Souvenirs, Dan Fogelberg’s second album and the revered singer/songwriter’s commercial breakthrough, will be introduced to a new generation with a special vinyl reissue and digital remastered version to celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary.
The Joe Walsh-produced album, originally released in October 1974, was Fogelberg’s first album to reach the top 20 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified double platinum by the RIAA. The upbeat, philosophical single, “Part of the Plan,” reached No. 31 on the Hot 100 and was also an adult contemporary hit, peaking at No. 22.
The digital version will include four bonus tracks via Sony’s Legacy Recordings, including previously unreleased tune, “I Know a Thief,” a delicate, yet intense song that will be available on all streamers today. Also included on the digital release, which will be available for streaming in full on April 4, are three other bonus tracks: early versions of “As the Raven Flies” and “Illinois” and the original demo of “There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler.” Sony found the recordings in their vaults as work began on the reissues.
The 180-gram audiophile vinyl LP version, which can be pre-ordered here, will be limited to 3,000 numbered copies, and will ship on May 30. The Chris Bellman-remastered edition includes a 16-page booklet featuring previously unseen photographs by Henry Diltz, as well as liner notes from Charles L. Granata and exclusive interviews with many involved in the album’s creation, including Fogelberg’s friend and manager Irving Azoff, Full Moon Records executive Bryan Garofalo, Diltz, producer/engineer Bill Szymczyk and bassist Kenny Passarelli and Gerry Beckley of America.
Impex Records/Sony Music will release both projects in conjunction with Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group (IAG), which oversees Fogelberg’s legacy in partnership with his estate. Azoff and Fogelberg, who died in 2007 from cancer, dropped out of the University of Illinois together in the early 1970s to come to Los Angeles, moving into a one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood from which Azoff oversaw Fogelberg’s nascent career.
Souvenirs, which was released on Azoff’s Epic Records-distributed Full Moon imprint, followed Fogelberg’s Norbert Putnam-produced Columbia Records debut, Home Free, which came out in 1972 but had not yielded any hits. With Souvenirs, he found his sound.
“When Dan made the first record, that was kind of the post-Neil Young After the Gold Rush era. He was inspired by a lot of the production on those records,” Azoff tells Billboard. “But he wanted to go more electric on the second album.”
Azoff had also begun managing the Eagles and Fogelberg opened for the band and struck up a friendship with Walsh, leading the Eagles guitarist to produce Souvenirs and record the set fully in Los Angeles. Eagles Don Henley and Glenn Frey also sang backing vocals on the set.
The album helped make Fogelberg a mainstay on adult contemporary radio for nearly 20 years, scoring such top 10 hits as “Longer,” “Heart Hotels,” “Same Old Lang Syne,” “Leader of the Band,” “Make Love Stay” and “Rhythm of the Rain.”
In 2023, IAG acquired the controlling interests in a broad range of Fogelberg’s rights, including name, image, likeness, sound recordings, audiovisual works and music publishing. His widow, Jean Fogelberg, controls the rest.
The hope is that the reissue will appeal to Fogelberg devotees, as well as introduce him to new listeners.
“We are always looking for a new generation of fans and I think his music will identify with younger people,” Azoff says. “There seems to be room now for sensitive lyrically relevant music. We are just happy to try to put his work in front of fans new and old.”
As significant anniversaries arise for subsequent Fogelberg albums, Azoff says, “I am sure we are looking forward to remarketing each album as they hit milestones.”
At this stage, though, there are no plans for visual components, such as a documentary. “I wish there enough footage for the right documentary but in those days, there just isn’t enough,” Azoff says.
Track Listing:
- Part of the Plan
- Illinois
- Changing Horses
- Better Change
- Souvenirs
- The Long Way
- As The Raven Flies
- Song from Half Mountain
- Morning Sky
- Someone’s Been Telling You Stories
- There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler
BONUS TRACKS (Digital Only):
- I Know a Thief (Never Before Heard)
- As the Raven Flies (Early Version)
- There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler (Original Demo Version)
- Illinois (Early Version)
The post “Dan Fogelberg’s Landmark ‘Souvenirs’ Album to Receive 50th Anniversary Reissue: Exclusive” by Melinda Newman was published on 03/04/2025 by www.billboard.com