My Musical Evolution – Part 73 BFMS Found On a Country Road

As we discussed in the previous post, while jogging on one of Vermont’s Country Roads just north of Saxton’s River, I found a box that among other things contained some 8-Track Tapes. Of the half a dozen or so tapes, I kept 3. I’m pretty sure that I listen to all of them at first and decided that the other ones where not my style. The ones I hung on to each had roots in the Scratchy 45 Days. Was that part of why I decided to keep them?

All I know was that at first, I was really crazy about the sound of The Ventures and listened to it quite a bit. However, John Denver struck a chord with me that for some reason I could not stop listening to those two tapes. [Greatest Hits, Back Home Again]

I am at a loss to explain why at this time in my life, the KISS kid was relentlessly playing John Denver albums over and over again to the point where my cousin had had enough and took them and hid them [maybe even threw them away] I can only guess that being a city kid that elected to leave the city for a small village in the green mountains of Vermont, John Denver’s song spoke directly to me. Simple, slow folksy stuff that described a pure life in majesty of natural surroundings. John was talking about Colorado and West Virginia but to me, he was talking about Vermont. Maybe my love for these songs is really an expression of my love for Vermont. I never did buy a John Denver Album on vinyl, 8-track or cassette. After the loss of my 8-Tracks I really didn’t listen to John Denver again until I replaced those 8-Travks with CDs.

To this day 30 years later, these songs remind me of the outdoor adventures I had in the forests, rivers and mountian tops in Vermont. Everything seemed so clean, crisp and friendly. I think about the miles I put on my old red Schwinn on those old country roads.

Yeah, mom had a few John Denver records mixed in the Scratchy 45’s but it wasn’t until these 8-Tracks in Vermont that I would become a true fan of John Denver. I don’t listen to him like I did then but I eventually replaced my missing 8-Tracks with CDs As I sit here listening to these songs again, I realize that John Denver is one of those artists that I don’t really play in mixed company. You know as background music or driving in the car. With John Denver, there is something uniquely personal about these albums that leads me to listen to them when I’m all alone. I guess that I feel that any guests that I try to share them with would not have the emotional attachment to them or the context or whatever so I just keep them to myself. I’m not ashamed of liking these old John Denver albums, it’s just personal.

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