Duh Vuh Duh

Well, I'm headed to the John Denver tribute at Red Rocks this Saturday and thought I would see if there are any other fans out there in dvdtalk land.

I know he gets a bad rap for being corny and happy-go-lucky, but I think his songwriting in incredible and his songs really speak to the human spirit. His songs, for me, evoke a lot of emotion and really speak to me and I think he doesn't get that respect as a great songwriter since most people only know "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", "Country Roads" or "Annie's Song", all of which I love, but his lesser known tracks like "Looking for Space" and "Poems, Prayers and Promises", I think speak to his true genius.

My dad introduced me to him as a kid and I liked it a bit, but really got back into John as my dad, brother, and I would play his songs on the guitar for a couple of father's day camping weekends, which we ended up putting on cd.

He was on my list to see live and then my sophomore year in college he was taken far too soon. So, I figured this tribute was the next best thing. Also, I think I'm drawn to him because, while I didn't appreciate it at the time, I met him at a hockey rink in Aspen because his adopted son's team was playing against my brother's team.

Wow, didn't think I'd write that much, but anybody else like him? Favorite tracks? Other opinions?

Cardsfan111

I came across a tribute to him on TV a few weeks ago. I was hooked upon seeing a lot of older footage. I have a greatest hits CD that I listen to a semi-regular basis.

madcougar

I bought an iPod this past Christmas and just finally got to rip his CDs for it. I kinda forget how much I like his stuff until I listen to it. The thing that's amusing to me is that there's no way I was his target demo ever. I was very young while he was alive and Hispanic (growing up in a very Hispanic world). But I remember his appearances on the Muppet Show and enjoying his music.

hasslein

His music was among the first I learned to play guitar and sing to... They're very fun songs... I'm still kicking myself, he played the Hollywood Bowl on 4th of July in one of his last years, bleacher tickets were $4, I was out of work, so I couldn't go. Urgh....

I think Thank God I'm A Country Boy killed his career...

redhenry

My Mum was quite a fan and I like a lot of his songs. They had some very clean and pure production and his voice is also likewise pure and clean. I wold kill to sing as good as he did and with that same purity, and yes he wrote some really nice songs. A bit mushy at times but compared to some of today's crop, the guy was country's answer to Elvis!

NORML54601

Poems, Prayers, & Promises is one of my favorite songs. It brings me back to all the summers I spent camping in college.

Duh Vuh Duh

Glad to see there a few of us here, I'll see if I can take some pictues this weekend at the show and post them if anybody is interested.

Was it this video?:

If so, that is a great dvd. I love how it explains some of the meanings behind the songs and also, after seeing the John Denver Sanctuary in the video, I put that on my list to visit when I went to the Aspen Snowmass music fest two summers ago to see Ben Harper and Nickel Creek. It's small but definitely a beautiful little park to chill and have picnic in.
Yeah since his songs are simple and have great lyrics, I think he is defnitely one of the artists that is fun to play on the guitar.

Nice, yeah I love that track.

and lie there by the fire and watch the evening tire,
while all my friends and my old lady
sit and ....

Superdaddy

My thoughts on Denver and his music:

I caught no end of hell for liking this guy in high school. In those days (late 1970's-early 1980's), in my school, you were considered at the height of uncool unless you liked classic rock exclusively (Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc.)

At that time, the earliest album of his that I owned was the first greatest hits collection (from 1973, where most of the songs are re-recorded). It was a hand-me-down from my sister. From there, I listened to his newer stuff steadily until he released It's About Time ten years later. I rarely played that one; it seemed to me that the record company was trying to make his sound slicker to sell more records. He even tried a reggae tune on that album (and the Wailers appeared on it!) that I thought just didn't work at all. (It seems quite a few singer-songwriters were changing their sound to try to remain chart-worthy in the era of synth-pop).

I held onto my old LPs until I moved in 2000. I discarded them in the move since I hadn't played them in ages. Within the last few years, I've reacquired them on CD, plus I've also listened to his pre-greatest hits stuff, which I never bothered to acquire back in my teen years. Now, especially since becoming a parent, his old music seems relevant again. In listening to those early solo albums, I found a gem I didn't own previously: Farewell Andromeda. This album had no big hit singles, yet may be the best record he ever put out.

