Recovered : Denison Witmer : Review : Rolling Stone

It's both a relief and a testament to the abundant talent of Denison Witmer that Recovered, the Philly musician's contribution to the cover cannon, stands alone on its own merits instead of relying on those of earlier songwriters. Witmer points out in his liner notes that Recovered isn't his attempt to "reupholster" old songs with a new sound, rather just him singing songs that mean a lot to him and tell a story. Like his earlier albums, Recovered is a melancholy affair that manages somehow to end on an optimistic note, thanks in this case to Jackson Browne's "These Days." Happy or sad, however, Witmer is an artist who is as good at paying tribute to the gifts of his predecessors (including Gram Parsons, Carole King and Neil Young) as he is at quietly celebrating his own.

REBECCA MARX
(August 28, 2003)