Dan Fogelberg's Retrospective Interview - Virtual Blog Tour

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I've been a fan of Dan Fogelberg's music ever since Leader of the Band first made me cry so many years ago, so it's a real treat for me to have been asked to review the new compilation CD Dan Fogelberg: A Retrospective Interview as part of Promo 101's virtual blog tour.
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Dan left us at the much too young age of 56 on December 16th, 2007 after losing his battle against prostate cancer. After his death Fred Migliore, the host of the FM Odyssey radio show, compiled this 2-CD set from an interview he conducted with Dan in 1997, where they spoke about Dan's many years in the music business. The Retrospective CD contains 13 full-length songs as well as a lot of the stories and thoughts behind them.
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The way the interviews and the music flow together it's almost as if Dan were sitting right there in your living room with you, talking and playing on into the night, letting his reminiscing guide the way through a virtual house concert.
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What makes Dan's music, and this CD, so special?

I think it's part of Dan's magic that he was able to do things like turn something as minor as a chance meeting with an old flame in the frozen food aisle of the grocery store into a song that touched millions, making them both smile and cry at memories of times long past and roads not taken. Or perhaps it was the way his heartfelt vocals and soft acoustic guitar chords bypass your mind, heading straight into your heart, into your very blood.
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There are so many favorites on this album - Same Old Lang Syne, Run for the Roses, Rhythm of the Rain (YouTube clip from an appearance on the Carson Show, and so much richer than the original Cascades version from 1962), but just as it did so many years ago, it's still the Leader of the Band that makes my breath catch in my throat. Listen for yourself and see what I mean:

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Retrospective, available from the FM Odyssey Store, would be a great addition to the collection of anyone who loves Dan Fogelberg, easy listening, or just beautiful ballads and sweet sweet guitar. Even better, $3 from each sale will be donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation in Dan's name, so that perhaps someday we won't have to lose so many to this terrible disease.
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If you too treasure the gift that Dan Fogelberg left us as his own legacy be sure to leave a comment here - the promoters have told me that there are about 45 minutes of “lost segments” from the CD which have never been likely never will be released to the public, but each person that posts a comment on this or any other participating blog during the virtual blog tour will be entered in a drawing to win a free copy of this one-of-a-kind CD with the remainder of the interview! In addition to the random drawing winners, the most unique, insightful, special comment will also be chosen to win a copy, so be sure to warm up your typing fingers!
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