Dan Fogelberg: Unreleased studio recordings, live performances (+ possible deluxe editions)?

Please forgive me if I have shared this before but this song strikes a nerve with me knowing personally what it meant to him.
Dan was a very protective of his personal life....and I will continue his wishes & will only share what he shared to others before.
Most of Dan's music came from personal experiences. Many think this song deals with the subject of his song "Old Lang Syne" but it not the case.
The lady was Dan's 1st great love thru high school/college & in fact many, many of Dan's early songs were about her starting with "The Actress and the Artist".
Dan was a fan of Cyrano de Bergerac & I believe Dan's best friend expressed the situation best saying .... "Cyrano wrote love poems to Roxanne,
Dan wrote them to _ _ _ _ _. An entire career was launched through the pain of an unrequited love".
Dan would simply say....."A very cathartic song about finally letting go of my first great love".... something I'm sure we all can share.
Ironically a more permanent ending takes place as she passes away in 1994.

 

Thanks for sharing @FallsCity48 .

 

From Jean's Facebook page :






" Okay, I have yet another update for you. First of all, let me assure you that your pre-ordered CDs will still ship from Amazon on the 12th.

That said, on Thursday I got the package and, once again, they’d printed the wrong file. And, the machine that presses the glued edges left two dents in the cover. Apparently, the dents are not uncommon with some package types and companies, but we didn’t come this far and spend this much time and money to not strive for perfection, yes? I’m confident that Dan would agree.

The images are clean and sharp, but they didn’t print the newest file we sent, which has John Logan and Dennis Fite thanked. This album wouldn’t exist if John Logan hadn’t thought to record the concert through his sound board for Dan, so I feel strongly that he should be acknowledged.

Regarding the dents, I’m attaching photos of the package I got in Maine, and the package Brandon got in Los Angeles.

It's up to you. You can cancel your Amazon pre-order and wait 3 - 4 more weeks for the new package, or you can get the not-perfect package which will ship on the 12th. THE CD’s INSIDE WILL BE THE SAME with both packages, so the music is totally unaffected by your choice.

What would life be without a little drama?
(She said, as she popped another antacid and poured another shot of tequila ;-) "

I'm not waiting any longer...I'm letting my order stand !!!!!

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Ugh! Can't they see the damn dents when they manufacture them? I think I'll wait on the corrected copy.

 

I believe I will wait as well but the situation is not clear to me. Is Amazon going to ship these CD that, IMO, have "damaged" covers? Do I have to cancel my order then?

 

I think I'd like to wait for perfection. And the CD version was always going to be a physical keepsake for me, as I had also pre-ordered the digital download from iTunes. I can have the music right away, have the 'perfect' physical keepsake release, and score two units for this amazing gift from Dan's vaults!

 

How will one know when an order will result in the non-dented item? Won't Amazon just keep sending out the initial batch until they are gone?

 

Of course they will.

 

I'm hopeful that Jean Fogelberg will continue to keep us posted about how this will play out, when the initial batch is sold through, and when the new, hopefully up to specs batch is in the channel.

 

I think I'll wait. Not a diehard, don't own all his works. Got the box set and maybe the first five albums to Innocence Age. I feel sorry that her and the diehard fans have to be treated to such substandard practices. Just do the plastic tray cd version and be done with. Kill a tree to make an eco friendly cardboard dented package is beyond me...

 

And now Amazon has the TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK banner up, so maybe the not-up-to-snuff packages never went out ?

Bull Moose - " Out Of Stock Rare Item "

.

 

i got an email that said my order is filled and i will get it between may 25 and june 12!

now june 12 is a month from today, so who know what is going on. even amazon is never this long of a wait.

 

CD Baby has two options in the Amazon Marketplace ( one stating Fulfillment by Amazon, inc. Sunday delivery ).

 

Amazon just informed me May 24th-June 6th.

 

Ditto

 

Just got told it'll be this Friday, the 19th.
.

 

Great news Myke. I also just got word from Amazon that my delivery date has now been bumped up to May 23rd. Original estimate was
between may 26-June 9!

 

CD Baby's own site also has a flac download for $9.99

 

Sounds great !!!

