Customer Reviews

Take Me Home: Tribute to John Denver

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I thought it necessary to respond to the review where someone said they thought it sounded like the artists on this disc maybe were more concerned about their paycheck for their contribution than anything else. I'd have to contend that I believe nothing could be further from the truth, in that it's quite obvious these songs were performed in a way which will not bring them any sort of mass airplay or exposure whatsoever.

It's certainly true that these versions of Denver's songs are pretty far out there and may indeed not be able to be appreciated by a vast contingent of Denver's fans. The musicians involved are typically looking for another window into Denver's music, and the result is generally a pretty drastic reworking of the material. Certainly they could have been more faithful and direct in their interpretations, but it seems to me that the value of such a project is to do something distinctly different from the existing versions.

It is, unquestionably, evidence that Denver's music means something to artists whose interests lie far beyond the boundaries of what you'd hear on commercial radio these days. Whether that's a good or a bad thing may depend on how interested you are in venturing beyond those boundaries. The artists involved deserve, I believe, to be respected for their willingness to take Denver's songs out of their usual confines, even if the results may not agree with a lot of his fans.

Also, just to be clear, not everything here is really that far out on a limb. I'd venture to guess most any Denver fan would enjoy the Innocence Mission's take on "Follow Me", and probably Mark Kozelek & Rachel Goswell's version of "Around And Around" as well. And possibly Sunshine Club's "Annie's Song".... Beyond that, yes, it does get a bit esoteric. And it may not be worth exploring for many Denver fans. But I did feel that comment about the artists just looking for a paycheck needed to be contradicted.

I liked John Denver's music when it was first out, through the years of mockery, and now after his death. Not in a kitsch way either, I just like most of what can be called his sappy and positive songs. After he did the est training (for you youngsters, est was a late 1970s-era enlightenment weekend seminar), he was the butt of jokes, personal and media, but I continued to listen to his music. And my husband Eric is even worse; we're old folkies (in our mid-40s) and he would sing John Denver tunes at our music circles. "Who wrote that?" people would ask admiringly, then feel they had to sneer when they heard it was John Denver tune. We hosted a John Denver song night when he died, all John Denver tunes, all evening. We mourned his death. Positive people are often looked down on as being Pollyanna-ish, but I tell you, having upbeat, loving people in one's life -- people who aren't afraid to swoon over the pleasure and mystery of life despite our overwhelmingly negative and superficial culture -- is a blessing.

That said, I also like a lot of contemporary music too, and I love this collection. It's moody and emotional and personal. I admire what the artists have done with Denver's songs. I hear the songs anew and appreciate them all over again.

Rachel Haden's playful rewrite of "Poems, Prayers, and Promises" is brilliantly executed, and Hannah Marcus does a dark "Looking for Space" that I found quite effective. "The Eagle and the Hawk" is a spare rendition, austere even, that highlights Denver's songwriting ability.

I mark this CD down a star because of the interminable version of "Fly Away" by Red House Painters, 6+ minutes of jangly guitar noise, out of place on an otherwise atmospheric and delicious disc. However, their finale tune, "I'm Sorry," shows that they do understand both the sentiment and the songwriting of John Denver. I'm glad this isn't a mocking "tribute" to a dead Pollyanna, but rather a tender and insightful homage.

Because of his straightforward and honest approach to music, you have to give John Denver just a little bit of credit. As much as it may shame you to admit that you sing along to "Sunshine on My Shoulders", I bet that you also know the words to "Leaving on a Jet Plane". Four years after his untimely death in a plane accident, it is suddenly o.k. for one to admit that they are a John Denver fan. Luckily, Mark Kozelek, one of the best singer/songwriters of the 90s, is also a Denver fan, and his passion for Denver's lyrics and melodies led him to assemble this rewarding compilation of songs. Most the artists on this cd have placed their own unique stamps on Denver's song, a strategy that pays off for Low ("Back Home Again"), The Innocence Mission ("Follow Me"), and Will Oldham (The Eagle and the Hawk.") Unfortunately, Tarnation destroy the beauty of "Jet Plane", but that is the only disappointment here. The highlights come from Kozelek, who harmonizes beautifully with Rachel Goswell from Mojave on "Around and Around." Additionally, Kozelek and his acoustic guitar shine on "I'm Sorry", a sad tale of yearning and love lost. Despite the depressing lyrics: "I'm sorry for the way things are in China, I'm sorry things ain't what they used to be, but more than anything else, I'm sorry for myself", they ultimately reflect Denver's social conscious and desire to deliver from the heart. I highly recommend this cd for anyone interested in discovering the magic of John Denver, or to hear current independent musicians honor this great songwriter.

