It's Four In The Morning Again - Late Night FV

A little over a dozen years ago I posted this mix as an example of my looking for the perfect mix. It wasn't then and in subsequent postings and it still isn't now but it is a good mix. I have kept the image for the mix over the years. This mix has been part of my Late Night series.

Today I reworked it again as part of my so called Final Versions series of mixes. My latest efforts and my supposedly last efforts. All of these mixes are a little over an hour and a half long.

The opening fifteen songs of the mix have remained the same except for the Neil Young song which I replaced with a different song from the same album. The last seven songs come from a couple of different old mixes.

It's Four In The Morning Again - Late Night FV

1. Famous Blue Raincoat - Leonard Cohen
2. Pink Moon - Nick Drake
3. Waltz #2 - Elliott Smith
4. Five String Serenade - Mazzy Star
5. Nightswimming - R.E.M.
6. Crown of Love - Arcade Fire
7. Blonde on Blonde - Nada Surf
8. New Slang - The Shins
9. The Funeral - Band of Horses
10. The Way That He Sings - My Morning Jacket
11. I Believe In You - Neil Young
12. Perfect Day - Lou Reed
13. Song To The Siren - Tim Buckley
14. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
15. The Golden Age - Beck
16. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song - Fleet Foxes
17. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
18. Knife - Grizzly Bear
19. Sunday Noises - Califone
20. Don't You Know - The Sleepy Jackson
21. Exit Music (For a Film) - Radiohead

Here is the mix on Spotify but of course without the Neil Young song.

Gordon Lightfoot RIP

Yesterday I was driving all day from Philadelphia and when we arrived in Buffalo I heard the sad news that Gordon Lightfoot had passed away at the age of 84. Today I went upstairs and listened to some of his records on vinyl and then played a couple of his compilation albums in the kitchen.

I saw him perform several times in Philly around the years of these early 70’s albums. Once at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and another show at either the Main Point or Second Fret. In early 1975 or late 1974 I saw him perform at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Also in 73 at a club outside the Navy base in Norfolk. They were all great shows and he is sadly missed.

Gordon Lightfoot albums in our collection:

• Sit Down Young Stranger, 1970
• Don Quixote, 1972
• Old Dan's Records, 1972
• Sundown, 1974
• Gord's Gold, 1975
• The United Artists Collection, 1993

I also very much enjoy the Various Artist album Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot from 2003 that has his songs covered by Bruce Cockburn, Blue Rodeo, Cowboy Junkies, Maria Muldaur, Ron Sexsmith, Jesse Winchester, The Tragically Hip and many, many more artists. 

Sibling Visits

I was happy that on this trip to Philly I was able to see three of my siblings. They all wanted to come down and see our grandchildren too and especially little Violet. We all missed Rita who is in Florida undergoing some hard times with her health and her husband's Scott struggle with cancer but that is another story. These two occasions at Katie's house were filled with family joy. We certainly all missed Tom too.

On Thursday Betsy and Joe stopped by for about a couple of hours in the late afternoon before we went out for dinner in Chestnut Hill. They hung out with the kids and enjoyed themselves. Their grandchildren are all much older now and I think they loved being with the littles again. Dan came by and hung our for awhile too.

I had been on the phone with Cathy trying to arrange a time for her to come down and see us and the kids too. We settled on Saturday afternoon. She and Al are on some strict diets and she wanted to avoid meals so they came down after lunch and before dinner. Earlier in the day Marissa and Matt came by to see us and stayed for a couple of hours. Dan came by too and we all spent some wonderful time together. Katie made a nice lunch for everyone. A little later Cathy and Al came by and were happy to catch Marissa, Matt and Dan for a bit.

Then we had a very nice time hanging out with Cath and Al. I hadn't seen her for several years although we talk on the phone regularly. She's also had a lot of health issues and surgeries but she looks good now and seems to be recovering nicely. I almost didn't recognize Al because he looked so thin. Actually I was somewhat shocked and concerned when I first saw him because he looked so gaunt and unhealthy but Cathy said he was doing well and just lost a lot of weight because of their diet. I'm still a little worried about him but Cathy looked great.

Marissa and Violet really bonded.

She's Not There - Songs 1967 FV

She's Not There. And I kept on going making these mixes full of obscure deep cuts from albums in my collection released in 1967. This is the last of them... at least for awhile. They have been fun putting them together.

Vanilla Fudge in the pic.

