Published on Feb 9, 1998
Not long after John Denver’s death last year (and after I wrote
a review of
Poems, Prayers & Promises), I received an e-mail from
someone aho had heard about the review from the alt.fan.john-denver
newsgroup. I wish I still had your name – sorry, but I wiped out my
Juno account – but you basically said to me, “Pick up
The Wildlife Concert and review it. If you don’t like it,
I’ll gladly buy it off of you.”
Sorry, pal – you’re going to have to pry my cold, dead hands off
of the tape first. This two-tape set (believe it or not, I could
only find it on tape at Borders) features Denver sounding richer
than he ever has before, and is a brilliant, though flawed,
portrait of the artist trying to prove to us he still has
significance. (Warning to those who have come to this review via
the newsgroup: Please hold off on your flame mail until after I’ve
explained the “flaw”.)
In 1995, John Denver was facing a “fresh start” on his musical
life. He was given a contract by Sony Music, and launched his
“comeback” by performing a retrospective of his career live. (For
those who had the brilliance that other like myself didn’t have,
they knew that Denver had never gone away – he had fallen out of
favor with the times and radio.) With an audience of friends and
fans and championing The Wildlife Federation, a cause close to his
heart, Denver took the stage and poured his entire being into the
shows which were taped for audio and video release.
Commercially, the “comeback” didn’t happen – through no fault of
Denver’s or the crack band of musicians he had assembled for this
show. Taste-wise, we (the un-believers) were still skeptical, and
weren’t willing to give Denver another chance. Only after his death
did people like myself realize just what we had been missing – dear
God!
Now 50, Denver’s voice had taken on a richer tone than on his
original albums, but it also seemed to add the sound of experience
to the songs he presented. The opening song, “Rocky Mountain High,”
could have said it all for this album. Denver sounded like he was
only out to please himself and the people who had gathered to hear
him, comeback be damned. The result: a very relaxed atmosphere, and
incredible singing and playing. (If there was ever a doubt about
Denver’s talents on guitar,
The Wildlife Concert will erase them.)
While this collection features most of the hits that one would
expect (“Country Roads,” “Back Home Again,” “Sunshine On My
Shoulders”), Denver also has some surprises to pull out of his hat.
A cover of David Mallett’s “You Say The Battle Is Over” is an
incredible number featuring only Denver’s vocals and guitar work. A
new song, “A Song For All Lovers,” is one which nearly puts me in
tears each time I hear it because of its simplicity and beauty. If
you have the video, just the sight of Denver singing the last note
with his eyes closed speaks volumes. (Paul Horn’s flute work here
is breathtaking, though I can’t say I liked him overdoing it on
saxophone on “Sunshine On My Shoulders.”)
Surprisingly, the songs with which I was not familiar were the
greatest surprises on
The Wildlife Concert. “Matthew” is a powerful song which
should have been a hit for Denver, and is one I constantly find
myself going back to. “For You,” the song which was supposed to put
Denver back on the radio, features him on piano backed by a string
quartet pouring out his heart in a song that says more about love
than anything he’s written. (I also wish I had known about this
song when I got married back in 1995.) “Wild Montana Skies” is a
cross between country and rock featuring the vocal talents of Pat
Hawk, while “The Harder They Fall” throws Denver feet first into
the world of rock, with incredible results.
Are there a few mis-fires on
The Wildlife Concert? To my ears, yes – but not many.
Growing up knowing about “Me And My Uncle” courtesy of The Grateful
Dead, Denver’s version, while it may be closer to the bone, just
doesn’t sound right. And as much as I try, I cannot build up a
tolerance for “Darcy Farrow” – sorry, gang, just not my cup of
tea.
The closing numbers of
The Wildlife Concert are the most powerful. Denver’s
rendition of “Poems, Prayers & Promises” is sad to hear
considering his untimely death (“I have to say it now, it’s been a
good life, all in all…”), while “Calypso” and “Amazon” create
grooves that suck you in. It is also amazing to hear Denver hit the
highest notes on “Calypso”, making it sound almost effortless. The
finale, “This Old Guitar,” is as good a closer as I can
imagine.
So with all this praise, you ask, how could I call this flawed?
Two reasons, both of them minor. First, having first saw the home
video (courtesy of A&E), I became used to hearing more banter
in between the songs. (It was funny to see after “The Harder They
Fall” Denver say, “Who woulda thunk it? Johnny Denver doin’ rock
‘n’ roll.”) I missed hearing some of these on the album. Second,
there are songs on the album that aren’t on the video, and vice
versa. Inasmuch as I can appreciate Sony wanting to create enough
of a difference to make us want to buy the two items, I would have
loved to heard songs like “I’d Rather Be A Cowboy” on the album,
and seem performances like “Matthew” and “Dreamland Express” on the
video.
For that matter, the one song I would have killed to heard on
either of these was “My Sweet Lady”… oh, well.
The Wildlife Concert should have been Denver’s ticket back
into the spotlight, had most of us only taken the time to sit and
listen for two hours. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t, and Denver
never regained the fame he once enjoyed. Fortunately, we still have
the audio and video of these magical nights to enjoy. Rumor is that
the upcoming DVD will include more performance footage – reason
enough to waste $500 and buy the newest and greatest electronic
toy.