Search - John Denver :: An Evening With John Denver (2CD)

Cindy B. (rjsmom) from LINCOLN, NE
Reviewed on 9/1/2006...

very enjoyable!

It will leave you wanting more!

steves65 | Antioch, CA United States | 04/12/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It has always been a source of frustration to find a favorite double album condensed into a "single, specially priced CD." Fortunately, in the case of "EWJD," this has finally been corrected. Granted, the original edit deleted only two songs, (Today; Boy From the Country), but to anyone who owned the LP, these were far from throwaway tracks. They were, in fact, among the best songs in the collection! So to begin, I say kudos for restoring a wonderful concert album to its original greatness.On "An Evening With John Denver," John is just as we remember him: warm, disarming, engaging - a gifted storyteller. His voice is strong and unmistakably unique. The song selection ranges from sunny ballads (Mother Nature's Son; Grandma's Featherbed), to catchy new entries (Annie's Other Song; Pickin' the Sun Down) to humorous observations (Forest Lawn; Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio) to the obvious soaring hits (Take Me Home, Country Roads; Rocky Mountain High). It is indeed 80 minutes of listening pleasure.On the other hand...As nifty an idea that is the bonus cut, I only wish these could have been chosen a bit more carefully. For instance, why was it necessary to include a second version of "Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio?" Side note: Why was the song renamed "Toledo" when the album first came out on CD, and why is it presented here under two different titles? Nitpicking aside, the Red Rocks version, in my opinion, is actually better than the Universal Amphitheater version. However, "Intro" simply means John saying "Good evening!" A nice touch would have been to include the oft-told story about the three folks from Toledo who once paid John a visit back stage after a concert."Follow Me / Leaving On a Jet Plane" is a pleasing medley that presents probably the prettiest versions yet of these heartfelt songs."City of New Orleans" benefits from a funny insight into the origin of the song. It is an infectious, lively rendition and immediately engages the audience. Only one problem, however - John flubs a line! Arrgghh! You will no doubt hear it coming every time, just like a *pop* on an old LP.The "Zachary and Jennifer / For Baby (For Bobbie)" medley lends itself well to this collection. John invites the audience to sing along for the last verse of "Baby.""I'd Rather Be a Cowboy," maybe the best cut on Farewell Andromeda, is tailor made for a concert venue. In this case, however, while John's voice comes through crystal clear, it sounds as if the orchestra was recorded with the Dolby B switched on! Also, true Denverphiles will catch the single word miscue in the second verse.The most surprising cut of all, though, was saved for last. "Amsterdam," while not generally thought of as a Denver staple, is a powerful, moving, albeit far from glowing testimonial to a forsaken seaport. It is John at his best and should have brought the house down.Do I recommend the record? Yes. Could it have been better? You bet. In fact, for me it raises the questions: How much more unreleased concert footage is out there, and will it ever make its way to a true box set complete with outtakes, studio sessions, alternate takes, etc? Boy, would that be something!"

The quintessential John Denver concert, circa 1974

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 08/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first concert I ever went to happened to be a John Denver concert, where he performed in front of giant screens that showed pictures of nature and my girlfriend had to explain to me what that strange smoky smell in the air happened to be. This 1975 "double-album" show cases Denver at his best, with live performances of basically every hit he had up to that time, from "Take Me Home, Country Roads" to "Farewell Andromeda (Welcome to My Morning)" and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." The concert was recorded at the California Universal Amphitheater in August-September of 1974 and is actually a typical performance because Denver is being backed by an orchestra this time around. The boys in the band are Steve Weisberg on guitars, Dick Kniss of bass, Herb Lovell on drums, Hal Blaine doing percussions, and John Sommers filling in on everything from guitar and banjo to fiddle and mandolin. There is a sort of thematic arrangement to the songs, which clearly show the various strengths of Denver's music. Beginning the concert with "Farewell Andromeda" seems an obvious choice ("Welcome to my morning, Welcome to my Happiness"), but notice how he uses humorous songs like "Toldeo" and "Grandma's Feather Bed" to set up the pathos of the beautiful "Annie's Song." Ballads are used to set up the more powerful songs, such as "The Eagle and the Hawk." The only thing this live album reaffirms for me is that John Denver's best songs were never his big hits from the pop charts but songs like "Poems, Prayers, and Promises." Two songs, "Today" and "Boy from the Country," are omitted from the CD reissue for time reasons, but since they are a pair of minor covers it is not a painful loss. Even with those losses "An Evening with John Denver" is a superb live album, one of the best of the Seventies and a good addition to your music library regardless of how many John Denver albums you currently have in your possession. For me, there is the added advantage of this being pretty much the concert I remember hearing back then (probably Fall of 1973, maybe the spring of 1974)."