Take Me Home: The John Denver Story (2000 TV Movie) [SOUNDTRACK]

John Denver

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 18, 2000)
• Original Release Date: April 18, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00004SBUU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #288,975 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Is it ironic that the Take Me Home soundtrack to the made-for-TV movie about everyone's (except for Charlie Rich, that is) favorite Muppet-haired country singer comes out at the same time as a John Denver indie-rock tribute of the same name? Perhaps a John Denver renaissance is at hand. Don't laugh. As both albums attest, Denver was an amazingly talented singer and composer, his songs central to the Zeitgeist of an age. The auspices for the Take Me Home soundtrack are dubious (a CBS movie starring Chad Lowe as the late troubadour), but, incredibly, it stands as one of the more definitive retrospectives of the artist's career. Late in his life, no longer enjoying the heights of the charts, Denver revisited many of his early works, reinterpreting them with his matured vision and voice. These recastings are sprinkled liberally throughout the album, side by side with his original recordings, and the result is both the John Denver you loved and a John Denver you've never heard before. His rerecordings of early hits ("Leaving, on a Jet Plane," "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Sunshine on My Shoulders") discover new emotive depths to the tunes, his voice richer in timbre and expression. Untouched originals ("Annie's Song," "This Old Guitar," "Poems, Prayers, and Promises," "Thank God I'm a Country Boy") remind us of a more optimistic day, when his songs ruled the airwaves and became ingrained in our consciousness. --Tod Nelson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great CD, Great Songs, Great Singer, May 1, 2000

By	Joe Sparks (Richardson, TX USA) - See all my reviews

I own every John Denver CD available and this one is clearly the best collection of his songs out there.

Many of the performances on this CD were recorded by John Denver in the 80's and 90's. These songs are much clearer and better than his originals in the 70's. John's voice had matured very much and he was able to give much more stirring renditions of his songs.

Do yourself a favor and buy this CD...you won't be disappointed.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friends around a Campfire, May 9, 2000

By	"ladylea2020bookends" (woodmere, new york USA) - See all my reviews

Talk about under-rated, under appreciated, taken for granted...well that would be the music and especially the voice of John Denver. Evocative,romantic,innocent and clear,listening to this CD brings us back to the pure possible pleasure of country roads. By the time "Rocky Mountain High" comes up, goose bumps will come up too. Take a moment from your millenium life,and get this CD. Follow me where I go..........

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To The Fan From Atlanta, GA..., July 8, 2000

By	Cecilia Backhaus (Phelan, CA) - See all my reviews

The song you are referring to is called "For Baby (For Bobbi)" The title is written like that because John originally wrote it for a girl named Bobbi. Later, he changed it to the "For Baby" because it sounded more like a lullaby. It was written in 1965 and first appeared on a Chad Mitchell Trio album titled, "That's the Way It's Gonna Be." The album was released again under the title "Violets of Dawn", also in 1965. Hoping to capitalize on John's popularity, the album was re-released in 1974 as "Beginnings...The Mitchell Trio Featuring John Denver." Liner notes show the song to have been written by "H. J. Deutschendorf, Jr." I had the pleasure of seeing John Denver in concert 3 times in the 1970's, once in the 1980's and last in the 1990's. I was looking forward to seeing him again in 2000. I guess it will just have to be on video.

This collection is a great way for anyone to listen to a sampling of John Denver's work. The movie was not that great, mostly because of the close-ups of Chad Lowe mouthing the words to John's songs. I think it would have been better to have used shots from behind him, or from a distance instead. Seeing the songs I'm so familiar with coming from a difference face made me a bit uncomfortable.