Rocky Mountain High is the sixth studio album released by American singer-songwriterJohn Denver in September 1972. It was his first US Top 10 album (no. 4), propelled by thetitle single, and in addition reached no. 11 in the UK and no. 1 in Canada.[3] The album's cover photograph was taken at Slaughterhouse Falls,Rio Grande Trail,Aspen, Colorado.[4]
In July 1972,Record World called the single 'Goodbye Again', "a sad, gentle ballad that threatens to become a standard along the lines of 'Leaving on a Jet Plane.'"[6] In September of that same year,Record World commended the single "Hard Life, Hard Times (Prisoners)" for its "good use ofcounterpoint towards the end."[7]
William Ruhlmann ofAllMusic wrote ofRocky Mountain High that, "Though Denver still couldn't figure out how to fill out an entire album without covering his betters (in this case, old favoritesthe Beatles andJohn Prine), he and his steady backup musicians, bassist Dick Kniss and guitarist Mike Taylor, were evolving into an exuberant folk-country sound that would prove enormously appealing over the next few years."[1] Ruhlman highlighted "Goodbye Again" and "For Baby (For Bobbie)", praising the former as "one of Denver's finest ballads."[1]
^Okamoto, David (January 1, 1998). "John Denver". In Knopper, Steve (ed.).MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit:Visible Ink Press. pp. 132–133.
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