Customer Reviews

Windsong

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Following up the much-acclaimed "Back Home Again", and the hugely successful live package, "An Evening With John Denver", the singer really had his work cut out for him. Public anticipation was at an all-time high, and a false move at this point could do some serious damage. But John was equal to the task, and delivered an irresistable set of songs that not only lived up to the reputation he'd built, but showcased his versatility as well.

The title song just might be the best he ever recorded. A single acoustic guitar, a warm and lonesome vocal, distant bongo drums, some thrillingly eerie sound effects, an exquisite partnership of oboe and cello, and a richly evocative lyric, all combine to transport the listener to some vast and lonely place, where beauty is omnipresent and time does not exist. The rest of the album is a little closer to home, but still outstandingly good.

"Cowboy's Delight" is a self descriptive title that really says it all. "Spirit" would have been a great title cut for his next album, but it fits perfectly here, too. Besides the wide-open feel of the orchestral accompaniment, there is also a narrative containing the names of several constellations. There's a bouncy bluegrass number called "Love Is Everywhere", a gorgeous deut called "Fly Away", with Olivia Newton-John, and a philosophical ballad about self-discovery called "Looking For Space." The seafaring classic "Calypso", dedicated to French naturalist Jacques Cousteau, is complete with nautical sounds like a ship's bell and crashing waves. "Song Of Wyoming" is one of the best cowboy ballads I've ever heard, with a harmonica solo that seems like a part of the western lanscape itself. You even get two novelty songs, "Late Night Radio" and "Two Shots", both clever and amusing. Like most JD albums, this one is a great camping or travelling companion.

Following the huge success of Back home again, which included Annie's song and remains the pinnacle of John's career, there was plenty of interest in this follow-up album. While it does not quite match its illustrious predecessor, it is a wonderful album - one of the best of his career.

The first single from the album featured I'm sorry, a superb ballad that made number one in the American pop and country charts, and Calypso, a tribute to naturalist Jacques Cousteau and my favorite song here. I am surprised that they were two sides of the same single - Calypso deserved to be given a separate release but nevertheless became a huge American hit in its own right. Neither song charted in Britain although Calypso received plenty of airplay.

Fly away (featuring backing vocals by Olivia Newton-John) became an American top twenty pop hit. Other highlights include Windsong, Looking for space and Song of Wyoming.

If you enjoy John's music enough to be interested in collecting at least some of his original albums, this one should definitely be a high priority.

There is an overlooked gem on this album. It is the song "Fly Away", an eerie, hauntingly beautiful song with Olivia Newton-John adding a backing vocal to create an etheral effect.You can easily identify the woman singing the title phrase in response to John Denver, and her contribution helped "Fly Away" to become a hit.Reaching #1 AC, "Fly Away" reached #13 on the Pop charts and #12 on the Country charts after its release September, 1975. In the Spring of 1975 somewhere above The Rocky Mountains, I met a beautiful woman named Sandy and we experienced "love-at-first-sight". We drank some wine and "made out" in the back seat of an airplane bound for Los Angeles. Once I returned back to the ground the affair ended in tragedy and I walked away with a broken heart.The first time I heard "Fly Away" it instantly reminded me of my lost love Sandy and I cried. Today, 28 years later the song still has the same affect on me.