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POP REVIEW : DENVER ADDS ROCK TO ROCKIES

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Times Staff Writer

Say goodby to country boy John Denver of the 1970s and say hello to Rockin’ Johnny D. of the ‘80s, Goodwill Ambassador to the World.

Having recently returned from trips to the Soviet Union and China, Denver had much to sing and say about international affairs Thursday during his 2-hour performance at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

For the most part, though, Jettin’ John kept in check his tendency to do more preaching than singing in a show that covered his early folk and country hits as well as the punchy R&B-tinged; rock from his new “Dreamland Express” album.

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On a stage cozily decorated with potted trees and plants, Denver was, as always, a smooth, congenial host. For this tour, he’s backed by the album’s potent six-man band that includes veteran pianist Glen D. Hardin, saxophonist Jim Horn and guitar legend James Burton, who has played with everyone from Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley to Emmylou Harris and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Over the years, Denver’s vocals have taken on a greater purity, especially in the falsetto range, that gives his ballads more color and expressiveness. His conventional phrasing, however, precludes him from joining the ranks of the great song stylists. Consequently, his versions of other writers’ songs, such as Jesse Winchester’s “Nothing But a Breeze,” are notable only for introducing worthy songs to a wider audience.

During the second half of the performance, Denver, 41, brought out the Muscle Shoals horn section for added punch on his renditions of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and the Roy Orbison-penned Everly Brothers hit “Claudette.” But the soothing quality that permeates all of his vocals made Denver least effective as a gritty rock ‘n’ roller.

Of the four songs he sang from the new album, the title song and his current single “Don’t Close Your Eyes Tonight” are innocuous middle-of-the-road pop. “I’m in the Mood To Be Desired,” however, is an undulating ‘50s-flavored ballad that unveiled yet another new facet of Denver: Frisky John. “I’m in the mood to be desired. ... Let’s build a fire / ‘Til the embers retire, we’ll be lost in a world of ecstasy.” And you thought he was interested only in campfires in the Rocky Mountains.

But even though his speeches were considerably shorter than at his 1984 Irvine Meadows stop, he still managed to work in several stories about the lessons he’d learned from his recent travels around the world.

At one point, borrowing a line from Jimmy Buffett, Denver said, “I just want to be able to go to work, do a good job, go home to my family and have a beer and not get blown up.” After the crowd roared its approval, Denver enthusiastically proclaimed, “When I told that story in the Soviet Union, the audiences reacted exactly the same way that you just did.”

Shortly after that, he stopped a few seconds into “Annie’s Song” and announced, “I’m going to start this again and sing the first verse in Russian,” for which he received another resounding ovation.

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But his “world traveler” tales became increasingly repetitious, self-congratulatory and unfortunately undercut the effectiveness of his pleas for international brotherhood, which he offered as a counterbalance to the rampant jingoism unleashed by “Rambo.”

If Denver is intent, as he seems to be, on becoming the Bob Hope of rock ‘n’ roll, he would be wise to simply stick with his strengths as a personable singer of melodic pop songs.

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