Posted by: @jasmine_tarkheena

There's a song that we sometime sing in our church "Another In The Fire". It's inspired by the famous story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, where God was walking with them in the fiery furnace.

I love that one!

I was just listening to The Holy City, which is a perfect song / hymn for Easter (it's the one with the "Je-ru-sa-lem! Je-ru-sa-lem!" chorus) — my favourite recording is by the unmatchable Dame Vera Lynn. It brings back special memories, because nearly 10 years ago I went on a tour of the Holy Land, and as our tour bus was driving into Jerusalem, someone put that song on the stereo (I don't know who the singer was in that case). It was just so fitting and so deeply moving that I was in tears.

A happy and blessed Easter to you all!

I enjoyed the Silent Monks singing the Handel's Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus.

I recently listened to Beethoven’s symphonies conducted by Herbert Karajan and Leonard Bernstein. The recordings were old but remastered for CD. I would encourage anyone to listen to these classical albums on CD and vinyl. They are an experience which is much better than most modern technology.  Revisiting old performances has a certain nostalgic charm.  There are also the Beethoven’s Greatest Hits CD’s from the 1990’s, which have several hours of the composer’s best known music. I have owned the recordings for many years now and still enjoy them very much. 🙂

I recently got a couple of Wolves At The Gate albums, Types and Shadows and Eulogies, they are currently my favorites for listening to while I work in the garden in the evenings. It's great for pulling weeds.

SnowAngel

A song, "God Is Watching Over You" was a favorite of mine (or one of my favorites) from childhood.

I wonder if anyone else here likes John Denver’s music. I recently purchased Rocky Mountain High and the third volume of John Denver’s Greatest Hits . I already own volumes one and two.  Denver’s music could be considered either folk or country or possibly both as I believe it should be.  I think it is very beautiful and natural and it sounds just as wonderful today as it did back in the 1970’s, when it was the most popular,  When John Denver died in the plane crash in 1997 it was a very tragic loss. His incredible voice was probably the best of any country musician.  🙂

@narnian78 I like John Denver! I have a "Greatest Hits" album of his somewhere (I think it's still back at my parents' place in Australia). His music does always sound very beautiful and natural, as you say. I think my favourite song by him is Calypso, which he wrote in honour of oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau's ship. I love the way that song really sounds like a glorious sea voyage!

@narnian78 and @courtenay

So happy to find other John Denver fans! He isn't as talked about as much as he should be. When I was little, my parents would put on Greatest Hits as part of my playtime music rotation. I listened to the first disc especially over and over again. I fell in love with his lyricism and sincerity (some would criticize it as saccharine, but I disagree). I even have a John Denver lyric book with select liner notes because I liked his music so much and wanted to read/listen to more of his discography. He has such a wide range of styles. My childhood favorite was "Calypso" because I had originally wanted to be marine biologist. I also liked "Wild Montana Skies," "The Eagle and the Hawk," "Singing Skies and Dancing Waters," "Starwood in Aspen," "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado," and "Rhymes and Reasons." "Friends With You" vaguely unsettled me as a child because of its minor notes while "Perhaps Love" sung with Plácido Domingo is one of his best performances with another artist. Additionally his covers of other artists' songs such as "Trail of Tears" (about the struggle of indigenous populations in the US), "Thirsty Boots" (written in context of the Civil Rights Movement), "Mr. Bojangles," and "Mother Nature's Son" were also touching.

I'm also fond of Simon and Garfunkel and Billy Joel for similar lyricism reasons and storytelling, despite differences in style. 

Spirit is quite a good John Denver album from 1976. I have also ordered the 1995 album Windstar, which is re-recorded John Denver greatest hits such as Country Roads, Calypso, and Rocky Mountain High.  I liked it when Denver recorded his old songs again and his later versions of his own songs often sounded better than his earlier ones.  I guess that he wanted to improve on his own work. He made new recordings of old songs quite often, but they were mostly an improvement and I never tire of listening to them. 🙂

Posted by: @narnian78

I have also ordered the 1995 album Windstar, which is re-recorded John Denver greatest hits such as Country Roads, Calypso, and Rocky Mountain High.  I liked it when Denver recorded his old songs again and his later versions of his own songs often sounded better than his earlier ones.  I guess that he wanted to improve on his own work. He made new recordings of old songs quite often, but they were mostly an improvement and I never tire of listening to them. 🙂

I have a feeling that's the album I have (somewhere back in Australia). I wanted a "greatest hits" album by him and was a little unsure if his re-recorded versions of them would be as good as the originals, but they actually sound even better!  

@courtenay 

Do you remember the first time that you listened to John Denver?  I think I first heard Country Roads Take Me Home while riding in my uncle’s car at night on the way to New York State back in the summer of 1971. I was quite impressed by what I heard on the car radio so many years ago.  It was in the 1980’s when I finally bought the Greatest Hits Volumes One and Two. I wondered why I waited so long to buy the vinyl records!  I always thought the music was so beautiful!   🙂

@narnian78 No, I would have been too young. My parents always listened to easy listening / classic hits radio when I was little, which played John Denver songs pretty regularly, so I just absorbed those and other great '60s / '70s music naturally! I do know that the first song of his that I remember hearing was Annie's Song, as my mum had it on a tape she used to play in the car when I was two or three years old, but it was a cover version by a different singer, and by the time I heard Denver's original version, I would probably have been aware of other songs by him. The ones that have always really stood out to me the most are Rocky Mountain High and Calypso, but I can't think of any song by him that I don't like! 

Really enjoying the latest release from Skillet.

Some of John Denver’s old albums from the 1970’s are getting hard to find, but I was able quite easily to find Rocky Mountain High and Windsong.  I would recommend trying to get them if you really like Denver’s music since there are some songs on them that are not on the Greatest Hits albums and you may wish to hear his earlier music.  I like them about as much as his later albums, although his later work seems to be more polished.  It doesn’t matter to me if the songs are decades old since I still enjoy their vintage quality.  🙂