Customer Reviews

John Denver: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

John Denver's Greatest Hits, Volume II, delivers one of the rarest situations in musical compilations: a second GH collection that is better than the first.

This disk contains 12 tracks which represent the full range of Denver's tremendous talents. There are wonderful, heart-tugging ballads like Annie's Song and Fly Away; tongue-in-cheek good-natured ditties like Thank God I'm a Country Boy; and the beautiful, multi-tiered tribute to Jacques Cousteau, Calypso.

The only reason this collection is rated at 5-stars is that 6-stars isn't available. Absolutely outstanding!

Of course all the songs on a greatest hits album would be great, but I think ALL of John Denver's songs are great, not just the ones on here. My mom gave this to me for a gift. I encourage you to buy Poems, Prayers and Promises, Farewell Andromeda, Back Home Again, Windsong, and Spirit. There's many many more beautiful songs where these came from.

These are the ORIGINAL RECORDINGS of John Denver hits. John Denver was a great talent as reflected on this CD and his songs appreciated even more now that we have lost him. This CD and "John Denver's Greatest Hits" Volume One constitute the two CD's necessary for any library. Buy this CD; It's excellent!

This is the second of three albums of John Denver's greatest hits released even as he was continuing to make them. Here we see the additional monster hits that kept him in a position of preeminence, popularity and superstardom in the 1970s. In his heyday no one was outselling his albums or out-booking John for concert appearances, and considering the incredible talents on the scene at the time, that is a pretty good indication of just how popular he was, and just how universal John Denver's appeal was. No one else sang of the wide-open possibilities and seemingly limitless possibilities for a good life awaited those who would free themselves from the bonds that confined them and just dare to soar along with him in the wild open spaces.

All the tracks here are terrific, from "Annie's Song", the lovely love song about his beautiful wife, to "Welcome to My Morning", to "Looking For Space", another of his many paeans to appreciating the beauties of nature and the natural life. He, more than any of his contemporaries, actively caught the public's imagination regarding the wonders of the natural environment, and in a time when environmental concerns were splashed all over the headlines and the evening news, John's vision of popular concern for and stewardship of the natural world was immensely important. I love all the songs here, including "Fly Away", "Calypso", "This Old Guitar", " My Sweet Lady", and my own special favorite, "I'm Sorry". This album represents a wonderful overview of the early work of John as he thrilled a whole generation with his own perspective of a meaningful life lived in the natural splendor of nature. I know you will enjoy this as well as the other two in this three album series of John's greatest hits. Far out!

Just four years after the first Greatest Hits compilation RCA released "John Denver's Greatest Hits Volume 2." This album contained more actual chart hits than the previous compilation, and it displays some of JDs best work up to that point.

The CD opens with "Annie's Song" which is, in my opinon, the best love song and one of the most beautiful melodies ever written. It is a graceful waltz that celebrates the love between a man and a women inter-woven with the beauty and wonder of nature.

The next song "Farewell Andromeda (Welcome To My Morning)" was from the album of the same name. This version, however, was re-recorded for this compilation and is by far the best. Another song that was re-recorded for this album is "My Sweet Lady." This was originally on the album "Poems, Prayes and Promises," but was overlooked. The guitar playing captures the mood of the song better than the original, and his vocal grasp of the song displays a deeper emotional expression. But the definitive version of that song is on "An Evening With John John Denver." It was recorded live with just John and his guitar...simply beautiful.

Another great song on this album is "I'm Sorry." I call this song his "forgotten" hit song. This song reached number one on the billboard charts in 1975, yet it is rarely listed off by the media when they quote the string of John Denver's hits. As with most of his songs he had a gift of being able to tap into those universal experiences that we all have had, and this song is an exceptional example of that.

Before I finish my review I have to mention something that many of John's detractors have complained about. That his music was to heavily orchestral laden. Sadly, I would have to agree with that. Now do not misunderstand me, I love the sound of an acoustic guitar backed with some strings. But with JD sometimes that guitar could get lost in that formula. A case in point is the song "Calypso." It is one of his best songs. This song does require an orchestra but his vocals sometimes gets lost. When I first heard him live in 1984 he was just by himself, his guitars and no band. When he closed the show he performed "Calypso" and hit some amazing high notes that on the studio version of the song get buried in the mix. Listen to this song from the "Wild Life Concert" and you might agree. As his career progressed sometimes his songs were a bit over produced.

He closes this compilation with one of my all time favorites, "This Old Guitar." It is his autobiography in a three minuet song. As a guitarist myself, this song simply says it all. But this version was re-recorded from "Back Home Again" and suffers from the orchestration. Again, listen to "An Evening With John Denver," and hear that John didn't need to be weighed down by a lot of strings.

Although I complained a bit about the over production, John's songs are timeless, and this CD truly does represent what a gifted artist he really was.

This is an excellent John Denver album showing the wide range of his singing and composing talents. It includes ballads like "Annie's Song" and "My Sweet Lady" to knee-slappin', toe tappin' favorites "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "Grandma's Feather Bed. And for all you environmentalists out there his "Calypso," a tribute to the late Jaques Cousteu (although not deceased when Denver wrote it) is wonderful.

This John Denver Greatest Hits Volume 2 is an excellent masterpiece. So when is RCA/Legacy Recordings going to finally reissue and remaster this cd? They remastered 4 of John's cd(including Rocky Mountain Christmas) last year. I cannot find this cd in any store so RCA please start reissuing more John Denver cd's SOON...What are you waiting for???

As with most second volumes of greatest hits, this album does not have a ton of the well known songs, but die-hard John Denver fans will find this a terrific album. The common songs on here are "Annie's Song" and "Thank God I'm A Country Boy." If you like John Denver get this album. You will not be disappointed.

This is such a wonderful compilation...Will RCA reissue and remaster this cd? Hopefully they will real soon...they did an excellent remaster with John's first Greatest Hits(1969-1973) cd!!!