Recording information: 1969 - 1995.
Issued by the RCA label in 2007, this two-disc John Denver retrospective features a well-selected collection of the late folk-pop performer's finest songs. Like the excellent though not as comprehensive DEFINITIVE ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS, the set presents many of the amiable Colorado-based singer-songwriter's most recognizable tunes, including the shimmering "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and the vibrant "Rocky Mountain High." However, ESSENTIAL digs further into Denver's catalogue, offering up lesser-known numbers such as the delicate "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado" and the surprisingly energetic "I'd Rather Be a Cowboy (Lady's Chains)." Ideal for those wanting more than the DEFINITIVE compilation, but less than the weighty four-disc COUNTRY ROADS COLLECTION, ESSENTIAL easily stands as one of the best Denver anthologies available.
What the critics say...
Dirty Linen (p.79) - "THE ESSENTIAL JOHN DENVER encapsulates some of the era's best qualities....[Listeners] will find it worth its weight in nostalgia."
