JOHN DENVER MIGHT HAVE DIED IN A PLANE CRASH BUT HIS LAST EVER RECORDING WAS ALL ABOUT TRAINS

There's an old saying in the entertainment business that you
have to die sometimes before you can be famous or be ap-
preciated for your talents like you should have been while
you were alive. Even though he died having a loyal follow-
ing, John Denver represents that saying to a tee. After
being killed in a light plane crash in 1997 off the coast
of California, Denver's music has largely been corrupted
by a number of greatest hits recordings which have only
served to recycle the same old songs of his which were
his big hits back in his 1970`s heyday. The only reason
most of them have been released is because Denver is
no longer living to argue against the record company
or companies doing so. The very last recording that
Denver ever made is one that has been completely
forgotten alongside some cheap & nasty greatest
hits released after 1997, it was recorded in the
same year he died, 1997, and it is a fun affair
and an experimental diversion from his typical
folk country style he was most famous for way
back when. The album is called ALL ABOARD,
and it is a collection of songs written about
and inspired by trains. Effectively you might
call it a kiddies album, certainly there's still
the typical folk nuances and flashes of pure
country which Denver was quite famous for
displayed on ALL ABOARD, but these influ-
ences are greatly outweighed by the swing
jazz and blues dynamics whipped up by his
jolly good backing band. For once Denver
didn't write any of the songs, they're all
covers or adaptations of old traditional
songs. Jimmy Roger's WAITING FOR A
TRAIN, Curtis Mayfield's PEOPLE GET
READY and the very ancient LEADBEL-
LY tune LINING TRACK might be three
songs which you may well know, but
every song on here is a delight and
an insight into another side of the
boy from Aspen Colorado that has
up until now remained very elusive.