Unplugged

AMG Review of Unplugged

Bradley Torreano
All Music Guide

Whether or not you like Unplugged (which is not related to the MTV show of the same name) is really dependent on how much John Denver you can handle. This is an album that shows him at the peak of his performance abilities, singing beautifully and clearly over gently strummed guitars and gorgeous arrangements. The only problem is the actual songs, as Denver was always a bit too light in the lyrical content and his arrangements were very predictable. This made for some very boring moments, and those boring moments carry over into the renditions found here. There are the obvious exceptions -- "Leaving on a Jet Plane," "Rocky Mountain High," etc. -- but this is really only for genuine fans, most other listeners will probably be turned off by the airy, floating feeling of the music that does not compliment Denver's strengths as a songwriter.