Dan Fogelberg - Ebbets Field, Denver, CO, 8-17-1974

Just yesterday, I posted two Dan Fogelberg "best of" albums made by guest poster Mike Solof. While he was putting those together, he was raving to me about an early Fogelberg concert - this one. I discovered it has great sound quality, but it's very little known. So I figured, heck, while we're doing some Fogelberg stuff, let's post this one too.

At the time of this concert, Fogelberg's music career was just starting. He put out his first album in 1972, "Home Free." But it didn't make a mark at the time, not even reaching the Top 200 in the U.S. albums chart. His second album, "Souvenirs," would do better. But that wouldn't be released until October 1974, a couple of months after this concert. So at the time, Fogelberg was a virtual unknown, touring the U.S. for the very first time. This venue only held about 200 people.  

But already, it seems Fogelberg was showing star potential. I found an interesting quote about this very concert in a Denver Post newspaper article. It quotes Chuck Morris, who would go on to be a big music promoter. He went to the concert, and ran into Irving Azoff, who was Fogelberg's manager at the time and would go on to manage many other famous artists, such as the Eagles, Journey, and Christina Aguilera. "I'll never forget that night," Morris said. "It was a sold-out crowd, and Irving said, 'This guy's going to fill up arenas in two or three years.' And he was right." 

Now, I should mention that when this obscure bootleg is shared at all, it almost always has been mislabeled. The version that Mike Solof has is called "Live in Colorado 1973." But I looked it up, and Fogelberg didn't tour Colorado in 1973. (There's an official Fogelberg website that lists all the concert dates for his entire career.) I guessed this was probably from the Ebbets Field club in Denver, because they were often broadcasting concerts on the radio at the time. I looked into it, and Fogelberg played there twice in 1974, once on this date, and again in October, after his "Souvenirs" album came out. So I didn't know which concert it was, if indeed it was from that venue at all. But luckily, I had a way of finding out. 

There's a quasi-official webpage for the Ebbets Field venue, which you can find here:

Ebbets Field Rarities 1973-1977 | Colorado Music Experience 

That posts just one song from many great concerts that took place there. It had one song from Fogelberg on this date, the song "Stars." I compared the opening banter of that version with this version, and they are exactly the same, down to every last word and vocal nuance. So we know beyond any doubt the correct date and location for this concert. Hopefully, that "Live in Colorado 1973" inaccuracy will fade away.

Fogelberg was supported by a couple backing musicians, but this mostly has a solo acoustic vibe. 

This album is 57 minutes long. 

01 Now the Show Begins (Dan Fogelberg)
02 talk (Dan Fogelberg)
03 Stars (Dan Fogelberg)
04 Next Time (Dan Fogelberg)
05 Morning Sky (Dan Fogelberg)
06 talk (Dan Fogelberg)
07 Changing Horses (Dan Fogelberg)
08 talk (Dan Fogelberg)
09 Part of the Plan (Dan Fogelberg)
10 talk (Dan Fogelberg)
11 Anyway I Love You (Dan Fogelberg)
12 Long Way Home [Live in the Country] (Dan Fogelberg)
13 talk (Dan Fogelberg)
14 As the Raven Flies (Dan Fogelberg)
15 [Someone's Been] Telling You Stories (Dan Fogelberg)
16 To the Morning (Dan Fogelberg)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/6nnyqcnG

alternate: 

https://bestfile.io/B14uCGotTljqoiU/file 

The cover photo is from an appearance on the "In Concert" ABC TV show in December 1974.