Customer Reviews

I Want to Live

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I recieved my introduction to John Denver back in 1972. He has and always will be an influentual force in my music and the music I listen to. I had forgotten how wonderful this ablum really was. I wore the grooves off the lp I had owned. John Denver's writing remains important to all of us who care not only about the world around us but also the people in it. "It Amazes Me" and "I Want To Live" are the two most powerful songs on this ablum. Both are poignant pieces of songwriting. If you are not familiar with Denver's music please take a gamble and get this recording. I promise you that you will not be dissapointed.

Sincerly,

David Heckmann

John Denver's 1977 release "I Want To Live" is one of my all time favorite albums by my all time favorite singer/songwriter. I concur to what others have written that this album would have been a superior follow up to the smash hit Windsong rather than the album Spirit. After the death of Elvis Presley, John Denver inherited the core members of his band, phenomenal guitarists James Burton and keyboardist Glen D Harding. They provided John with a very polished sound. The overall tone of this album, although dominated by guitars and without a reliance on orchestration, is a comforting mellow smooth texture of easy listening music. The new band enabled John to step away from his folk and country roots to a more contemporary sound. Although in the future John Denver would move too far from that traditional formula, in my opinion, that is not the case with this CD.

The album opens with "How Can I Leave You Again?" a beautifully written sorrow filled ballad John wrote after having to leave Annie to begin filming the movie "Oh God!" Although it only went to number 44 on the pop charts, it reached number 2 on the Adult Contemporary charts. This was followed up the same chart by "It Amazes Me" an upbeat song of celebration which reached number 9. The title song, which John wrote during his involvement on the Presidential Commission on World and Domestic Hunger, reached number 10 on the Adult Contemporary charts and its message of the preciousness of life displays John's tremendous vocal range. The CD also contains one of my favorite songs that John ever wrote: "Singing Skies and Dancing Waters." It is song about faith and renewal and the places where one can see evidence of the Divine. The song "Tradewinds" could have come from the pen of Jimmy Buffett and is a mellow homage to just relaxing on a tropical beach. "To The Wild Country" is another song about renewal. This time John weaves a poignant ballad about conservation of the land with finding restoration in the wilderness and mountains of Alaska. "Druthers" is an upbeat country/blues number that has grown on me through the years. The remainder of the CD is filled with songs John Denver covered from various friends of his. "Ripplin' Waters" was written by Jimmy Ibbotson of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "Bet on the Blues" was written by Tom Paxton, The great ballad about social protest, "Thirsty Boots", was written by the brilliant folksinger/songwriter Eric Anderson. "Dearest Esmeralda" was written by long time friend and collaborator Bill Danoff. The cover tunes, plus John's original compositions, combine to create one of the best albums John ever recorded during his illustrious career.

While I don't usually care for songs with an activist message to them, the title song "I Want to Live" is so lovingly rendered that one cannot help but think a moment on the message held within. Combined with love songs such as "How Can I Leave You Again" and complimented by a few songs originally rendered by others, it gives the album a nice balanced feel. If I were introducing someone to John Denver for the first time, this would be one of the albums I chose.

With the release of this album in the mid-1970s, John Denver reprised his incredible run of hit albums with this final work that successfully landed in the top ten for the year. Present are all the elements he had used to achieve such singular fame and fortune as the best-selling and most popular singer of the 1970s, including some very thoughtful and lovely tunes that reminded us of just how talented and versatile a performer he really is. After all, John Denver almost single-handedly began the outdoor backpacking, hiking, and orienteering movements by popularizing the idea of nature as an important element in modern life, and more than a few of the young baby-boomers, like John, were more than ready for the kind of unconventional intimacy with nature he sang about so effortlessly and so elegantly. Thus, when he sings about such topics with wonderful lyrics like those in "I Want To Live", Denver's songs soar in their description of the beauties of the natural life and in being close to the "great wide-open'.