Despite his reputation as a muppet-loving, tree-hugging master of cheese, even the cynical must admit John Denver occupies an unusual place in American music: too hippie to be country, too folk to be rock, too popular to be underground, too radical to be mainstream. In a sense he is to America what a Boris Grebenshikov is to Russia--a singer/songwriter somehow in touch with the American soul, in all its sadness and glory. It is the intense melancholy that is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Denver's legacy, which is unfortunate since it may be the most compelling. This tribute CD, put together by master of melancholy Mark Kozelek, is a step towards rectifying this. A few of the interpretations miss the boat; interestingly, the most familiar song on the album, "Leaving on a Jet Plane," is the most butchered. However, fellow American legends (in their own time) Low and "Bonnie Prince Billy" fill Denver's songs with majesty and lump-in-the-throat intensity. One hopes that as Denver's life recedes into the past, dedicated artists like these will keep his contribution immediate.

I am a big John Denver fan. I liked this record very much because it has a big range of musical artists doing John's songs, each in their own way. It feels like a tribute when I listen -- they are taking his songs, which they love, and making the songs part of their own repertoire. They are not trying to imitate John Denver -- that would feel false, I think. Instead, they are absorbing his music and giving it back as the combination of his work and their feeling. This is a good listening record!

My mother used to have a well loved and beat-up copy of a two lp john denver live album. She would always play it on saturday mornings when she was cleaning the house. I associate songs like Matthew, the Eagle and the Hawk, Poems Prayers and Promises etc. with morning sun, the smell of pine-sol and lemon pledge and my mother's strong alto pulling me into another childishly happy morning.

I discovered Mark Kozelek through his work as Sun Kil Moon. Their first album was an instant favorite. Right from track one, standing at a listening station in a Borders bookstore back home in Indiana, I knew I needed this music.

John Denver counts as a guilty pleasure for alot of people beacuse he was so resolutely uncool. He was an optimist, a new age-ey mystic AND a country flavored folk singer.
His craft though, at its height, was undeniable. His melodies are absolute human classics and his lyrics bear a soul that may not have ever been in danger of being hip but seemed genuinely good.

Kozelek and his gathered cohorts pay wonderful tribute to that fact on this sincere and fitting collection. Each song stands as a coherent interpretation and a pleasent re-invention.

This collection is likely the closest John Denver will ever get to being "hip" and perhaps he's not entirely out of place.

The first concert I ever went to was to see John Denver and to this day when I drive through the Rocky Mountains I have to listen to his original "Greatest Hits" album. We first heard about John Denver for writing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and singing "Take Me Home (Country Roads)," but he became identified in my mind with Colorado and "Rocky Mountain High." But there was more than the glorification of nature in his music, and my favorite John Denver songs are "Poems, Prayers and Promises" and "Rhymes and Reasons," which can certainly be accused of being more spiritual than commercial in essence.

I stumbled on "Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver" because I was going on one of my periodic searches to find interesting covers versions of songs I like and I stumbled across the Rachel Hayden cover of "Poems, Prayers and Promises" on this album. In contrast with the moody and somber approaches taken by most of the artists on this album, Hayden provides a rather perky pop take on the song, with some interesting harmonies in the chorus. It is very different, but that is what is interesting.

