John Denver - Definitive All-Time Greatest Hits (CD)

All Music Guide

Placing the word definitive on a "best of" collection is usually a panicked label attempt to fill last minute Christmas stockings, but in the case of RCA's Definitive AllTime Greatest Hits John Denver retrospective, it's a truly apt description. Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of Denver's first album release on RCA, the twodisc, twentyfour track overview of the countrypop singer's storied career is the most concise and nuanced yet. Digitally remastered from the original master tapes, road trip classics like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High" and "Back Home Again" are warm as the singer's lauded tenor. There are no gimmicky rerecorded cuts or disappointing live tracks "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" spent its time on the charts in its live incarnationand his spotty 80's material is only briefly covered ("Perhaps Love" and "Shanghai Breezes.") The only real omission is "Grandma's Feather Bed," but the twenty page booklet and songbysong commentary by longtime friend M...ilt Okun more than suffice. The bonus disc, maddeningly sparse at just four tracks, makes up for its brevity by including a goose bumpinducing 1975 acoustic version of "Calypso." With the pompous string section, clanging shipbell and unnecessary drum fills removed, his ode to Jacque Cousteau's tenacious vessel is a wonder of emotion and nautical kinsmenship that inarguably exhibits Denver as one of the greatest vocalists of our time. For those unwilling to sift through the exhaustive four CD Country Roads Collection, this Definitive package is a good buy and a rewarding visit with an old friend. - James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide Read more Less