Customer Reviews

John Denver

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I strongly disagree with a reviewer's comment classifying this album as a "turkey". Anyone who has heard this album knows that it is a special treat! From "What's On Your Mind?", a sexy and suggestive song about wanting love from that special someone to the an amazing perfomance of "Johnny B. Goode" to a winsome and thoughtful "Garden Song", John works his way through a stable of country and folk songs in a way that works wonder on raising your spirirts. My own personal favorite is "Berkeley Woman" an evocative song about a woman spotted rocking gently in her all too-natural beauty, and this rousing live version of the song is superior to the one he previously recordd on an another album. Listen to the balance of the seventeen songs on the CD version of this best-selling classic and you'll spend some quality time with an entertainer with his own special brand of magic. The album is admitted uneven, meaning it combines both twanging country numbers and a song cycle in the middle beginning with "What's On Your Mind" and ending with "Songs Of" that could be an album in and of itself. But it is a rich variety of well-produced songs that it is hard to fault. I certainly enjoy listening to it, and I am a die-hard John Denver fan. Enjoy!

This is my favorite John Denver album. I looked for years for this on cd. Unfortunately, it tooks John's passing away to get it released on cd. Although there are no big hits on this album, it contains some of John's best work. My absolute favorite song on the album (and maybe of all his work) is "Berkeley Woman." I love the line in the song "a women is the sweetest fruit that God ever put on the vine." This live version tells the tale of longing for another woman while at the same time feeling guilty. It's great. "Life is so good" is a simple, soulful prayer on the gift of life. "Joseph&Joe", "Garden Song", "Songs of", and "Southwind" are also classics. If you are a JD fan, you must have this album!

It's about time they started releasing the balance of John's albums on CD. This has always been one of my favorites. The band John assembled for this album and others later is incredible. The audio mix, the use of percussion, the wind instruments and all other aspects make this one of John's best releases. Unfortunately there are not major air play hits from the release but musically it is top notch. "Songs of" is a beatuiful instrumantal with a simple lyric plaped in the middle. Johnnie B Goode was done on one of John's TV specials during a Jukebox Saturday Night section. The album version is very polished and fun. Speaking of fun, "Downhill Stuff" needs to be the background music for all ski videos. There is one treasure after another.

Also included in this release are 5 songs from the album "Who's Garden Was This". It is nice to see some of the older albums being added to other releases. I would not purchase a CD of WGWT but it is great to have the music. The recordings are old but relatively clean and transferred nicely.

Again, if you are a fan when it comes to JD (the original album name) it is "Far Out".

I purchased this particular CD and the "Spirit" CD to have access to the much berated "Whose Garden Was This" - sides one and two appearing as bonus tracks on each CD respectively. "JD", however, is a surprise to one who has not heard this album since its release in the late 1970s. The music is crisp, clear, and John Denver is at his best. Listen to Downhill Stuff, Your'e So Beautiful, What's On Your Mind, and the esoteric Denver compositions of Joseph and Joe and Songs Of. As a native West Virginian, I thought Country Roads was Denver's best, I love that song, but love the "JD" album more.

Willie

John Denver doing rock and roll! This is not your typical Denver collection. It's JD breaking the rules. And it's wonderful. I defy anyone to listen to his rollicking rendition of "Johnny B. Goode" and NOT get on your feet and move. And don't let the opening strains of Downhill Stuff fool you into thinking this is a sleepy little country song, nope. Just as you're about to hit that 'skip' button you hear a joyous 1 2 3 4....and a piano riff straight from Jerry Lee..and it rocks!

IN THE HEIGHT OF THE DISCO ERA THIS LP WAS NOT GOING TO GET MUCH RADIO AIRPLAY BUT IT IS FIRST RATE.THE PLAYERS ON THIS LP ARE FIRST RATE.THE LP SHOWED HOW VERSITILE JOHN REALLY WAS IT ACTUALLY GOT TO #25 ON THE CHARTS WHICH ISN'T BAD IN THE ERA OF DISCO INFERNO.THANKS BMG FOR FINALLY PUTTING IT OUT ON CD!

This is the last album that received any noticable degree of support (I remember it being advertised on weekday morning network television during the time I suffered a death in the family), and, when it disappointed his label, Denver faded away almost as fast and thoroughly as another early & mid 70s hitmaker, Gordon Lightfoot.
"Berkeley Woman" has a surprising edge to it, sounds great even today, very untypical Denver fare. "The Garden Song" was much more in tune with the Capricorn Denver's tree-hugger style and a very nice song. Even the songs I did not like here seemed to stretch Denver's mostly self-inflicted artistic boundaries.

Every serious music fan has an album that is special to them no matter how long ago it was put out or purchased. The artist/band may have long passed the cool stage but that doesn't matter where this album is concerned. For me, this is that album. I was born in the mid 70's at the height of John's popularity and so some of my earliest memories are of me listening to this tape on a portable tape player. We didn't have the money for anything else but suited me fine. I took it all over the house with me and listened to it over and over again. I didn't know my shapes or colors that well but I knew every word to every song on this tape.

Highlights include: Downhill Stuff which is John's venture into rock and roll and has a blues feel to it. It just rocks all the way through. Sweet Melinda is a more melodic offering more to what John's fans were used to. John's cover of Johnny B. Goode is fantastic and in my opinion better than the original. Life is So Good is also a song close to what John's fans were used to in that it was in line with the tempo and thankful attitude that came through many of his songs.

Overall this album has been a love/hate to John's hard core fans. I personally think this is his best album and highly suggest it to anyone.

This CD contains a couple of rock-and roll tunes as well as some beautifully written love songs that only JD was capable of writing!

This Cd is a bit different to JD's previous music. It has a good mixture of songs and I have found it compulsive listening. I bought the LP when it was first released and have recently bought the Cd for the 2nd time because I listen to it so much. Great deal from the seller!