I've never been a huge fan of most singer-songwriters. There are, obviously, exceptions, as with every rule. Joni Mitchell is one. Ray LaMontayne is another. Most, however, I just kind of pass over in silence.
When I was in high school, the AOR station to which I listened, for some reason I still cannot fathom, had Dan Fogelberg on its rotation. One fine summer afternoon, the DJ came on and announced an upcoming song by "Dan Fogelboring", a moment I have never forgotten (obviously), and the nickname has stuck in my mind ever since.
Yet, like all musicians of something beyond modest talent, Fogelberg has had moments that are, if not excellent, are at least interesting. Like most s/s's, his tend to be lyrical rather than melodic or harmonic. I have always thought the song "Heart Hotels" was kind of an interesting, odd, take on the human tendency, first, to have more than one room in one's heart, and to find solace at times in this or that old, dusty room, rather than throw it open for a new visitor, or even long-term resident. It is hardly a great song, but it is, as I say, interesting. It is made less serious, thankfully, by this video.
Now, "The Phoenix" is a song I like just because it captures a moment in a person's life. In the wake of heartbreak - whether from a lost love, or in grief over a death - there can come that wonderful morning when we wake up and realize we are still alive, and have so much for which to live. We will no longer be defined by loss, but by the possibility of what is to come. I also think the little instrumental intro, "Tullamore Dew", is pretty. For all those who remember those points when they have said, with Fogelberg, "I have cried too long", here's a grainy, poorly recorded live video.
Finally, while I know it gets too much airplay, especially at this time of year, there is something about "Same Auld Lang Syne" that I like. For no other reason, I would enjoy an encounter like this, I think, without the overtones of emotional yearning, and the bathos of the ending. I also discovered this Peoria Journal Star column that tells the true story behind the song. There's something even more beautiful about the reality, not least the honor and class of Jill Anderson Greulich for remaining silent out of respect for Dan Fogelberg. I wonder, though, if nearly thirty years after the song's original release if she is as tired of it as many of the rest of us. . .
