look forward to seeing it!!!

    On another note....despite my intention of going chronologically through the box set, my curiosity got the better of me and I played 'Seasons Of The Heart'. What a pleasant album!!! Sooo not the John Denver of 10 years previous but a great incarnation. I've heard a song or two on the radio from the album, obviously, but the album in general is a great one for when you just need a bit of a smile and uplifting.

    Also took a listen to 'It's About Time'. I like that, too. VERY 80's M.O.R in the same vein as Christopher Cross and Jimmy Buffett....only John Denver's voice seems to fit that style more comfortable for me.
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2019
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  3. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Listening now for the first time. Another one that I don't mind. But you are correct. It does tick all of the mid-80's boxes, especially that 'Kenny G' type saxophone. :)

    Interesting to hear him 'stretch' into a different style. But I can hear a record company executive say something like, 'If you want to sell records we need you to sound like this..." then dropping a needle on a Kenny G record.
     
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  4. cadesdad

    cadesdad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Conway, AR
    I've always had a soft spot for "It's About Time." It has a good blend of styles and it contains one of my favorite Denver deep cuts, "On the Wings of a Dream." And I never would have expected to hear Denver collaborate with the Wailers! "I Remember Romance" is one of James Burton's finest moments on a Denver album. The only thing that bugs me is there is no credit for who plays banjo on "Wild Montana Skies." I'd love to know who that was.
     
  5. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I have all the Japanese JD CDs from Japan...has anyone ever seen Farewell Andromeda Japanese Edition? it been elusive for years...
     
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  6. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Yeah, I can't seem to find anything that says who plays the banjo part.

    Can anyone tell me what the story is with the song 'The Way I Am' from this album? It's not on the 'It's About Time' CD that was in the Complete RCA Albums box set and evidently wasn't on the original cassette or lp. It's not on the iTunes download either. I've never heard it and I'm curious as to why it was added/deleted from the album.
     
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  7. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I expect crickets in my inquiry above! LOL...
     
  8. cadesdad

    cadesdad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Conway, AR
    It was a bonus track on the CD. Remember when those were all the rage? ;)
     
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  9. cadesdad

    cadesdad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Conway, AR
    I have the Japanese CD of Farewell Andromeda, along with all the other Japanese releases. I can't remember exactly when I got them, but I did some bartering with a connection in Japan.

    He also sent me the mini-CD of a duet with Kosetsu Minami on a song called "Carelessly," which Denver and Minami co-wrote and which has, to my knowledge, never been officially released outside of Japan.
     
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  10. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I think I posted on this upthread. It was recorded during the same sessions but left off the album. The next year, it was released on the b-side of “The Gold and Beyond” single. That song would be included on Greatest Hits Volume 3, but not the b-side. Instead, when It’s About Time was given a CD release about a year after it came out (initially only on LP and cassette), “The Way I Am” was added to it as a bonus track. Apparently later CD reissues of the album omitted it as it wasn’t really seen as a proper part of the album.
     
  11. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Thanks to both of you. What's interesting is that some of the cds in the Complete RCA Albums set HAVE bonus tracks, albeit not much more than three and not that many albums have any.. Odd that they left this one off.

    I downloaded both Live In London and Live At The Sydney Opera House. I was listening to Sydney today. Wonderful recording.
     
  12. Splungeworthy

    Splungeworthy Forum Rezidentura

    My appreciation of JD goes way back. I used to check out vinyl records from my local library as a kid, and one of the first ones I got was Rocky Mountain High. I think I listened to that song about a million times. The thing that always intrigues me about it are the soaring, echoing harmonies-still try to sing along today and can't hit those notes.
     
  13. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    cool...never came across FA, but I have all the others I was interested in...they are still my favorites of JD on CD...
     
  14. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I think that the live version of "Spirit" that was included on the All of My Memories: The John Denver Collection box set is also from the same Sydney concert, although it was omitted from that live album.
     
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  15. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I was looking at that collection as well as 'Forever, John' collection. I would probably go for the latter before the former.

