RCA / Legacy Recordings pubblica oggi 4 novembre ALL OF MY MEMORIES: THE JOHN DENVER COLLECTION, il box set di 4 CD che contiene tutti gli album in studio e dal vivo di John Denver, più demo, rarità promozionali, edizioni limitate, stampati private, e un totale di sei brani inediti. La prima collezione completa dei suoi oltre tre decenni di registrazione, dal 1964 al 1997 (anno della sua scomparsa).
John Denver debutta come folk-singer a metà degli anni ‘60, per raggiungere la fama mondiale come artista e produttore, due volte vincitore Grammy Award (e cinque volte ospite), attore di cinema, personaggio televisivo, filantropo, attivista ambientale e per i diritti umani e molto altro.
John Denver è riconosciuto come uno degli artisti più celebri degli anni ‘70, con un fatturato di oltre 33 milioni ad oggi, tra cui otto album RCA nella Top 10 Billboard negli Stati Uniti (tre dei quali hanno raggiunto la posizione # 1). Questi includono sette RIAA multi-platino, tredici platino e 20 dischi d’oro. E’ entrato in più di 40 Billboard Hot 100, AC e Country songs dal 1971 al 1988. Tra le sue hit al numero 1 tra il ’74 e il ’76 ricordiamo Sunshine On My Shoulders, Annie’s Song, Back Home Again, Sweet Surrender, Thank God I’m A Country Boy (live), Calypso, Fly Away featuring Olivia Newton-John, Looking For Space, Like A Sad Song, Leaving On A Jet Plane, Take Me Home, Country Roads (dal 2014 inno ufficiale dello stato della West Virginia), e Rocky Mountain High.
I 6 inediti inclusi nel box set sono:
– Le cover di The Road e Far Side Of The Hill – entrambi i demo registrati per Capitol Records a Hollywood nel 1964, prima di unirsi alla formazione Mitchell Trio;
– Rhymes And Reasons, composizione originale dell’inizio del ’69 per la Reprise Records, rifatta come title track dell’album LP di debutto per RCA di Denver a fine ’69;
– Una versione di Spirit, contenuta per la prima volta nel LP Windsong 1975, è stata poi registrata dal vivo alla Sydney Opera House nel 1977, ma non inclusa nell’album del concerto uscito nel 1999;
– Una registrazione alternativa di Eli’s Song del 1976;
– Una versione della hit dei Somethin’ Smith And The Redheads, l’evergreen It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie, registrata nel1973. Era la canzone preferita della madre di Denver, che l’aveva già cantata in una famosa performance del The Tonight Show con Johnny Carson nel 1972.
ALL OF MY MEMORIES: THE JOHN DENVER COLLECTION:
Disc One – Selections: 1. The Road (1964, previously unissued Capitol Records demo, mono) • 2. Far Side Of The Hill (1964, previously unissued Capitol Records demo, mono) • 3. The Wagoner Lad (~1966) • 4. Darcy Farrow (1966, mono) • 5. Babe, I Hate To Go (1966, mono) • 6. For Bobbi (by the Mitchell Trio, 1965) • 7. The ’68 Nixon (This Year’s Model) (by Denver, Boise & Johnson, 1968) • 8. Take Me To Tomorrow (by Denver, Boise & Johnson, 1968) • 9. Rhymes And Reasons (1969, previously unissued Reprise Records recording) • 10. Circus (1969, A) • 11. Catch Another Butterfly (1969, A) • 12. Daydream (1969, A) • 13. Leaving On A Jet Plane (1969, A) • 14. Isabel (1969, B) • 15. Anthem – Revelation (1969, B) • 16. Aspenglow (1969, B) • 17. The Game Is Over (1970, C) • 18. My Sweet Lady (1971, D) • 19. Around And Around featuring Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert (Fat City) (1971, D) • 20. Take Me Home, Country Roads featuring Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert (Fat City) (1971, D) • 21. I Guess He’d Rather Be In Colorado (1971, D) • 22. All Of My Memories (1971, E) • 23. Sunshine On My Shoulders (1974, H) • 24. Friends With You (1971, E) • 25. Everyday featuring Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert (Fat City) (1971, E) • 26. Blow Up Your TV (Spanish Pipe Dream) (1971, E) • 25. Grizzly Bear Song (1974, promotional only).