 

I wrote to Jean and asked her that very same question.

Jean Fogelberg: "I'll do my best to make sure they return the old stock, when we send them the new, Thomas."

 

if you get the dents, you get the original pressing...you know that right?

 

Surprised Gracenote already recognizes it ! (via my Oppo 103)

 

Yes, I know that. That's why I asked Jean. I don't want the original pressing, so I won't be buying the CD just yet. For now, I've downloaded the concert from iTunes, and I really love it.

 

Put it on your calendar! Colorado Music Hall of Fame's class of 2017, Dan Fogelberg, Joe Walsh & Barnstorm and Caribou Ranch, will be inducted on August 13 at Fiddler's Green Amphitheater in Denver! Advance ticket information coming in the June CMHOF newsletter, and also here on Dan's official Facebook page. Make plans to join us for this memorable event!

 

Did anyone see Jean Fogelberg's May 19 update on the official DF.com website, Carnegie Hall page yet?

UPDATE - May 19th

Yep, there's more.

So, not long after the release on the 12th, I got an email, from a fan alerting me to the fact that there were some editing problems in the Paris Nocturne/Sketches segments. Paris Nocturne had a listed time of 06:30. Sketches Summer had a time of 01:47, and Sketches Winter had a time of 03:48. The problem was, Paris Nocturne ends at 03:49. The remaining three minutes and twenty one seconds is actually the beginning of Sketches Summer. Then, he went on to say, Sketches Summer repeats and then the entire Sketches suite is on Sketches Winter. I felt confused, and instantly sick to my stomach.

I put the CD in and watched the numbers as I listened. Sure enough, Sketches Summer began at the end of the Paris Nocturne track. And, the intro to Sketches Winter was at the end of Sketches Summer. Damn!!! I had been so focused on the beginning and ending seconds, I hadn't noticed mistakes in between. I pulled up the original recording and was relieved to learn that the fan was wrong - there was no repeat - the beginning of Sketches Summer just sounds very much like the beginning of Sketches Winter. I realized I wasn't sure when "Sketches" had become "Stetches Summer" and "Sketches Winter"? We were still working on the new packaging - I asked Sali and Brandon if I could have Gateway merge the two back into one track? The logistics, though, of going to all the distributors, including iTunes and Amazon, and having them delete a track, were, well, we just couldn't do it.

At that point, I decided to leave the intro to Sketches Winter as it was, so it wouldn't sound so much like the intro to Sketches Summer and, hopefully, no one else would think they were hearing a repeated track. Gateway fixed the transition from Paris Nocturne, now 03:49, and Sketches Summer, now 04:28. The artwork and music files went to the new manufacturer yesterday, and I went to town for hair color and tequila.​

I think I am that fan. Since Jean never replied to me, it is possible someone else may also have alerted her, but from what she says, I know she is referring to my emails.

Here's what happened: I bought the iTunes download and began playing it around midnight of the original release day, May 12. I wasn't watching the track counter or anything, just listening, and loving every moment. Paris Nocturne (beautifully done, with some nice piano flourishes not on the studio version) ended, Sketches began and played through (amazingly done... one of my favorite DF songs, and the fulfillment of the classical suite format underlying the entire album 'Nether Lands' — and yes, there is a girl connected to this song for me! — ). Sketches also ended... and after some applause, Dan began noodling on the piano again...

...Then 'Sketches' began to repeat! Startled, as I figured Dan would never repeat a song in a concert setting like that, and wanting to verify what I had heard, I clicked to replay Sketches-Summer, only to be startled a second time, as track 10, named 'Sketches Summer', actually is 'Sketches Winter'! I then set out to analyze what had happened, and made notes of the timing marks.

It was such a serious mistake — a repeated song with completely erroneous track times for the final three tracks of Disc 1 — that I felt I needed to communicate it to Jean Fogelberg, so I went to her Facebook page (I am a "follower"), and sent her a private message. Then I went to her photography website (which she had shared at DF.com at some point) and used her contact info to send her a more properly formatted and easily understood email with all the info. I was so concerned for how this could impact the acceptance of the release (remember, it had only been available for download for a couple of hours at this point), that the next morning I contacted a Fogelberg friend of mine who does some work for the Fogelberg Foundation of Peoria and the official website, and asked her to also relay my concerns to Jean if she could.

