A Modern-Day Troubadour

John Denver had a gift for writing music that straddled three genres, pop, folk and country. Sometimes veering more strongly into one of the other, he managed to stay pretty close to center. This collection give you a flavor of all three, and is the best single collection of John Denver that I have seen.

John Denver's songs are strongly acoustic, and frequently feature his voice. He was a modern-day troubadour, and was very, very good at it. His music was always melodic, and often reflected his love of wild places and his desire that they should be protected. When his songs weren't reflecting stories of the outdoors, he was singing about his wife and his love of life. This collection fully represents the range of his interests and well celebrates the abilities of a man who was surely one of the best songwriters of the 70s, and perhaps one of the best of the latter half of the 20th century.

The always inspiring "Rocky Mountain High" has elements of pop, folk and country, and perhaps is most exemplary of his ability. But this CD covers other songs that span an incredible range. "Annie's Song" is a love song written for his first wife. "Sunshine on My Shoulders" is a folk ballad, but could be pop, and has enough country elements to belong there as well. A beautiful celebration of being outdoors and being alive. "Calypso" was written in admiration of the work of Jacques Cousteau and the men of the research ship Calypso and their work in studying the waters of the world. These are but a few of the songs on this CD. The others are just as good or better.

The last two songs of this album are a poignant finish to a work that is the best chronicle to date of John Denver. "I Want to Live" expresses John Denver's love of life and freedom. "Shanghai Breezes" is a song of separation, and in a way expresses that though John is now far away, with his music he will always be near to us.

I have always enjoyed John Denver's music, from his earliest appearances to now. It wasn't until I started reviewing his albums that I realized what a true artist he was and the great ability he had. As one lists the types of music and the styles available to a singer, there comes one that is much more rare than times of old, and that is the style of a troubadour. John Denver was surely a modern-day troubadour, and his loss is a loss to all of us. John still lives on through his music, and this wonderful collection is a great starting point for someone wanting to enjoy his art.

An enjoyable *original* collection

As other reviewers said, there are many, many John Denver "collections". In this album though, you'll find the *original* renditions for many key songs, including "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Rocky Mountain High", "Sunshine On My Shoulders", "Calypso", "Shanghai Breeze", and so on.



I have listened to newer renditions. I won't say they hurt ... but the original is often the best - and this album will not disappoint you.

Thank god he's a country boy.

If you haven't noticed, there's about twenty "John Denver" collections out there. I ended up with this one for a few reasons. It's not a skimpy budget collection, or a 2-disc bloated one, but a full 18 track one that includes nearly every great moment of his. Included are the hits "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Rocky Mountain High", and "Sunshine On My Shoulders". Plus this has songs the "Greatest Hits" does not, like "Sweet Surrender", "Annie's Song", and "Thank God I'm A Country Boy". Also here is "Calypso" and "Back Home Again". There's a few missing tracks of course, like "Leaving On A Jet Plane", but overall this is the best single disc collection I've seen, and it should give you that "Rocky Mountain High" you've been looking for.