John Denver Back Home Again (Rca) CD

Includes two bonus tracks.
Personnel: John Denver (vocals, 6-string guitar); Steve Weisberg (guitar, dobro, dulcimer); Jim Connor (banjo, harmonica, background vocals); John Sommers (banjo); Dave Jackson, Dick Kniss (bass instrument); Hal Blaine (percussion, background vocals); Jim Gordon (percussion); Julie Connor, Denny Brooks (background vocals).
Liner Note Author: Barry Alfonso.
On Back Home Again, John Denver was in one of the brighter and more spirited moments of his career. It features a plethora of uplifting, merry, and lyrically witty songs written and arranged by Denver and played with the most charming and delightful of backup bands. Highlights include the humor of "Grandma's Feather Bed," the poignancy of "Matthew," and the spirit and delight of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." A well-orchestrated recording under his label, RCA, Denver makes clear to his fans and listeners of new and old that the "music is in you." Opening up the second side of this 1974 recording is the ever so romantic tearjerker, a song for his wife, "Annie's Song," certainly one of Denver's finest achievements. The highlight of the record finds him playing six-string guitar, with Steve Weisberg on lead guitar, Dick Kniss on bass, John Sommers on mandolin, and Jim Gordon on percussion, with the creativity of Lee Holdridge and his orchestral arrangement. Two more songs come along during this 12-song set with the hearty "Sweet Surrender," and the heartfelt "This Old Guitar." Lazy days, and summer days, and windy days, and rainy days may encourage the listener to find him- or herself listening to this recording under a shady tree, as the joyful tune "Cool an' Green an' Shady" illustrates. John Denver pulls out all the stops to create, and experience himself, one of his finer recordings of the '70s. [Back Home Again was reissued in 2005 in a remastered and expanded edition that included extensive liner notes, photos, and bonus alternate versions of "Matthew" and "This Old Guitar"] ~ Shawn M. Haney
As the 1970s progressed, John Denver slowly moved away from the melancholy folk-singer mode that characterized his early albums and towards a brighter, more country-inflected sound. BACK HOME AGAIN crystallizes the latter phase, and consequently proved one of Denver's most commercially successful albums. In large part, this has to do with the fine batch of songs here, which includes the warm, comforting title track; the lazy, lilting "Cool an' Green an' Shady;" and the sprightly "Grandma's Feather Bed," which almost demands a group sing-along.
As usual, however, Denver slips in some affectingly pensive unaccompanied moments. The tender "Sweet Surrender" and "This Old Guitar," a heartfelt tribute to his primary instrument, are among the finest tunes on BACK HOME AGAIN. But the record also contains the knee-slapping, full-band hoedown "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and the highly romantic, string-sweetened ballad "Annie's Song," which became one of Denver's biggest hits. With its balance of fun, joyful tunes and lovely, introspective numbers, BACK HOME AGAIN elevated Denver to the height of his mid-'70s popularity.