Customer Reviews

Windsong

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Recently I compiled a list of my all-time favorite albums, and John Denver's Windsong came up at #11, an excellent ranking in light of the hundreds of albums I have owned over the years. The realization of how much this album has affected me provided the inspiration to write this review.

Windsong is a majestic, soaring, inspirational album. John Denver's magnificent songwriting is the greatest strength of this disc, which consists primarily of straightforward melodies, traditional instrumentation, and heart-felt, poetic lyrics. The lyrics on Windsong are so universal to the human experience that anyone can find something on this album that will strike a chord within them.

It still kills me that John Denver died in that plane crash years ago. His music was a gift to all of us. We're lucky that we can still enjoy his masterwork through recorded music. If you want a good sampling of music from one of the greatest contemporary songwriters in America, check out this album. You won't be disappointed.

This album kept me company on the road for too many years to remember. As I traveled across this nation on business late at night, WINDSONG played always. When LATE NITE RADIO came on, it put me where I was. LOOKING FOR SPACE, brings back all those hours of thinking through my life. John Denver was in inspiration to many and gave so much to so many he never knew. I had the pleasure of watching a live performance where he brought a crowd to tears via "THE BOX", and then lifted the crowd back up with "COUNTRY ROADS."

I am a pilot too, so know from where he came. We miss you John Denver, I miss you. WINDSONG is without a doubt one of his best albums ever.

You can hear wind scraping over bare rocks and miniature plants of the alpine tundra, violently bifurcating through forests of coniferous trees, and you can feel wind swirling over the churning waters of a river, and you can see wind ripple and flow in waves through the deciduous leaves of aspen.

How would someone translate this invisible warmth into a song? John Denver begins by metaphorically expounding upon the strengths and human-like emotions and cries of the wind, announcing that the wind offers wisdom and to listen to her, finally culminating into an aural humming, representing the wind itself. It is a beautiful testament to the shifting and settling of air.

This is the original recording of the song, and John Denver re-recorded it twice in his later years (e.g. on the Very Best of album), taking advantage of newer and better recording materials. While these versions are like listening to Denver in surround-sound-super-stereo, and are almost more passionate in verse, the original track on the Windsong album will always be the first way original fans heard it. It commands more respect with its age.

Windsong, as an album, is filled with Denver's trademark layered-hums and drawn out singing styles that, I feel, make the songs more atmospheric and spiritual. This includes Cowboy's Delight, an almost haunting approach to mountains and the (to me) light that strikes them during different hours of the day. From the darkness of the Hour of the Wolf, to the dim outlines of the zodiacal light; the golden-pink bathing from the sunrise, and the noon sun sparkling off gold and muscovite, and biotite and garnets in granite, to fiery rocks in the sunset and purplish-pink lulls of alpenglow, to the silvery-blue moonshine or red-blue-silvers of starlight...

Also spiritual are Looking for Space, I'm Sorry, the pseudo-minimalist Spirit, and Fly Away (to a lesser degree). Your heart will soar at Calypso's plein-aire oceans and Love is Everywhere's upbeat folk/bluegrass fiddlin'! Shipmates and Cheyenne is a slower song with a beautiful chorus, Song of Wyoming is a calm end to the album (so calm, I can never recall the tune), and Late Nite Radio is a fun quirky truck-drivin' tune. As others have pointed out, Two Shots doesn't really belong here, but it's grown on me and I appreciate it for what it is. The song just starts off a bit too loudly.

Windsong is an immediate classic, with tracks that have unfortunately been released on many other albums...ones I got to first, so I feel this album isn't entirely new to me. But I sure wish I had been around when it was released. I would've done exactly what I do today: pop it in the tape-deck of my car, and drive off into the sunshine.

Maybe you could claim a greatest hits compilation is better, but this is his best regular album in my opinion. It has a wide varity in style of songs, from the more bluegrass with "Love is Everywhere" to the big symphony backgrounds of "Calypso" and my personnal favorite "Spirit". The only minus is "Two Shots" which seems out of place on this album. However, this is John Denver at the height of his career, and the songs definitely show it. A must have for fans, and even a good starting point for those not familiar with this great singer/songwriter.

I grew up with John's wonderful uplifting music. He is so very greatly missed! Windsong along with Spirit and Back Home Again, are my very favorites. A person can easily imagine flying like an eagle way over the mountains which John loved so much as well as flying. Success caused problems with his personal life, as it so often does with celebrities, but as far as music and singing, it never wavered. He was always on key and sang with the heart. His song Spirit is very moving as well as I'm Sorry. He loved to fly so very much and this can definitely be felt listening to this album. I highly recommend it.

The first time I heard Windsong back in 1977, I cried. Never had an artist so perfectly captured on vinyl what the North American Rocky Mountains could be like. There's only one weak song (the novelty "Two Shots"). Everything else shows the man at the absolute peak of his creativity. And with Lee Holdridge's orchestrations along for the ride, Windsong is as close to a "perfect" album as one could ever hope for.

By the time this album was released John Denver had practically become a household name. He had carved out his own little notch in music history. With his fan base secure he seems to have, in WINDSONG, put together an album that catered to his fans. Somehow, through the combination of lyrics and his own unique vocal sound, Denver is able to take the listeners mind off of whatever is occupying it and enables the listener to relax as he/she gives into reflection and imagination.

As I read the reviews here at Amazon.com I began to notice something I don't often find in many album reviews, and that is a lack of a few stand out tracks that appeal to all. Many albums have a few tracks, usually the ones that get a lot of radio play, that everyone comments on. The rest of the songs usually receive little or no attention. Here, in WINDSONG, I've noticed that while most people like the entire album, save a song or two, most have different favorites. I can't identify any stand out songs that drown out the others.

My favorite two songs are "Looking for Space" and "Fly Away." It would take too much time to try and describe just how these songs affect me. Suffice it to say that they, each in their own way, relate to me on a personal level. It's like Denver captured my thoughts, reflections and hopes and put them to song. As for the rest of the album, I enjoy all the songs with "Calypso" being another favorite.

Here's a little trivia for those of you who like "Fly Away." In case you've wondered what female sings back up on that song you may be surprised to find out that it is a young and not quite famous, at that time, Olivia Newton John.

Released in 1975 at the peak of Mr. Denver's popularity, this is an album full of terrific songs and performances. The songs range from the humorous (Two Shots) to the spiritual (Looking For Space, Windsong), with one outstanding arrangement after another. The songs range from folk to pop to bluegrass and country, and while many albums that cross that many musical boundaries seem jarring, with this album it works as Denver's voice weaves it all into an seamless whole. For those that wonder what John Denver's popularity was all about, this album is a good place to start.

I have loved this album (because that's what they were called when I was a kid) ever since I can remember. It evokes images of epic timelessness and beauty, and feelings of serenity and spiritual wholeness. The perfect place to listen to this music is in the great outdoors, with no one around and the wind in face. I highly recommend it!

This is perhaps John Denver's most overlooked and underrated album. I practically wore out my cassette tape as a kid! One of my favorite JD songs, "Late Night Radio" is included. It's a fun tune that perfectly captures what radio junkies have known for years... late night is when radio is at it's best! When I'm feeling down, when I need a lift, when I need to relax, this is always the CD I reach for. It's not for everyone... some might argue that only the true diehard John Denver fan can fully appreciate this project. More than a "fun" commercial album, this one reaches beyond the traditional pop or folk boundaries to show us the man behind the music.