not the same Auld Lang Syne: RIP Dan Fogelberg

Armchair_QB · Dec 17, 2007

It bummed me out to hear he passed away this morning.

Leader of the Band is one of my favorite songs for reasons that go back to something my dad did for me when I was in high school.

And I agree with the folks who like Same Auld Lang Syne and Run for the Roses. Both great songs.

finishthehat · Dec 17, 2007

I couldn't hear one of the songs in my head right now, but if I put on Netherlands I bet within the first few chords of each song I'd remember the whole thing. My sister used to play it constantly back in the day.

shotglass · Dec 17, 2007

Twoback said:

The girl I took to my high school prom loved Dan Fogelberg. I didn't get it at the time, but gradually came to deeply appreciate the music on Netherlands, Souvenirs, Captured Angel. There is some incredibly beautiful songwriting there.
After I came to be a fan, I still remember being enraged by a review in a Rolling Stone book that said, "Records himself to sound like a one-man Crosby, Stills & Nash."
By the time I met the woman who has been my wife for 24 years, I loved Fogelberg's music. Which was a good thing, because my girlfriend/fiancee/wife adored Fogelberg. In every way. So we ended up seeing him in concert at least five times. He was an excellent performer who could hold an entire arena's audience by himself with a guitar or piano. Not many have that degree of talent. He will be missed, certainly in this household.
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2B, the Rolling Stone's treatment of Fogelberg was one of the things which turned me against the magazine for good.

dooley_womack1 · Dec 17, 2007

Johnny Dangerously said:

I just listened to "Same Old Lang Syne" for the first time in a long time. From my perspective, there is often a fine line between what people consider an overproduced studio song and a well-produced record. That line is also subjective.

"Rosanna" was considered one of the best-engineered records ever at the time of its release, but the layering of solos and the other qualities that made it so were impossible for Toto to match in concert. The song typically fell short of expectations in live performance. Loud had to replace what engineering could not reproduce on the stage.

Fogelberg certainly spent a lot of time crafting a specific sound on "Same Old Lang Syne" in the studio, and people who might have heard him perform it later in his career could have easily determined he was incapable as an artist of pulling it off live. To me, that's the definition of an overproduced studio song -- slickness and layering to mask a singer's shortcomings. But Fogelberg in concert made "Same Old Lang Syne" breathe in an entirely different way as a solo piece, and one even more poignant stripped to its bones.

By the mid to late 1980s, he could no longer do so. He had developed infected tonsils in his 20s and sometimes had to cancel concerts when he became ill as a result. Soon after recording "Same Old Lang Syne" he had his tonsils removed, and his health improved tremendously. The loss of his tonsils, though, combined with his getting older, steadily lowered the pitch of his voice.

If you find a video of him performing anything late in his career, you'll hear that he can no longer hit the notes he used to easily reach in his younger days. Some of the live recordings of "Same Old Lang Syne" can be a disappointment for this reason. I remember him singing it in a 1980 performance that took my breath away. Three years later in Baton Rouge, he was still learning how to perform the song with his new octave issues.

I've never considered it overproduced, but that's probably because I always appreciated his ability to play so many instruments. A friend thought he was showing off. I just thought the man liked to play as many instruments as possible and was having fun.

Fogelberg's love of classical music and his dad's career as a musician and band leader had a lot to do with Fogelberg's studio work, but I never considered any of his more "slick" songs to be "studio songs" because I knew he could, in his earlier years, bring chills in concert with one voice and either a piano or acoustic guitar.
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I'm not saying it's merely a studio creation, a la a disco song or techno or Milli Vanilli..or Toto, for that matter.. I'm just saying that the LP, non-live, version was heavily overdubbed and overlaid. As was a lot of stuff by singer-songwriters during the 1970s; which is strange given the power of a lot of the lyrics and the subtlety of the voices.

Twoback · Dec 17, 2007

shotglass said:

Twoback said:

The girl I took to my high school prom loved Dan Fogelberg. I didn't get it at the time, but gradually came to deeply appreciate the music on Netherlands, Souvenirs, Captured Angel. There is some incredibly beautiful songwriting there.
After I came to be a fan, I still remember being enraged by a review in a Rolling Stone book that said, "Records himself to sound like a one-man Crosby, Stills & Nash."
By the time I met the woman who has been my wife for 24 years, I loved Fogelberg's music. Which was a good thing, because my girlfriend/fiancee/wife adored Fogelberg. In every way. So we ended up seeing him in concert at least five times. He was an excellent performer who could hold an entire arena's audience by himself with a guitar or piano. Not many have that degree of talent. He will be missed, certainly in this household.
Click to expand...

2B, the Rolling Stone's treatment of Fogelberg was one of the things which turned me against the magazine for good.
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You made my day, Shotty.

