John Denver Album: “Rhymes & Reasons”

Love of the Common People, Catch Another Butterfly, Daydream... each wonderful gems. We see a glimpse of John Denver in the early years, as he'd come into his prime, before Rocky Mountain High made him an international star. In many ways, this album remains one of my favorites.

There's one other thing about this collection. The title song, Rhymes & Reasons, features Paul Prespitino (sp?) on the piano, and his bass line was signature to this recording. Until a large box set came out, this was the ONLY recording that had that line in it. It drives the song, and memories of that riff remain with me 30 years later.

Even the very short "Spiro Agnew" and his cover of "When I'm Sixty-Four" help show us the times that this country has lost.

For those of you who don't know it, John Denver wrote "Leavin' On A Jet Plane," which was a huge hit for Peter, Paul & Mary.

Listening to the clips now, I'm reminded of how rich and beautiful a spirit we lost. Take this chance to become acquainted with the man... or like me, take a walk down memory lane. In either case, it's sure to be a rewarding experience.

Its great to hear Johns debut for the first time. Can someone tell me why the hell we had to wait until almost a decade after his death for this to be put onto cd? Shame on RCA...but a nice job on the re release to be honest.

Its a wonderful collection of folk, country and some protest material. The Ballad of Richard Nixon being one example. Just listen to the lyrics ...haha..

Denver fans wont be disappointed as its classic stuff!

Rhymes and Reasons is John Denver's second album and it is a pure delight. There are songs here that you'll never find on a Greatest Hits album, but some of those are the very best of all!

This is a great 1st album: I remember John came to my original homestate

Illinois in 1993. I really wish I could have gone to see him live and met him personally with an autograph. I was 12 years old in 1997 when he past away. By the way folks : track 7 on this CD "THE BALLED OF RICHARD NIXION" does NOT work. It is only 7 seconds long. I bought this album in 2004 with the original 14 tracks on it. His other albums: TAKE ME TO TOMARROW: WHOSE GARDEN WAS THIS AND AERIE are not available in the US.

Great cd : enjoy.

I acquired this album 8 years after its release, having become familiar with his radio hits and several of his most popular albums. While not in the same league as "Back Home Again", still there's a lot of good material here, all delivered with the starry-eyed passion for which John was famous. Two of my favorite tracks are "Daydream" and "Yellow Cat", both of which have a refreshingly urban, breezy sophistication about them. "Catch Another Butterfly" is a delightful portrait of the world through the eyes of a child, sure to bring a knowing smile to the face of anyone whose inner child is alive and well. I usually skip the title track, because I find the melody rather redundant (and repititious and repetitive), and because the vocal is marred by pitch problem. Fortunately, he recorded it again for his first Greatest Hits album, and did a splendid job.

Overall, a solid first album, with promises of good things to come.