Here is the relevant portion of the email I sent Jean:

Short Description of problem: ‘Sketches' repeats and the song durations are incorrect.

Full explanation:

Listen to Tracks 9, 10 and 11 while watching the Track/Time window in iTunes to notice when ‘Sketches’ starts and restarts:

On Track 9, 'Paris Nocturne' ends at approx 3:46 after Dan says 'Thank you." Then he starts into 'Sketches', which runs the remainder of Track 9 (another 2:45) and on into Track 10, which is actually the mid-section of the 'Sketches' suite, on through 'Sketches-Winter' and the end of the song.

Then after 'Sketches-Winter' ends (and we’re still in Track 10), after applause and Dan says "Thank you" at about 1:26, 'Sketches' actually begins to repeat!

The final 17 sec. or so of track 10 is Dan's brief piano intro (first heard on Track 9 at the 3:46 mark) which leads into Track 11, which is 'Sketches' in its entirety. ​

This can be fixed in a day or so for the digital version(s). Not sure if the CD is affected.

The recording is amazing, a great performance, just beautiful! Thank you so much!

Sorry to break the news on the sequencing, but I figured you would want to know...

Kind Regards,​

I wanted to set the record straight, as Jean's May 19 update says I am wrong, that there is no repeat, and that the beginning of Sketches Summer just sounds similar to the beginning of Sketches Winter.

Sorry to say, she is wrong. Listen to tracks 9-11 for yourselves, without looking at the track counter. 'Sketches' plays twice. It just does.

How could this happen?

• Slightly different audio edit? - Perhaps Bob Ludwig, in preparing the audio, likely had arrived at some excellent settings for the piano instrumental 'Paris Nocturne', but returned to tweak the settings for 'Sketches', which also has vocals. Then he dropped the new version of Sketches into the track sequence, forgetting that he had not removed his original edit. Hence the duplication of Sketches. That's my theory.

• Improper naming of 'Sketches' - 'Sketches' was never two separate tracks on Nether Lands, either on the LP or CD. It is a single track, but on the liner notes for the LP, the lyrics for 'Sketches' are separated into two movements (befitting a classical-influenced sonnet), 'Summer' and 'Winter'. Separating Sketches into two tracks introduced unnecessary confusion into the sequencing process for anyone not deeply familiar with Fogelberg's music.

• No final proofing of the music itself - It's clear there was no 'final listening party' before the music files were prepped for manufacture and sent to the lab, otherwise at the very least the repeat of 'Sketches' would have been noticed by those familiar with Dan's music, and probably even by anyone unfamiliar with it.

What is the outcome?

• According to Jean's May 19 update, no music was deleted, so 'Sketches' will still repeat on the new version of the CD.

• The transition from track 9, 'Parish Nocturne', to Track 10, 'Sketches - Summer', has been fixed, so Paris Nocturne is now 3:49, and 'Sketches - Summer' is 4:28.

• From Jean's description, it sounds like as of May 19 she has not yet realized that 'Sketches' is repeated. If sales of the CD are good, and a second pressing is required, we might see the repeat of 'Sketches' quietly removed.

In my opinion, this in no way compromises the significance of this release, but it is a little unfortunate that it may never be perfect. At the same time, it adds a somewhat 'legendary' mystique to this important concert recording from nearly 40 years ago. True and devoted Dan Fans will eventually notice the repeat of 'Sketches' themselves, and it will become part of Fogelberg lore.

As for me, I am deeply grateful to Jean Fogelberg for releasing this, and for her dedication to advancing Dan's legacy. For her, this is part of her undying affaire de coeur with Dan. This is heart and soul, an outpouring, a gift from her to him, and through her, from him to all of us. There are no words adequate to honor her efforts or thank her for this.

As for me, I don't have any tequila in the house, but I'm going to toast Jean — and certainly Dan! — with some vodka!

Ever On ~
Ralph