Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver

iTunes Review

John Denver was a huge folk and pop music superstar in the ‘70s. As times and tastes shifted, he seemed stuck in time. However, many of the children who grew up on his music remembered him. None more than Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon, who assembled this tribute to the late singer-songwriter. Kozelek appears with Red House Painters (“Fly Away,” “I’m Sorry”) and with Rachel Goswell of Slowdive and Mojave 3 (“Around and Around”). Fellow San Franciscan singer-songwriter Hannah Marcus delivers a sensitive read of “Looking for Space.” The Innocence Mission indulge in the childlike flow of “Follow Me.” Will Oldham, making his debut as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, turns in a stirring a cappella rendition of “The Eagle and the Hawk” and Rachel Haden creates a compelling production of “Poems, Prayers and Promises.” The tracks are the artists’ idiosyncratic picks and not always Denver’s most popular tunes (Tarnation with Joe Gore’s avant-garde reading of “Leaving On a Jet Plane” fulfills the “hit” quotient), indicating this is surely a genuine artistic statement and not a commercial cash-in attempt.