The Love Of The Common People/Catch Another Butterfly/Daydream/The Ballad Of Spiro Agnew/Circus/ When I’m Sixty Four/The Ballad Of Richard Nixon/Rhymes & Reasons/Yellow Cat/Leaving On A Jet Plane/(You Dun Stomped) On My Heart/My Old Man/I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free/Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life (Sugacity)
Rhymes & Reasons was the commercial debut album from country pop singer songwriter John Denver. It includes the original version of the international hit Leaving On A Jet Plane covered by Peter, Paul & Mary. Denver would become a major recording star during the seventies. (US:148)
“Rhymes & Reasons is a decent enough example of late 60s singer-songwriter fare, sprinkled with folk and country influences. Denver's tendency towards tweeness and the endless references to children and flowers are largely kept in check. Where some of this does creep in, it thankfully proves to be no more than a temporary blip.”
“Some of the better moments come during the quieter, understated songs such as Daydream with its lovely piano and acoustic guitar backdrop, one of four self-penned songs that Denver contributes. Of course, this album also features Leaving On A Jet Plane which would become the first of his instantly recognised songs. Denver is in decent vocal form throughout; when he really goes for it he shows that he has a pretty good voice - clear and strong.”
“Here 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 favourites.”
“The album isn’t bad, but he just hasn't found his sound yet, although he was already an accomplished writer. The title song Rhymes & Reasons is an all time great song lyrically. But to me it sounds as if he didn't yet know if he wanted to be a folk singer, a country singer or the fifth Beatle.”
“This is an enjoyable album but John had yet to learn how to project his songs and his persona. This is the album that contains his original version of Leaving On A Jet Plane and so this is an important album to have. However, it must be said that the Peter, Paul & Mary hit version is certainly superior to John's own.”
“RCA tested the waters by filling Rhymes & Reasons with reliable covers but the four Denver originals caught the ears and hearts, being indicative of what was to come.”
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