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Label: RCA
Release Date: 1990-10-25
List Price: $9.98
Buy Now: $4.46 - $19.95
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Additional Info: Tracks Reviews
The "Real" John Denver (5 stars)
Denver's follow-up to "Rocky Mountain High" is pretty close to as real Denver as it gets--before he was a superstar and doing Vegas with Sinatra. Some fantastic originals--"Id Rather Be a Cowboy," "Rocky Mountain Suite," "Whiskey Basin Blues" and "Zachary and Jennifer." But the covers are really perfect too--Bill Danoff's "We Don't Live Here No More" is exquisite and still one of my favorite songs, and Denver's cover of "Angels From Montgomery" is the best version I've ever heard of that song. John Summer's "River of Love" is heartbreaking bluegrass--just the way it ought to be. Hoyt Axton's "Sweet Misery" sticks in your head. "Berkeley Woman"--that's such a guy song--not at all the wildflowers and "lite-ness" some associate with Denver. The only weak track is the famous one--the title track, which sounds like an add-on he came up with to justify the album title. I think what I like about it is the same thing I like about the fact that Denver wears a t-shirt on the inside jacket of the Rocky Mountain High album that says "Be kind to animals...kiss a BEAVER." He was a "guy" through and through, despite the homogenized version that became the superstar. |  | | | 5 star CD (5 stars)
I am a huge John Denver fan. I have over thirty of his CDs and Farewell Andromeda is one of my favorites. | | | | Angel from Montgomery (5 stars)
Here's my guilty pleasure. I think "Angel from Montgomery" is the single best track JD recorded. I recall at the time of the album's original release, after a steady diet of sunshine and country roads, this track popped out of my stereo and left me thinking, 'where the hell did this come from?' It's a revelation, song and singer, that still knocks me out. | | | | A neo-western classic! (4 stars)
The spirit of the wild West lives on, in this compelling package of modern cowboy songs. I was immediately drawn into the scene, as the opening chords of "I'd Rather Be A Cowboy" stepped boldly from my speakers. I've always thought this song deserved more attention and airplay than it got when it was released. "River Of Love" and "Whiskey Basin Blues" are perfectly executed, stereotypical western songs about love gone cold. John's love of nature appears once again in top form, on the georgeous "Rocky Mountain Suite (Cold Nights In Canada)". The innocence of childhood is beautifully woven into "Zachary & Jennifer", a wistful ballad sung to John's unborn children, with an oboe and a recorder dancing elegantly together at the end. "Sweet Misery" is a tongue-in-cheek blues number that greets the hard knocks of life with hopeful determination.
However, not every tune here resonates with me. There are a couple of "skippers", as I call them. "Berkely Woman" is a skirt-chaser's anthem, featuring the lines, "A woman is the sweetest fruit that God ever put on the vine / I'd no more love just one kind of woman than drink only one kind of wine." Rather insulting to monogamous couples everywhere. "Angels From Montgomery", penned by Bonnie Rait, just sounds dull and ordinary to me. Having said that, I hasten to add that I strongly recommend this album. After all. two skippers and nine keepers is pretty good! This record is a great companion for a road trip or camping. | | | | This One Is Truly Terrific! (5 stars)
This album was released when John was at the apex of his popularity, and the songs on this album served to continue his ride into the stratosphere. From the wry and yet poignant "I'd Rather Be A Cowboy" to the incredible smash hit "Farewell Andromeda", John Denver showcases his incredible talents here. Denver was instrumental in firmly fixing the younger generation's sights and sensibilities upon the outdoors in general and on environmental issues in particular, and he nearly single-handedly began the outdoor backpacking, hiking, and orienteering movements after popularizing the idea of a more close and intimate human relationship with mother nature. Therefore, more than a few of the young baby-boomers, like John, were more than ready for the kind of unconventional intimacy with nature he sang about so effortlessly and so elegantly. From "Zachary And Jennifer" to an evocative and almost ethereal "Rocky Mountain Suite'", Denver's songs soar in their description of the beauties of a simple and natural life and in being close to the "great wide-open'.
Denver also does an unusually good rendition of "Berkeley Woman", written by a friend but usually identified with Denver himself. He shows that even a sugary sweetheart like him can have some "colorful" thoughts about women. Indeed, the simple and well arranged acoustic blast of infectious energy and sweet simplicity that was John Denver is here in spades, whether it be in original songs like "Sweet Misery" or with covers of others' work, the kid who had adopted the majesty of Colorado for his setting and his inspiration sings simply, sentimentally, and superbly about the simple pleasures and undying verities of a homespun and simple life well lived. My special favorites here are "Berkeley Woman" and "I'd Rather be A Cowboy", and I always wondered why they weren't bigger hits for John. Hearing John sing in his youthful enthusiasm about what turns him on is still a rare treat. As with many of his albums, the message outlives the messenger. It has successfully weathered all the seasons since with its energy and beauty intact. I love this album, and I think you will too. Enjoy. | | | |
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