Disc #1

1. Leaving On A Jet Plane

2. Take Me Home, Country Roads

3. Sunshine On My Shoulders

4. Poems, Prayers And Promises

5. The Eagle And The Hawk

6. Rocky Mountain High

7. Farewell Andromeda(Welcome To My Morning)

8. Annie’s Song

9. Back Home Again

10. Sweet Surrender

11. Thank God I’m A Country Boy

12. I’m Sorry

13. Calypso

14. Fly Away

15. Looking For Space

16. Slike A Sad Song

17. My Sweet Lady

18. Perhaps Love(With Placido Domingo

19. Shanghai Breezes

20. Wild Montana Skies(With Emmylou Harris)

Disc #2

1. Leaving, On A Jet Plane(Babe, I Hate To Go)

2. The Weight

3. Annie’s Song(Acoustic Mix)

4. Calypso(Acoustic Mix)

Review

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 All-Time 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 two-disc, 24-track overview of the country-pop 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 as warm as the singer’s lauded tenor. There are no gimmicky re-recorded cuts or disappointing live tracks—“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” spent its time on the charts in its live incarnation—and his spotty ‘80s material is only briefly covered (“Perhaps Love” and “Shanghai Breezes”). The only real omission is “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” but the 20-page booklet and song-by-song commentary by longtime friend Milt Okun more than suffice. The bonus disc, maddeningly sparse at just four tracks, makes up for its brevity by including a goose bump-inducing 1975 acoustic version of “Calypso.” With the pompous string section, clanging ship bell, 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 his 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