This was the blog of an Eloise wannabe and her 2 roustabout kitties as they work on a book deal in the City of Lights, giggling all the way. Now it's the blog of an Eloise wannabe planning her next escape (California, Canadia?) with 2 other kitties--still working, still giggling.
So sad to learn this morning that Dan Fogelberg died yesterday. Although originally from Illinois, he's fixed in my mind as part of the 70's Southern California scene, from a time when (in my mind) the best music was made. I think I found him from a liner note on a Jackson Browne LP back in the early 80s~that's how I found most of the music that still resonates with me. I know he used a lot of the same session musicians as JB (including the peerless Russ Kunkel on drums) and together they made that "full" sound that will always be my favorite. (I read that Jackson Browne thinks his own works from the 70's are over-produced, while I think his works from the 80's are underproduced--I just love that 70's sound.) In addition to Dan's own clear, tender voice, he had the whole stacked harmony thing going on, with Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Graham Nash singing back-up on some of his tracks.
I've been hearing Same Old Lang Syne a lot the past few weeks, tuned in as I am to a Christmas station, but it's Heart Hotels, Missing You, Longer, Leader Of The Band and Part of The Plan I love the most. They're songs that come unabashedly from the heart, powerful in their simplicity. One song that I would listen to over and over again as a teen, staying up late writing, is Heart Hotels:
Well there's too many windows in this old hotel
And rooms filled with reckless pride
And the walls have grown sturdy
And the halls have worn well
But there is nobody living inside
Nobody living inside...
Gonna pull in the shutters on this heart of mine
Roll up the carpets and pull in the blinds
And retreat to the chambers that I left behind
In hopes there still may be love left to find
Still may be love left to find
Seek inspiration in daily affairs
Now your soul is in trouble and requires repairs
And the voices you hear at the top of the stairs
Are only echoes of unanswered prayers
Echoes of unanswered prayers
Well there's too many windows in this old hotel
And rooms filled with reckless pride
And the walls have grown sturdy
And the halls have worn well
But there is nobody living inside
Nobody living inside...
Godspeed, Dan. Thank you for your beautiful music and gentle soul.
