Indispensable for Denver fans

I thought I'd scooped up just about every song the great JD had ever committed to vinyl, and maybe I had, but this collection is chock full of numbers I'd never even heard *of*, let alone heard, before--40 out of the 53 tracks on the five discs. For that alone it's worth the price, setting aside the fact that in most cases $27 will get you at best two and a half CD's.



The "undiscovered" pieces include some of Denver's most beautiful and powerful work, such as "Eagles and Horses," "Ponies," "Whispering Jesse," "Never a Doubt," "I Watch You Sleeping," "For You," "Potter's Wheel," "Two Different Directions," "Chained to the Wheel," "A Country Girl in Paris," "All This Joy," "Thanks to You," "The Gift You Are," "Chosen Ones," "Higher Ground," "Raven's Child," "Amazon," "Falling Leaves," "Islands," "Postcard from Paris," "In a Far Away Land" (sung, if I'm not mistaken, in Chinese!), "Alaska and Me," and "Stonehaven Sunset," plus the delightful novelty "Homegrown Tomatoes," the folky "Foxfire Suite," and the swingingly rhythmic "Sing Australia" (with didgeridoo accompaniment). There are also new and gorgeous mixes of JD's signature songs, "Take Me Home Country Roads" and "Calypso." All are delivered in his unmistakable flexible golden tenor, with great arrangements. These may not be the "original" recordings, but they'll certainly be new to many listeners, and for that reason alone, if you love JD's work and grieved as I did at his death, you need this bargain in your collection.

Lacks the sparkle

Collection features some less known and harder to find tunes, and is great for this, but the recording is poor quality, songs are a bit ragged, not at all the perfection generally captured by John Denver.

Not the originals

All your favorate songs, just not the version you remember. CD titles are old album titles but track listings seem to have little to do with what was on those original albums. If you are looking for classic JD this is not your best choice.