Garage Sale Vinyl: John Denver
Back Home Again / RCA / June 1974
by Christopher Long
Aw crap! Here he goes again!
All right, I’m well aware that throughout this series, my personal perspectives often sound like a broken record. But the time I write about was a kinder and sweeter, more innocent era. To truly appreciate that wonderful period, you just had to have been there. However, for those who weren’t around, the classic TV series, The Wonder Years, is an accessible, authentic Polaroid of those magical times.
So, while I gleefully plead guilty to excessive romanticizing, I do realize (and admit) that there was, in fact, considerable conflict and chaos consuming the world during the decade of the mid-‘60s to the mid-‘70s. As a little kid, I was often terrified by the graphic scenes of war, riots, and assassinations that played out nightly on my family’s enormous 23” Zenith color TV. But that horror belonged to the adults. For me, my greatest anxieties were over whether I was gonna get that shiny Schwinn for Christmas, completing that tree fort construction, and how Barnabas Collins was gonna escape from that coffin. But I digress.
Somewhere between “Purple Haze” and “Disco Duck” was the golden, AM-radio-friendly singer-songwriter era. Mouseketeers rollcall, count off now… James! Joni! Cat! Carole! Carley! Karla! Gordon! And it could be argued that the Grand Marshal of that songwriter’s parade was John Denver.
In the summer of 1974, Denver had already released a slew of notable LPs. Along the way, he’d also scored a few Top Ten singles. Fueled by the chart-topping success of the recently released John Denver’s Greatest Hits, the stage was now set for Denver’s massive studio album breakthrough. And that summer, he dropped a whopper. Overseen by Denver’s longtime producer, Milton Okun, Back Home Again was an irresistible, down-home delight. Whizzing past the cheap seats, it sailed to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 straight away.
Truth be told, the album was seemingly everywhere. It was displayed prominently in every record store in town. The 8-track was the ever-faithful, after-church, Sunday dinner favorite on many of our family’s home hi-fi systems. My sister blasted her copy in her bedroom, over and over (and over) on her portable Sears cassette player / recorder. And the singles saturated radio airwaves for months, while Denver made the rounds, appearing on the most popular TV shows at the time.
Speaking for the bowl cut, plain pockets contingent of the day’s youth culture, Back Home Again was our “Pet Sounds.” Stop rolling your eyes, dude. John Denver’s unassuming vibe, sweet songs, and cozy storytelling reflected our Midwest “Wonder Years” lives, particularly the heart-warming “Grandma’s Feather Bed” and the peaceful “Cool an’ Green an’ Shady.” And not only were “Annie’s Song” and “Back Home Again” both Top Five bruisers, but “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” and “Sweet Surrender” would also crush Casey’s Countdown just a few months following the arrival of Back Home Again, as live singles from Denver’s next release, An Evening with John Denver.
More than 50 years later, Harry Styles usually monopolizes my pocket playlists. However, Back Home Again still speaks to me in warm and wonderful ways, and I’ve owned the album more times and in more configurations than I can count. I snatched up my most recent vinyl copy just a few weeks ago, when I discovered Little Big Store, a groovy record joint in Raymond, Mississippi. After poking through the bins for a bit, the shop manager, Christine, spotted and seduced me successfully with a “B+” condition LP for the reasonable ransom of just $8. SOLD!
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Back Home Again Track List
SIDE ONE
1. Back Home Again (Denver) – 4:42
2. On the Road (Franzen) 2:33
3. Grandma’s Feather Bed (Connor) – 2:15
4. Matthew (Denver) 3:43
5. Thank God I’m a Country Boy (Sommers) – 3:06
6. The Music Is You (Denver) 1:26
SIDE TWO
1. Annie’s Song (Denver) – 2:58
2. It’s Up to You (Weisberg) – 2:26
3. Cool an’ Green an’ Shady (Denver, Henry) – 3:07
4. Eclipse (Denver) – 3:41
5. Sweet Surrender (Denver) – 5:29
6. This Old Guitar (Denver) – 2:50