Tom Petty · Dec 17, 2007

Twoback said:

The girl I took to my high school prom loved Dan Fogelberg. I didn't get it at the time, but gradually came to deeply appreciate the music on Netherlands, Souvenirs, Captured Angel. There is some incredibly beautiful songwriting there.
After I came to be a fan, I still remember being enraged by a review in a Rolling Stone book that said, "Records himself to sound like a one-man Crosby, Stills & Nash."
By the time I met the woman who has been my wife for 24 years, I loved Fogelberg's music. Which was a good thing, because my girlfriend/fiancee/wife adored Fogelberg. In every way. So we ended up seeing him in concert at least five times. He was an excellent performer who could hold an entire arena's audience by himself with a guitar or piano. Not many have that degree of talent. He will be missed, certainly in this household.
Click to expand...

fogelberg and his music were easy targets. but god dammit, he sang about "something," which is what i loved about his music.

i don't expect the next generation to understand what he meant to the folks of mine.

patchs · Dec 17, 2007

I'm away from home right now but when I get back tomorrow I will be listening to my greatest hits CD.
It's nice to see the man remembered so fondly by folks here.
If you like Fogelberg, give Al Stewart a shot, "Song on the Radio" and "Time Passages" are good music.
Also, Gerry Rafferty, "Home and Dry," "Days Gone By" and of course, "Baker Street."

StormSurge · Dec 17, 2007

I love Heart Hotels. RIP.

And thanks to all for the great personal stories & stories of Dan. Good stuff.

Montezuma's Revenge · Dec 17, 2007

Tom Petty said:

this is as good as it gets on youtube ...
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Great post, TP. Great post.

Bubbler · Dec 18, 2007

Johnny Dangerously said:

I just listened to "Same Old Lang Syne" for the first time in a long time. From my perspective, there is often a fine line between what people consider an overproduced studio song and a well-produced record. That line is also subjective.

"Rosanna" was considered one of the best-engineered records ever at the time of its release, but the layering of solos and the other qualities that made it so were impossible for Toto to match in concert. The song typically fell short of expectations in live performance. Loud had to replace what engineering could not reproduce on the stage.

Fogelberg certainly spent a lot of time crafting a specific sound on "Same Old Lang Syne" in the studio, and people who might have heard him perform it later in his career could have easily determined he was incapable as an artist of pulling it off live. To me, that's the definition of an overproduced studio song -- slickness and layering to mask a singer's shortcomings. But Fogelberg in concert made "Same Old Lang Syne" breathe in an entirely different way as a solo piece, and one even more poignant stripped to its bones.

By the mid to late 1980s, he could no longer do so. He had developed infected tonsils in his 20s and sometimes had to cancel concerts when he became ill as a result. Soon after recording "Same Old Lang Syne" he had his tonsils removed, and his health improved tremendously. The loss of his tonsils, though, combined with his getting older, steadily lowered the pitch of his voice.
Click to expand...

The same thing happened to Elton John's voice. He cannot "properly" sing most of his classics that have higher notes anymore, most notably Rocket Man.

Artists find a way around that by re-interpreting their songs. I'm not into Fogelberg, but apparently, he was successful in that regard.

RIP.

crunchy frog · Dec 18, 2007

I didn't realize so many of my sports colleagues were Dan Fogelberg fans. I remember taking a lot of grief for that in the late 70s and early 80s. I guess it should make sense. We all appreciate good writing.

I saw him live 3 times, but one time was special. It was the summer of 1979. He was still working on the Innocent Age album and not touring, but played a special solo concert at the Civic Center in Portland, Maine, as a fundraiser for a group promoting a referendum opposing nuclear power. Dan played his patented 2-plus hour show. The highlight was playing two new songs that he said he had never played live - Same Auld Lang Syne and Leader of the Band. At many concerts, when a band/person plays an unfamiliar song, there might be some polite applause afterwards while waiting for the hits. Not this night. Both songs received standing ovations, and he seemed genuinely moved by the reaction.

RIP Dan. You provided joy to many.

old_tony · Dec 18, 2007

crunchy frog said:

I didn't realize so many of my sports colleagues were Dan Fogelberg fans. I remember taking a lot of grief for that in the late 70s and early 80s. I guess it should make sense. We all appreciate good writing.

I saw him live 3 times, but one time was special. It was the summer of 1979. He was still working on the Innocent Age album and not touring, but played a special solo concert at the Civic Center in Portland, Maine, as a fundraiser for a group promoting a referendum opposing nuclear power. Dan played his patented 2-plus hour show. The highlight was playing two new songs that he said he had never played live - Same Auld Lang Syne and Leader of the Band. At many concerts, when a band/person plays an unfamiliar song, there might be some polite applause afterwards while waiting for the hits. Not this night. Both songs received standing ovations, and he seemed genuinely moved by the reaction.

RIP Dan. You provided joy to many.
Click to expand...

I only got to see him live once back in 1987, but there are still distinct memories. I was deeply in love at the time and the day started with a trip to a waterpark about 2 1/2 hours away from home, then the trek back to the home town for the show. Changed into dry clothes in the car while driving. The show was great. After the show we stopped at a Baskin Robbins stand (the amphitheater was on festival grounds and a festival was going on that weekend) and had Chocolate and Peanut Butter ice cream for the very first time. A perfect top-off to a perfect day.

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not the same Auld Lang Syne: RIP Dan Fogelberg

Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

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not the same Auld Lang Syne: RIP Dan Fogelberg

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