She's Not There - Songs 1967 FV

1. She's Not There - Vanilla Fudge
2. Room With A View - Young Ideas
3. Cousin Jane - The Troggs
4. Rubiyat - Immediate Family
5. Alabama Bound - The Charlatans
6. White Summer - The Yardbirds
7. Goin' Down Slow - Canned Heat
8. Oh, Pretty Woman (Can't Make You Love Me) - Albert King
9. Stay With Me Baby - The Walker Brothers
10. Red Balloon - Tim Hardin
11. Sitting By The Window - Moby Grape
12. Who Planted Thorns In Miss Alice's Garden - Tom Northcott
13. Pamela, Pamela - The Mindbenders
14. You're A Big Boy Now - The Lovin' Spoonful
15. Cathy, Come Home - The Twilights
16. Real Crazy Apartment - Winston's Fumbs
17. The Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane - Timon
18. Grizzly Bear - The Youngbloods
19. It's My Pride - The Guess Who
20. Johnny Was A Good Boy - The Mystery Trend
21. Vacuum Cleaner - Tintern Abbey
22. Blackout Of Gretely - Gonn
23. Magician - Amazing Friendly Apple
24. Subway (Smokey Pokey World) - The Tickle
25. No Presents For Me - Pandamonium
26. Imposters Of Life's Magazine - The Idle Race
27. Story Of My Life - Unrelated Segments
28. Be My Side - The Elois
29. How Nice - The Tokens
30. Monday Morning - Tales Of Justine

Deke's BBQ

Katie and Todd ordered some take-out food for dinner and I was happily surprised when it arrived and discovered we had barbeque chicken from Deke's BBQ located down at Wayne Junction. We've had their food a couple of times before and we love it. Everything we had tonight was wonderful and very tasty. Plenty of it too and lots of good sides.

I was a little disappointed that we never got a chance to get down there to the restaurant and the Attic Brewery next door to sit at their shared outdoor patio enjoying some brews and BBQ. The weather just did not cooperate as the week went on.  I thought I might have at least stopped by the brewery to buy a couple of 4-packs to take back to Buffalo with us but it just never happened. Next time we're in town I'll make sure it happens and it's a damn good reason to take a drive through my old neighborhood.

Keep Your Mind Open - Songs 1967 FV

Keep Your Mind Open. More quirky deep cuts from albums in my collection released in 1967.

Kaleidoscope in the pic. David Lindley was a founding member of this band. I used 7 of their songs in this series of 1967 mixes.

Keep Your Mind Open - Songs 1967 FV

1. Keep Your Mind Open - Kaleidoscope
2. When The Alarm Clock Rings - Blossom Toes
3. Electricity - Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
4. Bright Lights Of The City - The Pretty Things
5. Armenia City In The Sky - The Who
6. Revolution (Phased Version) - Tomorrow
7. Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad - Caleb
8. And I've Seen Her - The Beau Brummels
9. I'll Call You Mine - The Zombies
10. I Can't Let It Happen To You - The Walker Brothers
11. Janis - Country Joe & The Fish
12. Papa, Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You? - Bobbie Gentry
13. And When I Die - Laura Nyro
14. Palm Desert - Van Dyke Parks
15. Wave - Antonio Carlos Jobim
16. Dame Fortune - The Holy Modal Rounders
17. Morning Glory - Tim Buckley
18. Turquoise - Joan Baez
19. Together - Harry Nilsson
20. Good Times - Eric Burdon & The Animals
21. You Don't Want My Loving - The Dave Clark Five
22. Love's Gone Bad - The Underdogs
23. Pleasure - The Peanut Butter Conspiracy
24. Wind-Up Toys - The Electric Prunes
25. Flaming - Pink Floyd
26. Looking At A Baby - The Collectors
27. Non-Stop - The Leathercoated Minds
28. Garden Of My Mind - The Mickey Finn
29. Up & Down - The Serpent Power
30. Good, Good Lovin' - The Blossoms
31. Love - Virgin Sleep
32. Nothing Takes The Place Of You - Toussaint McCall

Chestnut Hill Grill

Betsy and Joe came down to Katie's house to see us and the kids too. We talked over the phone about which day they could see us while we were down in Philly staying with Katie and Todd and we decided on Thursday. We had arrived in town on the previous Saturday but our schedule had been filling up. We wanted to go out for dinner that evening and decided on the Chestnut Hill Hotel Grill. 

We had also been talking with Dan about getting together and he wanted to go out to dinner with us too so he came by and joined us. We drove over there but the parking lot was full and we had to park on the street about a block and a half away after dropping off Betsy and Joe at the restaurant. I went with Dan in his car and Becky and him parked next to each other on the street. 

I had called about an hour earlier and made reservations so we had a table waiting for us in the lower dining room. The five of us had a very nice dinner. I had catfish tacos and I ate them all.

After dinner Betsy, Dan, Becky and me walked down the street to the cars. Joe waited on a bench in the parking lot. Dan had something in his car to give us from the house and I walked over with him to his car. In the meantime Betsy and Becky got in our car and drove back to the restaurant. Dan was going home from there which was just a couple of blocks away and I had to hoof it very quickly back to the restaurant to get my ride back to Katie's house with Becky. They thought I was riding back with Dan. Fortunately Joe was slow getting into the car and that gave me enough time to wave down Becky and get into the car. We all had a great laugh about me getting left behind and probably needing an Uber/Lyft to get back to the house. Well, we got back to Katie's and Betsy and Joe got in their car for their drive home. Back in the house we laughed again about me almost getting left at the restaurant. We did have a very good time and it was great spending some time with Betsy, Joe and Dan.

