Poems, Prayers & Promises is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Denver, released on April 6, 1971 by RCA Records. The album was recorded in New York City, and produced by Milton Okun and Susan Ruskin. Poems, Prayers & Promises was Denver's commercial breakthrough, and contains several of his most popular songs, such as "Poems, Prayers, and Promises", "My Sweet Lady", "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado", "Sunshine on My Shoulders", and "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which would become one of Denver's signature songs. "The Box", which concludes the album, is a poem by Kendrew Lascelles illustrating the futility of war.
| Poems, Prayers & Promises | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 6, 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1970–1971 | |||
| Studio | RCA, New York City | |||
| Genre | Country folk[1] | |||
| Length | 37:57 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| John Denver chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Poems, Prayers & Promises | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C[3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [5] |
| The New Rolling Stone Record Guide | [6] |
The album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200.[7]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Poems, Prayers and Promises" | Denver | 4:04 |
| 2. | "Let It Be" | Lennon-McCartney | 3:38 |
| 3. | "My Sweet Lady" | Denver | 4:23 |
| 4. | "Wooden Indian" | Denver | 1:38 |
| 5. | "Junk" | Paul McCartney | 1:40 |
| 6. | "Gospel Changes" | John W. Williams | 3:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Take Me Home, Country Roads" |
| 3:08 |
| 2. | "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado" |
| 2:07 |
| 3. | "Sunshine on My Shoulders" |
| 5:12 |
| 4. | "Around and Around" | Denver | 2:16 |
| 5. | "Fire and Rain" | James Taylor | 3:44 |
| 6. | "The Box" | Kendrew Lascelles | 2:44 |
Personnel
edit- John Denver – guitars, vocals
Musicians
edit- Gary Chester – drums
- Bill Danoff – vocals, guitar
- Dick Kniss – double bass
- Taffy Nivert – vocals
- Frank Owens – piano
- Mike Taylor – acoustic guitar
- Eric Weissberg – banjo, steel guitar
Production
edit- Ray Hall – recording engineer
- Jean Kaplow – production assistant
- Milton Okun – producer
- Don Wardell – executive producer
Charts
edit| Chart (1974/75) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 41 |
References
edit- ^ Okamoto, David (January 1, 1998). "John Denver". In Knopper, Steve (ed.). MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 132–133.
- ^ "AllMusic Review by Sharon Mawer". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: Album: John Denver: Poems, Prayers and Promises". www.robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 855.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 329.
- ^ The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House. 1983. p. 136.
- ^ "John Denver". Billboard.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 87. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
External links
edit- Poems, Prayers & Promises at Discogs (list of releases)
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