The Cover
When I started working on the CD package I began with the cover. There were boxes of photos and slides to choose from, but most had already been featured in albums or for publicity, and I wanted to find a shot that hadn't already been used. I was listening to the CD while compiling the photos, and the song "Love In Time" in particular, while creating the cover. The feelings I got from this song were triumph, joy, and hope - it just didn't seem right to pair it with a somber expression.

When I came across this black and white 8x10 Henry Diltz shot, Dan's smile just grabbed my heart. Henry had said something that made Dan laugh just as he was moving the Martin away from his body, and his shirt still held the guitar's imprint. It seemed so fitting. I emailed the shot to Deborah Jelinek of TheLivingLegacy.net (a life-long DanFan and my historical expert on Dan's career) and asked if she had ever seen it before. She didn't even answer my question, she just went on about the photo: "It's gorgeous...I love the smile and the sparkle in his eyes. It's a special one....in my historian opinion. ;-)." I sent it on to other friends and the response was, without exception, enthusiastic.

So I had the shot, but if I cropped it close it would look too much like "The Very Best Of", and wouldn't really say anything about Dan. I already knew I wanted to use some of Dan's photography and art in the package, to show people that aspect of his talents. I started looking through his photos for something I could somehow incorporate into the cover. Nothing really worked until I pulled up a winter shot of a cove in Blue Hill, Maine. It fit just right, and was a horizontal shot so it would work for the entire booklet cover. I reduced the opacity of Dan's jacket so more of the photograph would show through.

An interviewer once asked Dan, if he could be known for one just album, which one it would be? Dan said it would be "The Innocent Age". The cover of that album was a picture of an antique victorian doll leaning against a headstone in a cemetery in Blue Hill, Maine. When we moved into the house in Maine I had the antique doll shipped out to us from Colorado and she sat in my office on the couch.

When Dan died, I felt my innocence and youthful illusions had gone with him. I know many people felt something similar, since his music is so deeply entwined in the fabric of our lives. I wanted something to speak to that, so I photographed the doll lying on the floor with the same lighting conditions as the cove photograph, and inserted the photo of her on the icy shore on the left side of the cove. It's my hope that these elements create their own circle and tribute of love.

The "Love" in "Love In Time" was taken from the card Dan gave me on my 50th birthday.

The Booklet
I spent the next year working on the booklet images and text placement. It went through a few evolutions, but in the end there are three of Dan's photographs: one of some thistles (the national emblem of Scotland); one of a lobster boat and lighthouse; one of "the sun on the sea"; and one drawing: a self-portrait. The rest of the photos are by Henry Diltz, the photographer Dan had known and worked with for so many years.

Dan had sequenced the songs and typed out the lyrics and instrument/vocal credits for the liner notes. I encouraged him to let people know he'd played all of the instruments on this album - on "Full Circle" he made up some funny musician names and gave them credit for many of the instruments, even though he played them all on that album too. I think he thought people would "get it", and he wouldn't feel like he was boasting, but it was too subtle and went right past most everyone. The songs on "Love In Time" are all Dan: every instrument and vocal, right down to the sitar. It was left to me to write the intro page: I briefly told how the CD had come about; gave Dan his due; listed all of the people who had helped to make this CD the best it could possibly be; and thanked those who had either helped with the album or helped us through the cancer years; sometimes both.

So, that's how the "Love In Time" package came about. When I'd worked on previous CD covers or merchandise with Dan, he knew exactly what he wanted; I'd make a few suggestions, but my job was mostly just to make it happen on paper. Easy. He never mentioned this project though, and I didn't give it a single thought - we had so much going on in our life. Once I started working on it, however, I found the responsibility of the entire project daunting, and the enormity of his faith in me staggering. I hope I've lived up to that faith, and that he would be pleased.

Many thanks to Kosh for his time and expertise in making the files printer-ready, and for his affectionate remembrances of Dan.

Proceeds
A couple of the wonderful reviews at Amazon mention that the CD proceeds go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, but no, not this time, as per Dan's wishes. The misunderstanding comes from the Amazon Affiliate links on the danfogelberg.com and thelivinglegacy.net websites, allowing people to click on a link to purchase the CD (or anything) from Amazon. When you use the link to make a purchase, a small percentage goes into the Living Legacy Amazon Affiliate account, and a couple of times a year they donate the money to the PCF when Safeway is matching funds, so the donation will be doubled.

So yes, some of the proceeds do go to the PCF, but only a percentage, and only when you use the links. Thanks for your support - every donation counts, regardless of the amount.