So, let’s get the first question out of the way-Why is John Denver of all people being reviewed on this jazz web site? Bluegrass, fine. Elvis, OK. Rockers, whatever, but this is TOO MUCH!
There’s a simple lesson to be learned from the career and life of Henry John Deutschendorf Jr, who was born in 1943, changed his last name to “Denver” and made a gazillion sales in records as well as starred in movies (“Oh, God” is a classic) and TV shows. This four disc box set, which spans his career from 1964 to 1997, includes demos, live performances, private pressings and previously unreleased tracks, reveals and teaches something every aspiring musician must learn and live. That lesson is: develop your own sound, stick to your calling, and fly in the face of all negativity in the world with a smile on your face.
Denver became popular in the 70s, during a time when most music was angry, nihilistic, over produced and mechanized. Like a mix of troubadour and prophet, he held up his guitar and hand to the world and said “STOP!” But he didn’t curse the dark, he praised the light. His songs were simple, his voice was of the common man, his themes were usually about a basic part of life, and he asked the world to join in on his journey to “get back to where we once belonged.”
His first songs give an allegiance to the folk/rock scene of the sixties and seventies with songs like “Babe, I Hate to Go” and “For Bobbi” (with the Mitchell Trio) seeming to be competition for the likes of contemporary Gordon Lightfoot and Peter, Paul & Mary. He finally hits the big time with songs like Rocky Mountain High,” “Back Home Again” and “Annie’s Song” which put him into the mainstream of American consciousness. But, as opposed to having his popularity sink him into a certain smugness, Denver became America’s “Everyman,” and felt at home singing with Placido Domingo on “Perhaps”, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on “And So It Goes” and even with Miss Piggy of the Muppets on “Tumbling Tumbleweeds/Happy Trails.” It’s not that “nothing was beneath him.” Far from it; he just loved America so much that he wanted to take part in all of it, and sometimes that was by doing a duet with Emmylou Harris (“Wild Montana Skies”)and other times it was pulling out a childhood evergreen like “It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie.”
Off hand, can you think of any artist that joyfully journeys on his musical path, and trusts his love of country enough to sing about it? This well crafted 4 disc set is an inspiration of answering a call, even if you’ve never been to Colorado.
RCA/Legacy