Customer Reviews

Captured Angel

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For reasons I cannot explain, this album holds a special place in my heart, and listening to it reminds me of times long gone that I still hold dear. The sad and poignant refrains of "Aspen" are especially near and dear to me. So is the accompanying song of "These Days", a typical Fogelberg outing in the sense that it sensitively explores his own emotional state of being in connection to his love relationships and the events that surround him. And of course, few can write songs the way Fogelberg does at his best.

The album is chock full of well written, arranged and performed numbers, from "Comes And Goes" to the title tune of "Captured Angel". Fogelberg often employs a `Phil Specter' type wall of sound approach to his music, which sometime suffers from overproduction. Yet here it all works well, and the country flavor of several of the songs, such as "Old Tennessee", "Next Time", and "Crow" are beautifully done. My favorites here are (in addition to those mentioned above) the duo-numbers of "Man In The Mirror/Below The Surface", and the haunting "The Last Nail", which is full of well-etched images and a regfretful refrain that aches and bounces inside one's head, painfully recalling one's own lost loves. This is a wonderful Fogelberg album, and one I am sure you will come to enjoy.

What this album delivered to me was proof of the wide-ranging abilities of Dan Fogelberg. Although recorded and released after The River (I believe) it is a large leap forward in composing, lyric writing, playing, production, and musical confidence. What seized my interest over other artists was, and is, Fogelberg's do-it-all work. He writes the music, he writes the lyrics(illustrated the cover too on this album), and most of all, he plays most of the instruments. It is a hard way to make an album. John Fogerty played all the instruments and most of the vocals on his post-Credence recording Blue Ridge Rangers, but he did not compose for it, and while BRR was a breakthrough performance for him it was of much less artistic effect than Captured Angel, due to his apparent relative inexperience on pedal steel and drums. Fogelberg's mastery of every role he undertook in Captured Angel should be quickly apparent to any listener.

Hearing how far Fogelberg came from The River to Captured Angel while having so much to do, is an inspiration to me. His subsequent work continued to show musical refinement and growth.

BTW, if you have not seen and heard him in concert, you've missed out on a very good time. I heard him in 1977 in Kansas City in a one-man show opening for Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles; in about 1981 touring to promote High Country Snows; and about 1990 playing again a one-man acoustic show. His solo acoustical sets reveal that he is not merely a good guitarist, he is a virtuoso, and I do not use the term lightly. Often he plays as solo pieces selections that you would not necessarily think would work that way: Part of the Plan; Leader of the Band; Netherlands (on piano); Another Auld Lang Syne; Crow. When his band plays along, the music is larger and just as enjoyable. The Reach performed live is just unbelievable.

Many thanks to this fine artist for the years of pleasure and enrichment he has given me.

This incredible album helped to propel Dan Fogelberg's popularity in the late 1970s, and represented a terrific follow-up to his best-selling "Souvenirs". All in all, it provides terrific testimony to his talents, and proof positive of the incredible talents of one of folk-rock's most under-appreciated artists. From the stirring and dreamy opening instrumental of "Aspen" to the segue into the complex and quite accomplished lyrics of "These Days" describing today's romantic dysphoria between modern couples, this album showcases Dan's wide range of songwriting, musical, and arrangement skills. Fogelberg tends to favor a very full "wall of sound" approach to his music, and sometimes tends to somewhat overproduce arrangements by having too much going on simultaneously in his works. In this case, however, the songs are clear, crisp, and simply terrific, from "Comes And Goes" to "Captured Angel" to a memorable arrangement in "Old Tennessee" to a terrific performance of "Man In The Mirror/ Below The Surface". My favorites here are the last two songs; "The Crow" and the haunting "The Last Nail" a look back at a love gone wrong, and his regret years later about what had occurred. This is a wonderful album, folks, and a splendid example of Mr. Fogelberg's considerable skills and talents. I highly recommend it. Enjoy.