Denver also does an unusually good cover of "Thirsty Boots", an Eric Andersen classic, and also serves up a later hit, "It Amazes Me"'. He really surprises with his terrific cover of "Tradewinds", and he is the only one besides Tom Rush that I have ever heard do a good cover of a James Taylor song as he does in an earlier album. Indeed, the simple and well arranged acoustic blast of infectious energy and sweet simplicity that was John Denver is here in spades, whether it be in original songs like "To The Wild Country" or with covers of others' work, the kid who had adopted the majesty of Colorado for his setting and his inspiration sings simply, sentimentally, and superbly about the simple pleasures and undying verities of a homespun and simple life well lived. My special favorite here is "How Can I Leave You Again?", and I always wondered why it was never a bigger hit for John. Hearing John sing with such undying enthusiasm about what turns him on is still a rare treat. This one has weathered the years with all its energy and beauty intact. I love this album, and I think you will too. Enjoy!

With this album, originally recorded and released in late 1977, John introduced a new band that gave his songs a deeper and more diverse quality. Also, the overall sound quality is a lot better than on all of his earlier efforts.

"I Want to Live" is one of the best and strongest songs John ever wrote, "How Can I Leave You Again" and "Singing Skies" are clsssic Denver material, and all of the other tracks on this album are simply brilliant as well. Even the the cover (i.e. non-Denver-penned) recordings (like the beautiful rendition of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Ripplin' Waters) are truely outstanding.

As an "album" as such, this has always been my favorite John Denver release - highly recommended.

This album is one of John Denver's best, in my opinion. With a diversity that most people don't realize Denver had, his piano-driven songs are many of the high-lights of this album. "I Wanna Live" is a heart-felt, operatic tune with a powerful chorus. "Dearest Esmerelda" is a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics, one of my faves on this album. "To the Wild Country" and "It Amazes Me" are beautiful tunes about, well, of course...nature. These songs differ from many of John's earlier ones because of their specific change in structure between the chorus and the verses. "How Can I Leave You Again" shows Denver at his troubled best: A song that could easily have come from Denver in '71, but with a beautiful piano and a style of singing that is more along the lines of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," than "Follow Me." All in all, a great album in which a musician adds to and changes his music, and it works well. A MUST for any true John Denver fan.

To call "I Want to Live" John's best of the seventies is sure to bring out the opinions of his fans. However, this incredible release sits comfortably next to his indisputable classics- "Rocky Mountain High", "Back Home Again", and "Windsong". This is a brilliant example John's craftsmanship at work. The opener, "How Can I Leave You Again", is another beautiful John Denver love song. It's lyrics and music blend to form the an unforgettable start to a great album. In fact, all of John's contributions to this album stand out, "Tradewinds", "It Amazes Me", "Singing Skies and Dancing Waters"... the list represents a collection that could stand up to any of his greatest hits collections. Along side of John's own compositions are a tasteful selection of covers. Eric Anderson's "Thirsty Boots" seems to have been made for Denver, and Tom Paxton's "Bet on the Blues" is a nice treat (later to be recorded live on the awesome Wildlife Concert). Over all this album will leave you very satisfied, a perfect album to have playing on a sunny spring day... among John's very best.

I own practically every album John ever put out, and for some reason, this is the one I enjoy listening to the most. I think it's a little treasure that is perhaps underappreciated because it doesn't contain any big "hits." Nevertheless, if you're looking for some great Denver music and haven't heard this album, you can't go wrong. I love listening to this especially when I'm traveling. It is calming, relaxing, and refreshing.

"How Can I Leave You Again," and title track are wonderful. One can feel this life force, the huge human being JD was in this recording. He truly felt all of his songs, and there was little of the pretense we see now adays in modern day pop singers. Though John dealt with a lot of personal demons, like alcohol, his world view and life's message about the environment and about all of us being one people should be treastured as a supreme wisdom. THANKS FOR ALL THE MUSIC YOU GAVE TO US!

Okay, so 1976's 'Spirit' was supposed to be the follow-up to Windsong (Denver's greatest artistic success). But it wasn't. This album, however, is. It doesn't have the same string-drenched arrangements, but Denver's songwriting is *incredibly* strong and his choice of cover versions is much better than Spirit. Tracks like To The Wild Country, Thirsty Boots and Singing Skies & Dancing Waters are among the best things he ever recorded.