Search - Ken Dravis :: Never Felt Better

A New Rocky Mountain High

Eugene Winchell | Miami | 10/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Music hasn't sounded quite right since John Denver passed on. I've been feeling sorta Rocky Mountain low. The great western mountains lost a pure, honest voice when John died and, until now, no one has stepped forward to claim these snowcapped peaks as their own."Never Felt Better", the new album from Colorado musician/songwriter Ken Dravis, actually seems to channel the spirit of John Denver. In my recent interview, Dravis revealed that he had worked for John at his home in Snowmass, where the two artists became friends. When Denver died in an experimental airplane mishap, Dravis poured his grief into a tribute album, "Rocky Mountain Memories".Dravis almost sounds more like John Denver than John Denver. Sometimes it's eerie. And the new album, featuring the likes of Chet McCraken (Doobie Bros.), builds upon the Denver legacy. Dravis might rightfully claim the musical heritage of the Colorado Rockies as his own, JD's obvious heir.From a home studio in Grand Junction, Dravis has written, produced and recorded some of the sweetest music to flow down the Western Slope in the last ten years. "Never Felt Better" isn't a copy of John Denver's music, but rather an extension of it. From the distinctive 12-string guitar to the soaring harmonies reminiscent of Bill and Taffy Danoff, Ken Dravis's new enhanced CD is a summer hike beside a cool, Aspen-shaded stream.Somewhere, I think, John is smiling."