My first memory of John Denver ironically has nothing to do with his music– it was the cult classic movie Dumb and Dumber starring the iconic Jim Carrey (Lloyd Christmas) and Jeff Daniels (Harry Dunne). In the movie Lloyd and Harry are driving to Aspen, Colorado to meet a girl Lloyd has fallen head over heels for, but take a wrong turn and end up driving through Nebraska. As they roll through the flat plains of the Cornhusker state, Harry turns to Lloyd and says “I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a lot rockier than this” to which Lloyd replies “That John Denver’s full of shit man” in reference to Denver’s smash hit “Rocky Mountain High”. It’s a moment that I think of every time I listen to Denver and one that I’ll never shake.
Poems, Prayers and Promises features all of the motifs that made Denver such a beloved figure in American folk rock during his prolific run during the mid-70’s– songs of life, love, and his beloved relationship with being out in nature. Come for the absolutely rousing melody of “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, but stay for some of his more sentimental fare such as “Sunshine On My Shoulders” and the title track “Poems, Prayers and Promises” which to this day has the innate ability to move me to tears with its simple message on the beauty we can find in every day life.
Standout Songs: “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Sunshine On My Shoulders”, “Poems, Prayers and Promises”
