John Denver – Rocky Mountain Christmas

A tasteful Christams album recorded in July 1975. Nice balance of material and simple presentation make this a very compelling album still today. 'A Baby Just Like You' and 'Christmas for Cowboys' were the stand outs for me. I think I own this in just about every physical format. Cassette, Vinyl (original 1975 UK pressing), original CD and remastered CD where inexplicably they stuck 'Jingle Bells' from his 'Who's Garden was this?' album on the end. Why do remastered CD's do that? All of them sound okay - I'm not sure excellent sound quality is the point for this album though. It does feel very festive though..

This old John Denver album has recently been reissued as a blue colored 180-gram vinyl, but it's a little bit pricey so I went for the old 1975 pressing. Virtually every solo artist who ever lived has had their own Christmas album at some point, usually with the same assortment of songs (and Jingle Bells cut down to one verse, one chorus as usual). Denver mixes it up a bit here, beginning with Aspenglow, the only song on the album that he actually wrote, before giving way to traditional Christmas songs and carols. It's a better album than a Christmas Together, which I thought was gimmicky and childish. I suppose all Christmas albums are gimmicky, though if you want a quieter, dignified sound coming out of your speakers at this time of year then I, by far, recommend this album over any of the same-old same-old trash heard in stores and trashy radio stations.

The 1975 album comes in a lovely gatefold and, while not being a collector's item (that honor goes to the re-release) it's certainly for fans of Denver and fans of a more traditional Christmas.