The other revelation that has struck me while listening to these records is how incredibly MELANCHOLY a lot of his music is. Denver took a lot of flack for being the smiling, nature-loving hippie type. His albums were disparaged by the critics. And, with one or two exceptions, most of his big chart hits were optimistic or hopeful songs. But throughout his albums there are plenty of non-charting songs that are remarkably sad and despairing. Farewell Andromeda is a good album to listen to if you want to hear the "other" John Denver (try "River of Love," "Sweet Misery," or "We Don't Live Here No More," all of them cover tunes).

I also had the good fortune to see him in concert three times. Although the hit singles sharply decreased in number after 1975, his albums sold well for a number of years after, and he continued to pack large halls and arenas.

milo bloom

I keep several songs in my iPod mix right alongside Zeppelin, Floyd, Clapton, Muse, The White Stripes, Vivaldi, Ben Folds (you get the picture). And I never considered him country, much closer to folk.

Charlie Goose

Big fan of JD. A couple of his albums get regular play with me.

g

I thought the Wildlife Concert was absolutely fabulous. When I saw that in its original run it awakened my interest in him.

Superdaddy

I agree. Country stations played him, but his songs showed resemblance to true country music only sporadically. He really emerged out of the mid-60s folk boom. Prior to recording solo, he was a member of the Chad Mitchell Trio for a while.

Duh Vuh Duh

I agree with both of you, I've always felt he fell more in folk/pop than country and I think the label of country also kept him from getting much exposure after his mid to late 70's peak because people just dimissed it as country.

megashopper

My favorites: Rhymes and Reasons
Poems, Prayers, and Promises
Friends with You
Take Me Home, Country Roads

I love many of his songs but it is hard to admit around a lot of people! For some reason, people think it's ok to make fun of you for liking him. I grew up listening to him and trying to play his songs on my guitar. I envy you going to Red Rocks for the tribute. Red Rocks is such a fantastic place and it's perfect for a tribute to John Denver. I have John Denver: a Portrait and the Wildlife Concert on DVD plus numerous cds and like them all. I remember when Challenger exploded, the radio station played one of his songs that had clips from the president speaking about the astronauts in it. It always gave me chills to hear it.

Trelach24

I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this.

redhenry

[QUOTE=megashopper;9529322]

I love many of his songs but it is hard to admit around a lot of people! QUOTE]

I used to think like that, now I don't. I don't have to justify to anyone why I like certain artists or songs. :-)

I like a lot of stuff that my workmates give me good natured jibes over but I just start singing some and they groan and go back to work. :-)

fiver

I'm not intimately familiar with his whole body of work, but I love the songs on his greatest hits vol 3 as well as several on vol 2. Songs like "How Can I Leave You Again", "I Want to Live", "Wild Montana Skies", and "Autograph" are imbued with such emotion, I can't help but break out singing along to them. "Annie's Song" was my first introduction to Denver and still a beautiful ballad.

I usually have to justify listening to John Denver as a 'guilty pleasure' even though I don't feel guilty about it at all - but noone I know is interested in this kind of music which is a shame. My wife doesn't like ballads much so I usually have to listen on my own

Michael

Match

“Whisper the Wind – The music and Life of John Denver”
http://www.showinfo.co.nz/?p=219

Whisper the Wind - Starring Bevan Gardiner

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bigjim25

I play Country Roads everytime I'm on vacation and on my way home.

davidh777

Poems Prayers Promises and Leavin' on a Jet Plane are favorites

comanche_doyle

I've listened to the rocky mountain high album about a million times, and I love the Seasons songs at the end. Not quite Vivaldi, but excellent in its own right.

Larry C.

That John Denver is full of shit.

EdTheRipper

^


I like some of his stuff.

cungar

I guess John denver is kind of a dweeb but compared to today's singer songwriters he's Leonard Cohen.

wendersfan

I pretty much hate all his music, but 'Sunshine on My Shoulders' was the first song I learned to play on the guitar. I guess that means I've been playing guitar for over 36 years now.