Blue Bell Inn with Friends

Tonight we had a wonderful dinner with some old friends. 

A few weeks ago I contacted several friends from my old neighborhood using our chat message discussion group thread and told them Becky and I would be in Philly soon and that we should get together again for dinner somewhere. I gave them the dates we would be in town and the response was immediate. Within a day we had agreed on a time and place which was the Blue Bell Inn on Wednesday April 26th at 5:30 pm with a table for 13. They gave us our own dinning room. 

Last year in October we had a nice group dinner at the Chestnut Hill Grill on their patio. This time we were looking for something place different and Blue Bell Inn in nearby Blue Bell, PA fit the bill. It was a great place and they also had a very nice newly renovated outside patio area but the group opted to be inside and we had a room to ourselves. That was good because when Becky and I got there we could see that even on a Wednesday evening at happy hour the place was hopping in the main bar and dining area and was very loud.

We had a couple of people not able to make the dinner because of illness which was too bad. I was looking forward to seeing Margie and Madeline. And Joe too. So we had ten people at our table. There was me and Becky, Tom and Joanne, Tom's sister Patsy and her son, Jerry and Chris, George and Dona. 

The food was wonderful. I was sorry that we didn't take pictures of our group. Last year it was Madeline who initiated taking pictures and this year she wasn't there. I should have taken some photos and had the waiter take our group picture but it didn't happen. Next time we will make sure it happens.

Feel So Good - Night Chill FV

Another Night Chill mix and that late night groove feels so good. Now this mix is tweaked a little and part of the Final Version series. Runs and hour and a half.

Feel So Good - Night Chill FV

1. Move (You Make Me Feel So Good) – Moby, 1994
2. North American Scum (Kris Menace Remix) – LCD Soundsystem, 2007
3. Do The Whirlwind (Safety Scissors Remix) – Architecture In Helsinski, 2006
4. Is It Too Late? (Remix) – World Party, 1990
5. Just One Of Those Things (Brazillian Girls Remix) – Blossom Dearie, 2005
6. To Be Free (Dillion & Dickens Vocal Remix) – Emiliana Torrini, 2010
7. Celebration (Benny Benassi Remix) – Madonna, 2009
8. Take The Box (Sijiis Buggin Remix) – Amy Winehouse, 2008
9. Hanging On The Telephone (Moosebleed Handbag Remix) – Blondie, 2008
10. I Heard The Owl Cal My Name (Rx Gibbs Remix) – Snowbird, 2014
11. Silent Shout (Shinedoe Remix) – The Knife, 2006
12. Where You Go I Go Too Part 2 (Prins Thomas Remix) – Lindstrom
13. Beau Mot Plage – Isolee, 2011
14. Too Close (Distance Remix) – Alex Clare, 2011
15. Boy (Peter Rauhofer Remix) – Book of Love, 2001
16. Unfinished Sympathy (Paul Oakenfold Perfecto Mix) – Massive Attack, 1991

Sweet Inspiration - Songs 1967 FV

Sweet Inspiration. Some hits and some deep cuts. Some favorites too. Songs from 1967.

The Turtles in the pic.

Sweet Inspiration - Songs 1967 FV

1. Sweet Inspiration - The Sweet Inspirations
2. Dry Your Eyes - Brenda & The Tabulations
3. Stop and Check Myself - Al Green
4. Won't Be Long - Tracy Nelson
5. Why (Am I Treated So Bad) - Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity
6. Make Me Yours - Bettye Swann
7. Stoney End - Laura Nyro
8. The Window Of The World - Dionne Warwick
9. Nights In White Satin - The Moody Blues
10. If The Night - Kaleidoscope
11. Red Sky At Night - The Accent
12. A House Is Not A Motel - Love
13. Embryonic Journey - Jefferson Airplane
14. I'm Going Home - Arlo Guthrie
15. Care Of Cell 44 - The Zombies
16. Amsterdam - Scott Walker
17. Goodbye and Hello - Tim Buckley
18. The Door Into Summer - The Monkees
19. Son Of Suzy Creamcheese - The Mothers Of Invention
20. 14 Hour Technicolour Dream - The Syn
21. Vegetables - The Beach Boys
22. Don't Burst My Bubble - Small Faces
23. I'm Not Your Stepping Stone - Paul Revere & The Raiders
24. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town - Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
25. Anything - Eric Burdon & The Animals
26. Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon - Neil Diamond
27. Color My World - Petula Clark
28. Can I Get To Know You Better - The Turtles