REVIEW: Rocky Mountain High Experience: A John Denver Christmas
11/24/2024 at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
All photos by the author
“As someone who never got to, and never will get to, experience John Denver’s romance in person, Rick Schuler did a wonderful job of presenting me with a simulacrum of what I might have gotten to see.”
Growing up, I was introduced to many quality artists by way of my parents—Queen, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Eagles, The Manhattan Transfer, Gordon Lightfoot, and Meat Loaf—to name a few. But I think by and large, I was raised on John Denver’s music—a man that my mother will never ever skip on shuffle.
I’m not much of a musician, and even less of a songwriter, but if I had to state my biggest musical influence, it would probably be him. My memories of my younger years are sparse, but I can remember my mother singing “For Baby (Bobbie’s Song)” as my lullaby time and time again. I know those lyrics front and back, much like most of his Rocky Mountain Collection. I’ve long thought it a shame that I’d never get to hear John Denver live.
When I saw that successful John Denver tribute artist Rick Schuler was bringing his Rocky Mountain High Experience, Christmas edition, to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, it was a no-brainer to bring not only myself to the venue, but my parents.
“Congrats,” I had said. “Clear your Sunday. We’re spending it with John Denver.”
Well, kinda.
Many others flocked to Troy to see this tribute performance. And the median age of the nearly-sold out audience was definitely in the 60s to 70s. There were a few stragglers: kids, and adults who probably also brought their parents, brought up on the same sound that I was.
Schuler, a Missouri native turned surfer, archaeologist, and obviously a John Denver cosplayer, grew up being told he looked and sounded like the late folk singer, especially when he wore his first pair of round glasses as a teen. He learned to play music, found his niche, and leaned really hard into it. I respect that.
But even before Schuler gave the audience his “how I got here” spiel, it was obvious how he had gotten here. In my father’s words, which he repeated more than once, Schuler had “more than a passing resemblance” to Denver. It truly was uncanny. He had the cowboy boots, the Levis, and the button down with the retro pattern. He had the same shaggy haircut (Or was it a wig? We couldn’t figure that one out) and rugged face. The only thing missing from him was the round glasses.
It was a simple afternoon of performances. A solitary, mostly-naked Christmas tree, an acoustic guitar, a stool, and a mic stand. With this setup, Schuler sang many of Denver’s non-holiday biggest hits, such as “Poems, Prayers, and Promises”, “Annie’s Song”, “Rocky Mountain High” (of course), “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”, and of course “Take Me Home Country Roads”. There were a couple that I didn’t know, such as one song about Toledo, Ohio that wasn’t particularly kind to the city. My mother began singing along and I looked at her incredulously, asking, “How do you know this?”
“Because I know all of his songs!” she exclaimed.
Schuler spoke of how he finds comfort in these songs because of the nostalgia and comfort they bring. I agree. I have long thought that what makes Denver’s music so special, so poignant and everlasting and magical is not just because of the nostalgia—it’s so much bigger than that. It’s because Denver’s music is honest. It’s romantic. And I don’t necessarily mean romance in the way that one person loves another, but of course he does have those. It’s a romance that comes from being in love with life. Denver sings of the Rocky Mountains, and simple pleasures of humanity, being home and being away from it with the same perdurable love that we can only dream of experiencing with that intensity.
There were two notable weak points with Schuler’s set. The first was the original song he slipped in. Musically, it sounded as if it could have been written by Denver, but the lyrics were just name-dropping as many of Denver’s song titles as possible, and in that way it felt kitschy and lacking in creativity. The second weakness was the Christmas songs, and I don’t think it was just because it was November. As much as I love Denver, his Christmas songs aren’t particularly unique, unless they fall into the “Aspenglow” or “Starwood in Aspen” realm, both of which Schuler performed with that practiced uncanny similarity.
It was during his performance of “Sunshine On My Shoulders” that I felt he had reached the peak of his channeling of Denver. It didn’t ever feel like he was trying to be Denver—his timbre and tone just happened to be similar, but during this tune, if you had blindfolded me and told me I was listening to an old recording of Denver playing this song live, I would have believed you. It would have been hard for me to say with any real certainty that it wasn’t Denver himself, though there were a couple places where I might have said “Hmmmm, well maybe…” because of a difference in singing certain vowels.
My mother’s biggest critique was that she would have preferred to hear things that weren’t his biggest songs. I agree, but to my father’s point, “he’s got a lot of songs.” It would be so hard to narrow things down.
As someone who never got to, and never will get to, experience John Denver’s romance in person, Rick Schuler did a wonderful job of presenting me with a simulacrum of what I might have gotten to see. In a sad realization I’ve had at this very moment, John Denver’s music is dying as the population who grew up loving him ages too. Younger generations might not listen to anything beyond “Take Me Home Country Roads” from his catalog, and that’s a shame, because they will never know the romantic intensity in Denver’s songwriting. Contrary to what many will say, I think there is lots of amazing music on the scene today, from any genre. But there’s not many I’ve heard who have had the consistency and delicateness that Denver’s music has.
So if you’re of a younger demographic, and the concept of wistful, aromantic-romantic songwriting and storytelling speaks to you, here’s this Millennial’s guide to John Denver:
Take Me Home Country Roads, Looking for Space, Calypso, Rhymes & Reasons, Back Home Again, Leaving On A Jet Plane, Wild Montana Skies (with Emmylou Harris), Rocky Mountain High, Shanghai Breezes, Aspenglow, For Baby (Bobbie’s Song), Jenny Dreamed of Trains
