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Robert-The-Rambler
03-02-2011, 08:26 PM
http://www.amazon.com/Best-John-Denver/dp/B000000KZX/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1299125601&sr=1-1

I just had to say that this has been a huge favorite of mine when I discovered it in Target. This was my review at Amazon.com at the time I bought it back in 2007.

This is the first John Denver CD I ever purchased and from the start I noticed something amazing. I had vague memories as a child of the original recordings. This is John Denver after he discovered his voice and his music. His ability to sing has changed so drastically since he started that you might have a hard time even realizing it is the same man. There is a richness to his voice here that was not present years ago. The songs that are covered here by JD are so superior to the originals in performance quality and overall sound quality with the new recordings that I myself find it almost unbearable to listen to the original recordings. They sound terrible compared to these versions that are enhanced in every way. I just bought "Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits" to have the originals but after hearing these reworked versions it is just so hard to listen to. "Best Of" is just as good as it gets. My favorites are "Leaving On A Jet Plane" and "Country Roads". "Dreamland Express" is wonderful, too. For the low price you should not hesitate an instant.

I just want to say again that it is simply a wonderful exhibition of an older John Denver doing his songs the way they were meant to be sung. It was recorded back in 1996 I believe. I also bought the boxed set called The Country Roads Collection and it pales in comparison in audio quality to the newer Best Of recordings. I highly recommend you give it a shot. It is simply one of the best CDs I've ever heard.

Smokey
03-02-2011, 10:00 PM
I also like John Denver. My favorite songs are Sunshine on My Shoulders, Rocky Mountain High and Annie's Song.

As for the re-recordings, I am not sure. Not withstanding better sound quality, on most reproduction of older hit songs albums the atmosphere and mood of original recording seem to get lost.

thekid
03-03-2011, 02:52 AM
John Denver was huge in the mid-late 70's and probably suffered from over-exposure and a bit of type casting. I was given a copy of "An Evening with John Denver" on vinyl from a girlfriend and for variety of reasons played it often enough that I came to like it very much. Of course he was the type of artist most teenage kids were not supposed to like back then but I have kept the LP all these years even though it has been a long time since it has been played. I should dust it off and give it a spin. I still find myself singing along to "Country Roads" whenever it comes on the radio.

Worf101
03-03-2011, 05:22 AM
Not my cup of tea but he was a prolific and well loved singer/songwriter... He was popular and sold a lot of records. But he succumbed to the second largest killer of musicians behind drugs and alcohol... airflight...

Worf

ForeverAutumn
03-03-2011, 06:16 AM
I had the pleasure of seeing John Denver live twice. Even the best recordings do not do his voice justice. He had one of the best voices I've heard live...ever. Crystal clear and perfect pitch. And he was funny, humble, and charming on stage. He knew how to hold an audience in the palm of his hand. I'm still a huge fan and always will be. It makes me sad to think of the great music that didn't get written due to his way-too-early death.

bobsticks
03-03-2011, 07:13 AM
I didn't check the link. Is it an EP?

Robert-The-Rambler
03-03-2011, 07:15 AM
I also like John Denver. My favorite songs are Sunshine on My Shoulders, Rocky Mountain High and Annie's Song.

As for the re-recordings, I am not sure. Not withstanding better sound quality, on most reproduction of older hit songs albums the atmosphere and mood of original recording seem to get lost.

Maybe even the emotion is stronger. I think John developed a much better way of singing through his friendship with guys like Placido Domingo and through years of practice. Its hard to describe but if you heard it you would notice right away. He seems to hold notes longer and his older voice is much richer.

Robert-The-Rambler
03-03-2011, 07:17 AM
I didn't check the link. Is it an EP?

And a damn good one.

Robert-The-Rambler
03-03-2011, 07:21 AM
Not my cup of tea but he was a prolific and well loved singer/songwriter... He was popular and sold a lot of records. But he succumbed to the second largest killer of musicians behind drugs and alcohol... airflight...

Worf

The story of Icarus. They might have thought twice about trying to fly to close to the sun. Now they are voices silenced left to echo in our hearts and minds.

Robert-The-Rambler
03-03-2011, 07:28 AM
I had the pleasure of seeing John Denver live twice. Even the best recordings do not do his voice justice. He had one of the best voices I've heard live...ever. Crystal clear and perfect pitch. And he was funny, humble, and charming on stage. He knew how to hold an audience in the palm of his hand. I'm still a huge fan and always will be. It makes me sad to think of the great music that didn't get written due to his way-too-early death.

From what I've seen of him on film he can capture an audience by himself. One man and one guitar that suck you into a world of imagination of loves gained and loves lost and an appreciation for the natural world around you. The idea of getting out of the city and experiencing the country seems so appealing. Hey, cakes on the griddle and playing the fiddle sound like a damn good life.

bobsticks
03-03-2011, 07:36 AM
. It makes me sad to think of the great music that didn't get written due to his way-too-early death.


Absolutely. They should really do something about the proliferation of trees on the ski slope...

Robert-The-Rambler
03-03-2011, 07:38 AM
John Denver was huge in the mid-late 70's and probably suffered from over-exposure and a bit of type casting. I was given a copy of "An Evening with John Denver" on vinyl from a girlfriend and for variety of reasons played it often enough that I came to like it very much. Of course he was the type of artist most teenage kids were not supposed to like back then but I have kept the LP all these years even though it has been a long time since it has been played. I should dust it off and give it a spin. I still find myself singing along to "Country Roads" whenever it comes on the radio.

