The Collection [RCA Legacy]

Performer: John Denver
Producer: Milton Okun; Bob Irwin (Reissue)
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: John Denver (vocals, guitar); Paul Prestopino (guitar, mandolin); Russ Savakus (violin, bass guitar); Max Pollikoff (violin); George Marge (flute, English horn, baritone saxophone); Marvin Stamm (flute, trumpet); Ray Alonze (French horn); Stan Free, Paul Griffin (piano, organ); Richard Romoff (bass guitar); Todd Sommer, Herb Lovelle (drums). Arrangers: Dick Kniss; Mike Taylor . RCA/Legacy's John Denver Collection gives the initial impression of a meticulously packaged anthology, when in reality it's merely a slapdash repackaging of three of the legendary country artist's early albums. Of his 1969 debut Rhymes & Reasons, 1971's Poems, Prayers & Promises and 1972's Rocky Mountain High, only the first one is remastered, while the other two are the same mid-quality (no liner notes or remastering) releases that have hogged cut-out bins for decades. Fans looking for a solid overview of the artists' career would be better off picking up 2004's excellent Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits. ~ James Christopher Monger

As John Denver, the former John Henry Deutschendorf was a ubiquitous icon of the 1970s. Although he had been a musician and songwriter in the 1960s, penning "Leaving on a Jet Plane" for Peter, Paul & Mary, Denver hit his stride in the '70s with earnest folk songs celebrating the glories of the natural world and life's simple pleasures. Although he was sometimes savaged by critics for his overarching earnestness, his songs speak for themselves, and his records still sell in large numbers. In the wake of his premature death in a 1997 plane crash, a number of contemporary artists have recorded Denver's songs, without any hint of irony.

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