    By the way...before I came into this thread, I only owned two John Denver albums ever. By my last count my total as of today with downloads and cd purchases, I'm up to 37. :)

    I'm probably headed to just about everything outside of various later Greatest Hits collections. :)
     
  16. cadesdad

    cadesdad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Conway, AR
    Wow, dude--that's some major catching up! Welcome to the club! :pineapple:

    Forever John is a fine album, but you understand fairly quickly why most of the songs on it were omitted. For me, the best track is "No One," which I would guess is from circa 1971: two guitars and a bass and John wailing at the top of his lungs. It's a long, angry, self-pitying song that sounds like nothing else Denver ever wrote. He pounds the 12-string like his life depends on it. Also strong is "On the Wings of an Eagle," which Denver wrote for a TV special, The Higher We Fly, and evidently recorded during the sessions for the Autograph album
     
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  17. Hawkman

    Hawkman Supercar Gort Staff

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I downloaded what I was missing since I posted. :)

    At the beginning of all of this, I HAD intended to go chronologically and listen to the albums that way. But I found myself more interested in the albums from the 80's when he wasn't selling like he did in the 70's. Not for anything, but so far I've listened to most of the 80's RCA albums and there isn't a one that I wouldn't listen to again. I still have a few to go, even after the RCA era. But I find them 'pleasant' at the very least. For lack of a better way to put it, I find them perfect for a summer afternoon. Given the 80's production, it takes me right back. :) There isn't a one that made me go 'bleh'. Yes, his style moved away from the 'country boy' style and into more of a 'pop' style. But he fits it nicely.

    I dare say that they almost fit in what has come to be known as 'yacht rock'. I even hate to use that term. But I would rather listen to what I hear coming from John Denver in the 80's than the typical 'yacht rock' groups and singers. His singing comes more from the heart than the others.

    As it is now, I have all of the studio albums released up until his death in 1997 with the sole exception of 'Rocky Mountain Holiday' with the Muppets and all of the live albums with the exception of 'Sing Australia' and 'Christmas In Concert'. You are correct, that IS some catching up!!

    Side note: I used to volunteer at a raptor rehab place here in New Jersey a good 27 years ago. They had a little AM radio in the 'barn' where the 'patients' were kept and looked after. 'Homegrown Tomatoes' used to come on the radio from a local AM station who even then had a weak signal and the volume always got turned up by the owner when it did. NEVER knew who it was. Now I do!
     
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  18. Harry S. Anchan

    Harry S. Anchan Well-Known Member

    I love most of his songs. R.I.P., John.
     
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  19. JAG

    JAG Forum Professor with Tenure

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    So I received the USSR show and it sounds great. I appreciate having it however this is an edited version. I could tell right away how each song doesn't exactly flow into the next. I looked up the original release and found it is a 3 disc set. They removed most of his banter and introductions to the songs. Not sure why they would do that. I am sure Denver fans would pay the extra for the complete show.
     
  20. Leslie K Crosby

    Leslie K Crosby Forum Resident

    Location:
    78602


    This, on the Rocky Mountain High album, totally influenced my love for the acoustic guitar.....
     
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  21. WMTC

    WMTC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh
    Was born in '01. So glad to see another John Denver lover my age, (and one that knows more than "Take Me Home Country Roads at that).

    A few favorites:
    "Poems, Prayers, and Promises"
    His cover of "Let It Be" is very well done, as well.
    "My Sweet Lady"
    "Sweet Surrender"
    "Aspenglow"
    "Follow Me"
    "Sunshine On My Shoulders"
    "Rocky Mountain High"
    So many great songs!
     
  22. cadesdad

    cadesdad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Conway, AR
    My take is that Denver consciously eliminated his usual stage banter and introductions because of the inevitable language barrier in performing for a largely Russian audience. However, it is also a compilation of several performances over a couple of weeks, so some editing was certainly involved.
     
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  23. cadesdad

    cadesdad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Conway, AR
    Sadly, Rocky Mountain Holiday has never been officially released on CD or download, although a couple of tracks showed up on the compilation, All of My Memories, a few years ago.
     
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  24. The Cat 3

    The Cat 3 Forum Resident

    [​IMG]

    This album is part of my musical DNA.

    A very important piece of my childhood and beyond.
     
  25. JAG

    JAG Forum Professor with Tenure

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    What are we missing from the original 3 disc set then? The songs are the same. The packaging does say by the way it is the complete concert.
     

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