John Denver fans looking for an exhaustive collection of the artist's material are recommended to purchase 1997's 4-disc THE COUNTRY ROADS COLLECTION. [Casual fans can make do with 2004's DEFINITIVE ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS.] What THE COLLECTION does is repackage three of Denver's early albums: 1969's RHYMES & REASONS (which included his own version of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" which he wrote and became a No. 1 hit for Peter, Paul & Mary), 1971's POEMS, PRAYERS & PROMISES (which contained his breakout hit "Take Me Home, Country Roads'), and 1972's ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH (and while Denver is by now using almost entirely original material, like the other two albums contains a Beatles cover in addition to John Prine's "Paradise").

By the end of the Seventies, Denver's aw-shucks personality and choir-boy good looks made him a superstar. In addition to selling millions of records, he was starring in movies, guest hosting on "The Tonight Show," and doing his own TV specials. So why is RCA releasing this collection? It's hard to say. This doesn't contain all the hits; neither is it a career-spanning retrospective. If you really need these three albums, go for it. Otherwise, stick with the aforementioned recommendations.

I don't see a lot of his hits in this set - Annie's Song, Fly Away, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Calypso, and Grandma's Feather Bed - these just off the top of my head. Definitely not a definitive collection. Too many good songs missing considering this is a 3-CD set.

*11 Mar 2012 - Modified to correct spelling in title - no new information entered.