Disc Two – Selections: 1. Rocky Mountain High (1972, F) • 2. Starwood In Aspen (1971, E) • 3. For Baby (For Bobbie) (1972, F) • 4. Goodbye Again (1972, F) • 5. Prisoners (1972, F) • 6. The Eagle And The Hawk (1974, H) • 7. Rocky Mountain Suite (Cold Nights In Canada) (1973, G) • 8. Berkeley Woman featuring Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert (Fat City) (1973, G) • 9. I’d Rather Be A Cowboy (Lady’s Chains) (1973, G) • 10. Back Home Again (1974, I) • 11. Thank God I’m A Country Boy (LIVE) (1975, J) • 12. Grandma’s Feather Bed (LIVE) (1975, J) • 13. Matthew (1974, I) • 14. Annie’s Song (1974, I) • 15. Follow Me (1974, H) • 16. Looking For Space (1976, K) • 17. Sweet Surrender (1974, I) • 18. Windsong (1975, K) • 19. Eclipse (1974, I) • 20. Poems, Prayers And Promises (1974, H) • 21. This Old Guitar (1974, promotional only).
Disc Three – Selections: 1. Farewell Andromeda (Welcome To My Morning) (1973, G) • 2. Calypso (1975, K) • 3. Spirit (LIVE) (1977, Sydney Opera House, Australia, previously unissued) • 4. Fly Away featuring Olivia Newton-John (1975, K) • 5. I’m Sorry (1975, K) • 6. Like A Sad Song (1976, M) • 7. Come And Let Me Look In Your Eyes (1976, M) • 8. Baby, You Look Good To Me Tonight (1976, M) • 9. It Makes Me Giggle (1976, M) • 10. Eli’s Song (1976, previously unissued alternate take) • 11. It Amazes Me (1977, N) • 12. I Want To Live (1977, N) • 13. In My Heart (1980, P) • 14. How Can I Leave You Again (1977, N) • 15. It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie (1973, previously unissued version) • 16. Druthers (1977, N) • 17. Bet On The Blues (1977, N) • 18. Downhill Stuff (1979, O) • 19. Sweet Melinda (1979, O) • 20. The Wrangell Mountain Song (1980, P) • 21. Autograph (1980, P) • 22. Durango Mountain Caballero (1982, S) • 23. The Wings That Fly Us Home (1976, M).
Disc Four – Selections: 1. Some Days Are Diamonds (Some Days Are Stone) (1981, Q) • 2. Dreamland Express (1985, V) • 3. Love Again (with Sylvie Vartan) (1984, U) • 4. Opposite Tables (1982, R) • 5. Flying For Me (1986, W) • 6. Perhaps Love (by Placido Domingo and John Denver) (1981, U) • 7. Shanghai Breezes (1982, R) • 8. The Flower That Shattered The Stone (1990, Z) • 9. Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For) (1986, W) • 10. Love Is The Master (1986, W) • 11. Wild Montana Skies (with Emmylou Harris) (1983, T) • 12. Boy From The Country (LIVE) (1985, DD) • 13. Whispering Jesse (1988, X) • 14. Eagles And Horses (LIVE) (1995, BB) • 15. And So It Goes (with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) (1989, Y) • 16. The Foxfire Suite: Spring Is Alive/You Are/Whisper The Wind/Spring Is Alive (Reprise) (LIVE) (1995, EE) • 17. Tenderly Calling (1991, AA) • 18. On The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe (1997, CC) • 19. Medley: Tumbling Tumbleweeds/Happy Trails (with Miss Piggy) (1982, S).
Indice degli album:
A. Rhymes and Reasons (RCA, 1969)
B. Take Me To Tomorrow (RCA, 1970)
C. Whose Garden Was This (RCA, 1970)
D. Poems, Prayers and Promises (RCA, 1971)
E. Aerie (RCA, 1971)
F. Rocky Mountain High (RCA, 1972)
G. Farewell Andromeda (RCA, 1973)
H. John Denver’s Greatest Hits (RCA, 1973)
I. Back Home Again (RCA, 1974)
J. An Evening with John Denver (RCA, 1975) 2 CDs
K. Windsong (RCA, 1975)
L. Rocky Mountain Christmas (RCA, 1975)
M. Spirit (RCA, 1976)
N. I Want to Live (RCA, 1977)
O. John Denver (RCA, 1979)
P. Autograph (RCA, 1980)
Q. Some Days Are Diamonds (RCA, 1981)
R. Seasons Of the Heart (RCA, 1982)
S. Rocky Mountain Holiday with the Muppets (RCA, 1982)
T. It’s About Time (RCA, 1983)
U. John Denver’s Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (RCA, 1984)
V. Dreamland Express (RCA, 1985)
W. One World (RCA, 1986)
X. Higher Ground (Windstar, 1988)
Y. Will the Circle Be Unbroken Volume Two (MCA, 1989)
Z. The Flower That Shattered The Stone (Windstar, 1990)
AA. Different Directions (Windstar, 1991)
BB. The Wildlife Concert (Legacy, 1995)
CC. All Aboard! (Sony Wonder, 1997)
DD. Unplugged In The U.S.S.R. (AAO Music, 2007)
EE. John Denver In Concert (Windstar, 2007)