Words alone cannot describe Dan Fogelberg's extraordinary songwriting and musical talents. Fogelberg has an incredible, almost uncanny ability to understand and present music as if he were shouting out his notes from Heaven's Gate itself. Captured Angel, Fogelberg's third album, demonstrates the work of a man who forges his songs on the great anvil of his heartfelt convictions and never leaves one to wonder where his songs are coming from, artistically speaking. The masterpiece on the album, in my opinion, is the beautifully grandiose "These Days", which begins with an absolutely gorgeous orchestra piece that builds in crescendo, then abruptly catches you off-guard with a driving acoustic\electric folk-rock rythm. Dan then punctuates this with his superb and tastefully arranged lead guitar chops. This song evokes feelings of true greatness, as though one were standing on a high mountain top while commanding the true joy and power of the world below. All the while, Dan is singing what is essentially a "love lost" song, but one is never saddened by this.

Other great works on this album include "The Last Nail", "Old Tennessee", and "Crow". As in his first 2 albums, this album doesn't contain a bad song on it. Fogelberg's first 3 albums (Homefree, Souvenirs, Captured Angel) are must-have's for any true music lover. After these albums, unfortunately, Fogelberg started writing more ecclecticly and lost a lot of the drive and edge he had in his earlier work. Even so, time has proved that Dan Fogelberg is probably the most, if not THE most singularly talented singer\songwriter of our time. One only has to listen to his first 3 albums, keeping in mind that he was only in his late teens to early 20s when he wrote this material, to realize that this is indeed an accurate assessment of his talents. For those critics out there who beg to differ, don't take it from me, take from the Eagles, Joe Walsh, and Jackson Browne, who, when Fogelberg was only 21, flocked towards him like sheep and contributed their great talents towrds his first 2 albums. If that doesn't tell the story then I guess you are terminally dense!

Many years after permitting my vinyl collection to fall into oblivion, I've finally replaced my entire Dan Fogelberg collection on CD (except High Country Snows, which may require another decade of contemplation). Captured Angel was the last stronghold. I had forgotten how wonderful this material is. Among my favorites, "These Days", "Crow", and "Below the Surface" are standouts. A trademark of Dan's early years was his seamless blending of two songs on a single track. The current collection has two examples of this, the second of which "Man in the Mirror/Below the Surface" is handled so skillfully that the first time listener has no idea that a change is coming. You suddenly find yourself in completely new and thrilling territory. Cuts such as "Old Tennesee" and "The Last Nail" will be familiar to those fortunate enough to own "Portrait" the 4 CD retrospective of Dan's career. I don't believe that any of these songs (from Captured Angel) became hit singles, but it certainly was not due to a lack of inspiration in the material. Additonally, Dan's voice is in the blossom of youth. A must for any serious collector of Dan's music.

I owned this album when it first came out on LP and had probably played it 100 times over the years. Out of nostalgia I bought it last year on CD. It had been 15 years since I had heard it. Even though I had never really stopped being a "Dan Fogelberg fan", I just hadn't listened in a long time as other artists and interests captured my ears. The songs brought back so many great memories. Dan's crystal-clear angelic voice, acoustic guitars coupled with orchestral arrangements, and haunting songs make for a great album by a terrific songwriter. Along with "The Innocent Age" and "Netherlands" this is one of my favorite Fogelberg albums. Timeless!

Captured Angel is another must have from Dan's incredible body of work in the 1970's. The songs are fewer than on other releases, but the selections are much longer than on previous outings. Song structure and Dan's vocal style were solidified on this release and is a must for any Fogelberg fan.

Many of these selections were featured when Dan hit the road for his triumphant 1976 tour with backing band Fools gold. The format, which Dan has done many times since, was acoustic set, and then a break before a longer electric set. Two of the tracks `Comes and goes' and `crow' were classic Fogelberg acoustic numbers. ` Next time' and `Captured Angel' were naturals for the electric set. I think of this album as the pre cursor to that 76 tour. The songwriting is, as usual as good as it gets. Here is a good example from `Comes and goes'..........`The womans like an ivy on a pole, she wraps her twisted love around my soul' .......not much more to say.