I like it better than the original because John just sings that much better. I do miss half of the Starland Vocal Band singing backup in Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. I didn't really discover John Denver until I was in my late 20s so yes I can understand that teenagers think they need to listen to "cooler" music. But I think now in my somewhat demented manor that a guy singing as well as John could probably have gotten laid on a nightly basis if he so desired to be that kind of creep. Hell half of his material seems to be apologizing for bad behavior. Both I'm Sorry and Annies Song are showcased on Best Of.

ForeverAutumn
03-03-2011, 08:28 AM
Absolutely. They should really do something about the proliferation of trees on the ski slope...

I think that you're confusing Bob Denver with Sonny Bono. :shocked:

Robert-The-Rambler
03-03-2011, 08:34 AM
I think that you're confusing Bob Denver with Sonny Bono. :shocked:

I always wondered what was in that pipe they were passing around.

Finch Platte
03-03-2011, 08:54 AM
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r_vt1KIV8zQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

bobsticks
03-03-2011, 08:56 AM
I think that you're confusing Bob Denver with Sonny Bono. :shocked:

No, John Denver...the one who was the singer and the politician and married to Cher. I'm just surprised that anyone still speaks of his music as he was so clearly a politician at heart...at the very end he was stumping.

Alas, we are all mortal. We are all mortal. And in the end, Johnny was just ski and
bones.

Robert-The-Rambler
03-03-2011, 09:06 AM
No, John Denver...the one who was the singer and the politician and married to Cher. I'm just surprised that anyone still speaks of his music as he was so clearly a politician at heart...at the very end he was stumping.

Alas, we are all mortal. We are all mortal. And in the end, Johnny was just ski and
bones.

John Denver died in a plane crash flying the plane himself. Sonny Bono died in a ski accident when he hit a tree. Just for clarification Bob Denver was Gilligan on Gilligans Island. John Denver wrote a song called Annies Song. That was his X Wife who he regretted blowing it with. That is John Denver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkGS263lGsQ

Swish
03-03-2011, 09:07 AM
As Swishy would say, I'm just busying your balls.

He was the one who posted that now infamous typo that is commonly used on RR.

First you confuse John Denver with Sonny Bono, then you confuse me with JC. What next? Will you confuse Charlie Sheen with Muammar Gaddafi? I could understand that confusion since they're both loopy.

bobsticks
03-03-2011, 09:53 AM
I was at John Denver's funeral...There was a morose silence as the priest begin the eulogy,
"We are gathered together on this slalom occasion...."

Sonny Bono ruined the Beatles...

...and Charlie Sheen and Quaddafi share a love for all things Arabic as evidenced by this photo taken at the home of Emily Route in Zanzibar during a break in the filming of The Mighty Ducks

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/ruete/arabian/front-page.jpeg

Stone
03-03-2011, 09:57 AM
I thought this thread would be all about flying planes (poorly). Instead, it somehow morphed into a thread about Gilligan and Cher. Congrats.

Mr MidFi
03-03-2011, 10:27 AM
Sonny Bono ruined the Beatles...

Oh come on now, man. Everybody knows who Sonny Bono is, he's the singer for U2.

And besides, it was Anita Pallenberg and Edie Sedgewick who ruined the Beatles. Get it right.

bobsticks
03-03-2011, 10:32 AM
And besides, it was Anita Pallenberg and Edie Sedgewick who ruined the Beatles. Get it right.

There may be some merit to that. The day-glo banana that Edie insisted on as cover art for their first album was a marketing disaster for Lenin and the boys.

thekid
03-03-2011, 04:22 PM
I like it better than the original because John just sings that much better. I do miss half of the Starland Vocal Band singing backup in Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. I didn't really discover John Denver until I was in my late 20s so yes I can understand that teenagers think they need to listen to "cooler" music. But I think now in my somewhat demented manor that a guy singing as well as John could probably have gotten laid on a nightly basis if he so desired to be that kind of creep. Hell half of his material seems to be apologizing for bad behavior. Both I'm Sorry and Annies Song are showcased on Best Of.

Funny you mention the Starland Vocal Band as technically that is the first LP I owned. Given as an X-Mas present to me by one of my cousins. I never found the need to own LP's given my older brother's collection. IIRC Bill Danoff co-wrote "Country Roads". He had roots in the DC area and another ex of mine was good friends with him and his wife for awhile.

Robert-The-Rambler
03-03-2011, 07:12 PM
Funny you mention the Starland Vocal Band as technically that is the first LP I owned. Given as an X-Mas present to me by one of my cousins. I never found the need to own LP's given my older brother's collection. IIRC Bill Danoff co-wrote "Country Roads". He had roots in the DC area and another ex of mine was good friends with him and his wife for awhile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz1ex78QeQI

The band sounded great and their biggest hit Afternoon Delight is forever etched in my brain by Will Ferrell and the gang in Anchorman. I was literally singing the lyrics at work for months to the dismay of my coworkers. Bill was a friend of John Denver who contributed writing to several of John's songs. I hear Bill and Taffy owned a diner or something for years until it closed down. I would have loved to eat there and see what life after fame was like when you just live the normal life. Sadly I hear that both couples in the band wound up divorced.

3LB
03-06-2011, 11:45 AM
My favorite member of the Starland Vocal Band (Denny Green) would go on to play the harbor master in Theadore Tugboat, a Canadian kids show.

Rae
03-06-2011, 12:09 PM
Oh, I never saw this thread. I'll rep for John Denver. "Rocky Mountain High" is a jam.

~Rae

Robert-The-Rambler
03-06-2011, 06:40 PM
Oh, I never saw this thread. I'll rep for John Denver. "Rocky Mountain High" is a jam.

~Rae

Lyrics like Coming Home To A Place He'd Never Been Before and He Was Born In The Summer of his 27th year really illustrate when you have found the home you were looking for all along when you step outside and smell fresh country air instead of the exhaust of cars.