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? .? " 4 r *r" v vv v % John Dg far frc By Mark Platte uacK in me laie law s and early 1970's, there were scores of softpop, country and western and folk singers all trying to make it big in the music industry. THERE WAS one, however, who tried to be part of each category and iudeint? bv album r?1ps and popularity, he appealed to all kinds of fans. But (his is 1980 and the transition of John Denver into a new decade which demands new sounds seems to be dying. At first it was fun to hear iibout ecology, love ballads and crusades like saving the whales, but now his material is wearing thin, and with his latest release, Autograph, Denver appears to lack the creativity and desire to keep him mounted atop the charts as he once flourished. Autograph, recorded in .July 1979, took eight months to reach the record racks and one just assumes that this is one album that should have been handed back to him to re-do. It's bad enough that Denver onlv wrote five of the 11 songs on his latest release, but to put the exact same song '' Wrangell Mountain Song" on the album which appeared 4 albums ago (if one counts the hideous John Denver and the Muppetts Christmas album.) is unexplicable. DENVER IS KEYING on what he calls "The Alaska Trilogy" in which he connects three old songs together, two of which were written in 1977 and one in 1976. "Whalebones and Crosses" and "American Child" are no surprises to those who watched the Denver television sneoial a fr?w vpars acn Although the songs of the trilogy are good, they lack the substance of Denver's inclination to write three new songs and the failure to connect the concept of a complete album. New songs and old songs don't work weir in this case because of an obvious change of styles. "In ??11 it urn lia I Solo in Li j \ Most people dream about t ] flying, but few of us have the chance to turn our dreams into I reality and actually learn to fly . . . ! I bo, if you ve ever looked up at j the sky, and dreamed about flying, | j your chance has come . . . For a j-'i limited time, you can turn your I dreams into reality with Piper's j Blue Sky Solo Course. For only j i $379, and a little of your spare [ time, our flight instructors can 1 (fnil isHp BBPIPER - ;.v j mmmm bbhbbbwbs :nver's 'Au >m self-sat My Heart," "Autograph" and i * ? A L A. I * m . . 1 It ijaucmg wun ine mountains are good songs, far outshining anything done in the 1979 album offering "John Denver", but they are scattered with slipshod material often permeated with monotoneous flute music. OVERALL, the album is a good one. It's basically the same concept as always: a few upbeat tunes, a couple which will make one think of destruction of earth, about three love ballads and a few country songs that can be put on the C and W stations around the nation. The aura of John Denver is something unique on the outside, he is a friendly sort, apparently concerned with the needs of the TU?.. ?U ' I v?ui in. i null lllCIC 15> IIIC (IUIIII Denver who installs gas tanks under his house for his own personal use, whoshootspellets at the neighbor's dogs, who is referred to by people of Aspen as "your rocky mountain highness" and "sheik of starwood", and who recently had a sign in the front of his house which 70 ess Than Saysi^l take you from ground instruction j"i up through solo flight in less than B a month. In less than 30 days, you ! j can be flying a modern low wing r j Piper aircraft and enjoying that ' J special world known only to those who fly . . . instead of dreaming ! about flying, now you can do it. j Haven't you waited long | > enough? Come see us and we can j get you started flying today and T make your dreams a reality. i ] itograph' icfi rinn jS j "read, "Go away. You are not welcome here." THE DENVER MYSTIQUE is complicated by the fact that he is the member of countless, organizations ranging from nroblems snrh wnrlrl hnnoor tn r ? saving the whales. His concerts are somewhat special, with a family atmosphere coupled with a sense of warmth and concern. One would guess that his band is a close one, laughing at the wholesome jokes and smiling at the faces in the crowd both young and old. When "Rocky Mountain High" hit the airwaves in 1972, Denver was acclaimed as a messiah, the next Arlo Guthrie. It wasn't long before the diversity of his music spread itself too thin and the young man from Aspen was leaving his original standards behind and teaming up with people like Frank Sinatra. As the years flew by, Denver's voice mellowed and his writing improved but he found himself caught when people started See Denver, page 10 By ji; $ H (i\ | OI K KXTIH | FBI.. SA | J) If) SI WIT I ^74 Ave'uda STUTION 256-6681 ^ | in 5 Points m S FREE COKE I with any JjSandwich purchase? 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