`These day's' that evolves out of the instrumental `Aspen' should have been released as a single. It has a catchy beat that could have found a home on mid 70's pop radio, I find it in the same vain as `part of the plan' `Last nail' is another one of those fan favorites that Dan still performs. Dan's writing of lost love is taken to another level with this one. Is it the last nail in the coffin of some doomed relationship?......probably. Sure we have heard that story before but not told with this kind of honesty.

The pigeonholing of Dan Fogelberg as the ultimate wedding singer ("Longer") is criminally unfair if one cares to take a listen to his body of works which sheer breadth and musical ambition is simply amazing. Now more than ever is the best time to reassess this extremely gifted songwriter and musician.

Released in between two early masterpieces "Souvenirs" & "Nether Lands", "Captured Angel" has been under appreciated. Songs like "Old Tennessee" & "Comes & Goes" are cozy, acoustic tunes that are instantly likable, hummable, but it's the longer songs on Side 2 that got the best mileage...the guitar-drenched folk-rock suite of "Man in the Mirror/Below the Surface", a mystical country blues/murder ballad called "Crow", and "The Last Nail", the prequel to "Same Old Lang Syne", and arguably Fogelberg's best song - certainly best set of lyrics - at that point.

There is a reason why there are so many five-star reviews for this album. I have been reading some of the reviews and I'm not sure what else I can say that others haven't already said. My first exposure to Dan Fogelberg was with his Souvenirs album, then this one.

I echo what others are saying: That this album is criminally under-appreciated. Captured Angel is a masterpiece. He is a brilliant songwriter and musician. Those who never took the time to listen to his earlier catalog might dismiss him. He is a serious artist.

Yes, he had some "wedding singer" tunes later on. I'm definitely not a fan of "Longer", "Missing You," "Heart Hotels," and "Make Love Stay." They actually aren't bad songs--if someone else had sung them. But the fact that they are Dan Fogelberg's makes me dislike them because I don't feel they represent Dan Fogelberg's true talent that he's shown on his early work. And those same pop songs pigeon-holed him into being perceived as a soft pop singer. I'm sure it paid the bills, and I'm sure the record company liked the revenue; but I wish radio would play his earlier stuff. And the greatest hits compilers should put songs from Captured Angel on the next compilation. In fact, they could just change the Captured Angel cover and call it "Greatest Hits," because these are some of his greatest.

Captured Angel really inspires me with songs like "Old Tennessee" and "Crow." Every song on this album is perfectly crafted and mixed and performed. I have loved this album since I was 15. It was moving then, and I feel the same way about it now. It's a timeless album. Why am I writing a review now? I just got a new CD copy to replace an old one. I played it in my car yesterday and noticed I had tears in my eyes and was getting choked up. I couldn't believe how good this album is from start to finish. There's just "something" about this album. And I am sad that Dan Fogelberg left us so early. I was inspired to write a review and tell others to listen to this album. And fortunately, a ton of other reviewers have already done that here!

This is my favorite album, but check out Souvenirs, Home Free, Nether Lands, Phoenix, and The Innocent Age. I'm glad to see that there are so many people on Amazon who agree with my five-star rating. It's a keeper.

Prior to buying this album, I owned PHOENIX, INNOCENT AGE and GREATEST HITS. I was more familiar with Dan's later work and, gazing at the back of this CD, I didn't know any of these songs.

What a pleasant surprise to discover that these songs are not only as good as Dan's later and more famous material, they might even be better. I wasn't sure if Dan would really sound "young," probably because of his tendency to overproduce arrangements. But he truly does here...and this is amplified by the wonderful accentuation of country elements on this record.

Tremendous guitar playing, soulful vocals, lyrics that actually have something to say...this is the sound of an artist truly coming into his own. And the songs are absolutely wonderful - a great mix of ballads and rockers, often within the same track!

If you like Dan at all, make sure to get this one. You will not regret it, period.