That approach is clear from the opening track of the album, "The Eagle and the Hawk" by Bonnie Prince Billy. The shortest of all John Denver songs, this is another personal favorite because of the guitar introduction. But Billy just sings the song a cappella in a simple haunting manner that gives you no other options but to listen to the lyrics this time around. As soon as he starts singing you know that this is a tribute album to someone who has died too song. The other defining element is that these are not artists that you would think of as being anything remotely close to John Denver. But they must have listened to him in their youth and compelled them to pay their respects to his music in their own manner.

For example, it seems the Red House Painters only sings songs of haunting sadness as a means of purging emotions, and their two tracks her are decidedly in that spirit. The sparse instrumentation and Mark Kozelek's introspective vocals emphasize the confessional aspects of "I'm Sorry." But the group relies entirely on almost wall of sound instrumentation to turn "Fly Away" into a dirge (A commentary on the circumstances of Denver's death? Perhaps). At the other end of the spectrum there is "Follow Me" by the Innocence Mission, where Karen Peris' vocals remind me of Melanie (the folk singer, not either of the Spice Girls).

Despite the often quite moody approaches often taken to Denver's songs (e.g., Low's "Back Home Again"), I think many of his fans will be open to what these artists are doing with his songs. Granted, chances are they will not find everything here to their liking. But there will be a couple of songs here that will catch their fancy. Most of these songs might be somber and moody, but they are certainly respectful and I cannot help but thinking with many of these tracks that these artists are literally performing them as if they were at the funeral (cf. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by Jason & The Scorchers or "Rocky Mountain High" by the Yonder Mountain String Band ).

John Denver was a really complicated guy. Real highs and abyssmal lows. His music is already beautiful, so if you also cringe when you are relaxing around a campfire when the acoustic guitar appears, there are songs here to skip.
Will Oldhams' version of 'The Eagle and the Hawk' and the Red House Painters "I'm Sorry" cover the cost of admission twice over. They are the most moving songs on the album. You have to buy the album for those two songs. Brilliantly done. The Innocence Mission pulls off 'Follow Me' hauntingly well. If you have an afternoon to adjust your equalizer the Low version of 'Back Home Again' is excellent as well.
I wish I had never heard the Tarnation version of 'Leaving on a Jet Plane'. How can you make a bad song so much worse? The Rachel Haden song has an artificially sweetened bubble-gum feel with over-the-top horn that places it in a bad Japanese cartoon. The other Red House Painter's/Kozelek songs are very well done and are solid. The other songs on the album are very easy to forget. They are blown opportunities by bands that were trying to make the songs more beautiful than they already are by adding gimmicks and overproduction. There is no depth of feeling that grace the originals. If thats your thing maybe you should search out "The Boston Pops play John Denver"....

This is a beautiful album . I purcahsed this CD exclusively for "Poems,Prayers, and Promises"sung by the TALENTED Rachel Haden (That Dog,The Rentals, & Jimmy Eat World). But to my delight the rest of the album turned out well. Fans of Death Cab for Cutie, Belle & Sebastin, Matthew Sweet, and indie rock will be able to enjoy the lyrics of John Denver set to the sweet voices of Rachel Haden, Rachel Goswell, and James Hindle.This album is one that is perfect for rainy days and days where you need comfort.

This album is a good introduction to John Denver.

I am a lifelong Denver fan, and have been sad for so many years that this man doesn't walk with us anymore. I appreciate that the majority of these seem sincere and some even interesting. All seem respectful--- if oddly chosen.

The opening "EAGLE AND HAWK" is haunting... "MATTHEW" and "WHISPERING JESSIE" are too dark. "POEMS PRAYERS & PROMISES" has been bubblegummed. However, that's not the point--- the point is that John Denver's music is being looked at again.

His great lyrics stand up to almost everything this CD throws at it. I believe John would enjoy hearing these--- he seemed to have not only a beautiful heart--- but a sense of humor. At a concert of his I attended he said "I dare those of you who bought a t-shirt to wear it!" I still wear mine.