John Denver
Pine Knob Music Theatre
Clarkston, MI
July 21, 1983
(JoeRay Master Series Volume 31)
16/44

Location: 4th Row-Orchestra (left center)

Recording: AKG D1000E microphone > unknown Sony Cassette Recorder

Transfer: Master Cassettes > Nakamichi DR-01 > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity > Adobe Audition > iZotope RX / ozone > 16/44 > xACT 2.50 > FLAC

01 Boy From The Country
02 Rocky Mountain High
03 Sunshine On My Shoulders
04 Saturday Night In Toledo, Ohio
05 Dialogue
06 Me And My Uncle
07 Leaving On A Jet Plane >
08 Goodbye Again >
09 Follow Me
10 Baby, You Look Good To Me Tonight
11 Dialogue
12 The Bells Of Rhymney
13 Dialogue
14 Durango Mountain Caballero
15 Falling Out Of Love
16 I�m Sorry
17 Matthew
18 My Sweet Lady
19 Wild Montana Skies
20 Take Me Home, Country Roads
21 Grandma�s Feather Bed
22 Thank God I�m A Country Boy
23 Seasons Of The Heart
24 The Wings That Fly Us Home
25 Shanghai Breezes
26 Poems, Prayers And Promises
27 Dialogue
28 The Ambulance Down In The Valley (Spoken)
29 I Want To Live
30 Dialogue
31 Heart To Heart
32 Annie�s Song
33 Calypso
34 Dialogue
35 The Peace Poem (Spoken)
36 It�s About Time

Known Faults:
-None

John Denver: guitar, piano, vocals

We are pleased to release Volume 31 of the JoeRay Master Series, if you are looking for Volume 30, Todd Rundgren @ the 1978 World Series Of Rock Game III, you can find it elsewhere on the web.

After going through a nasty divorce in 1982, John Denver decided to return to the basics and played a series of solo shows featuring a mix of old and new. These shows feel like he was exercising the recent demons in his personal life with an intimate very personal show.

In a 1983 interview run in the Palm Springs Desert Sun newspaper Denver says, �I�ve been doing solo concerts, just me and my guitars, for a year. I performed in 15 countries last year. I think it�s the best thing I�ve ever done on stage. It comes from my heart and the things going on in my life now. The show has had a few little changes, and I put in a new song whenever I have it.�

This is the last of three sold out shows at the Pine Knob Music Theatre and in reviewing the dime archives it appears there are no 1983 shows shared and only one solo show from the era, an October 1982 performance broadcast on BBCTV. If you are any kind of John Denver fan, casual or otherwise, this should come as a nice addition to his legacy, he is certainly flawless in his execution. Joe Ray did an excellent job capturing the nights performance, he picks up the story from here.

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This was a beautiful night at Pine Knob watching John Denver perform alone with only a guitar and piano in support. Seeing a songwriter performing by themselves brings out the best of the artist.

On this night, and captured by this recording, I believe John was at his very best. His voice was crisp yet warm and rich and his guitar playing was simply amazing. His Travis picking style and his guitar runs were as tight and specific as those of the guitarist in his main band James Burton or Pete Huttlinger. When playing with his band, you don�t often get to hear his guitar playing but tonight, you heard every note. I�ve seen John perform dozens of times and I cannot remember ever hearing him sound as strong and brilliant vocally as he did this night in Michigan. The weather was moderate, cool with low humidity. My ticket was right next to the stage, 4 rows back on the center-left of the stage. John was about 12 feet from me and it brought back memories of seeing him up at Crater Lake when we met over a campfire after climbing the Maroon Bells Mountains about 30 miles out of Aspen, Colorado in 1976. I always hike with my 0-15 Martin guitar on my backpack and John couldn�t believe I had a guitar up at 9700 feet elevation while camping. He joined us and over dinner played a few songs. Unfortunately I did not have a recorder with me.

I saw and recorded John another 8 times before his untimely death October 12, 1997. I
can�t believe its been 25 years since that day he left us. He was so much more than just a songwriter/performer. He was a voice for wildlife and wild places but most of all, he was a voice for those people that needed a voice and always challenged the rest of us to do better.

I will forever miss him and his wonderful writing about those places that still remain wild and free. Enjoy this really special concert by a real special artist.

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It's been 25 years since John Denver's unfortunate death on October 12, 1997, we wanted to get this show out to pay tribute to the artist musical legacy.

We are releasing this fine show in both 24/96 and 16/44 editions, we've included artwork, a review of one of the Pine Knob shows and a couple of additional newspaper items.

Thanks to Goody for is continued pitch excellence and patience for all the work we send his way.

As always a big thank you to JoeRay for the excellent capture, excellent transfer, trusting me to present his work for all to enjoy and for keeping his legendary masters flowing.

mjk5510 & JoeRay

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

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