Friday, August 7, 2026

VA - Musical Cocktails (A Butterboy Compilation) (16 x CDs)

MUSIC IS LIKE A COCTAIL

VA - Musical Cocktails (A Butterboy Compilation) (16 x CDs)

Step right up to the velvet bar, friend. 

Tonight I’m mixing moods, not martinis. No olives, no citrus twists, just eight 40‑track pours of sonic flavour, stirred with emotion and served on wax. Want something shaken? I’ve got tropicalia and psych‑funk with a splash of cinematic soul. Feeling creamy? Let me slide you a velvet blend of ambient R&B and candlelit ballads. Maybe you’re craving citrus and smoke, bright grooves up front, slow‑burn noir on the finish.

Every volume in the Musical Cocktails series is a custom mix, neat, dirty, on the rocks, or mocktail smooth. I've layered textures like bitters, drop basslines like ice cubes, and garnished with vintage sparkle or post‑punk bite. These are mood‑built cocktails for the ears. Sip slowly or down it in one from a bar cart built for the soul. Either way, you’ll feel it in your bones.

Welcome to Musical Cocktails, an eight‑volume, sixteen‑CD sonic bar cart where each mix is crafted with emotional precision and genre‑blending flair. This series invites you to experience music as mood‑based mixology, each compilation a distinct pour, stirred with texture, rhythm, and feeling.

Expect playful fizz and retro sparkle in Highball Hijinks; cinematic funk and rhythmic post‑punk heat in Spicy & Mellow; tropicalia and cosmic groove in Shaken Not Stirred; and global rhythm with noir soul in Citrus & Smoke. Creamy & Dreamy offers velvet R&B and ambient warmth, while Mocktail Mix delivers soft psych and indie shimmer without the buzz. On the Rocks chills into ambient soul and experimental melancholy, and Neat & Dirty closes the night with elegant art‑pop and post‑punk grit, beauty and bruises in a final pour.

Volume 1: Highball Hijinks is a fizzy, flirty burst of mod pop, yé-yé, bubblegum, and retro-futurist groove. France Gall, April March, and Brigitte Bardot bring French sass, while The Monkees, Pipettes, and The Go! Team keep things punchy and playful. There’s psych-funk from Os Mutantes, synth-disco from Dee D. Jackson, and lounge sparkle from Claudine Longet and Stereo Total. The back half leans into sunshine pop and indie sparkle, Beach Boys, Zombies, Vanessa Paradis, and Apples in Stereo serve up hooks and harmonies with a twist. It’s a bright collision of colour, rhythm, and charm, shaken, stirred, and dancing on the rim.

Volume 2: Spicy & Mellow is a genre-blending diptych that moves from bold rhythmic heat to smooth emotional depth. Disc 1 pulses with post-punk funk, tropicalia, and global bass, tracks that spark and sizzle with angular grooves and fearless energy. Disc 2 softens the mood with soul, psych, and lo-fi R&B, offering velvet-lined warmth and introspective shimmer. Together, they form a cocktail of contrast: electrifying and soothing, vibrant and tender. From ESG to Astrud Gilberto, this volume celebrates sonic duality,where dancefloor fire meets candlelit calm. It’s a set that invites movement, then stillness. A rhythm, then a sigh. A perfect pour.

Volume 3 : Shaken Not Stirred is a 40-track sonic cocktail that blends funk, psych, tropicalia, and cosmic soul with cinematic flair. It opens with Sergio Mendes’s breezy “Mas Que Nada” and swirls through Curtis Mayfield’s apocalyptic groove, Isaac Hayes’s maximalist funk, and Cymande’s deep rhythmic pulse. Brazilian textures from Marcos Valle and Os Mutantes meet space-age lounge from Air and Stereolab. Minnie Riperton, Dorothy Ashby, and Rotary Connection add lush soul, while Beck, ESG, and Broadcast keep things playful and strange. It’s a set built for movement, shaken, not stirred, with every track a flavorful pour of rhythm, mood, and mystery.

Volume 4: Citrus & Smoke is a globetrotting blend of cinematic soul, psych-funk, tropicalia, and jazz-inflected groove. The citrus half opens with sunlit textures and rhythmic sparkle—Calexico, Khruangbin, Willie Bobo, and Los Destellos offer desert ballads, Latin soul, and tropical surf. Gainsbourg, Dusty Springfield, and Santana add vintage cool, while El Michels Affair and Quantic bring modern analog swagger. Then the smoke rolls in: deeper tones, noir funk, and cosmic soul from Chicano Batman, Gato Barbieri, Combo Chimbita, and Mulatu Astatke. It’s a set built for movement and mystery, bright on the tongue, slow on the finish.

Volume 5: Creamy & Dreamy is a velvet-lined lounge of tracks that melt into one another like candlelight and silk. It’s a mood piece, sensual, introspective, and emotionally lush. Maxwell, Angie Stone, and Sade set the tone with smooth soul and quiet yearning, while Tirzah, Cleo Sol, and Blood Orange add modern shimmer. The sequence glides through smoky ballads, ambient R&B, and soft-focus pop, with Marvin Gaye, Minnie Riperton, and Meshell Ndegeocello anchoring the emotional depth. From Norah Jones to Nick Hakim, every track is a slow sip, creamy textures, dreamy atmospheres, and a perfect pour of late-night soul.

Volume 6: Mocktail Mix is a swirl of soft psych, baroque pop, and indie lullabies, gentle, melodic, and quietly intoxicating. It opens with pastoral shimmer from Vashti Bunyan, Linda Perhacs, and Kings of Convenience, then drifts into dreamy chamber pop from Clientele, High Llamas, and Belle and Sebastian. Stereolab and Mild High Club add analog fizz, while Francoise Hardy, Harpers Bizarre, and Free Design bring vintage sparkle. The mood is wistful but never heavy, like a summer breeze through lace curtains. No buzz, just bliss and endlessly replayable.

Volume 7: On the Rocks descends into ambient soul, art pop, and experimental melancholy—served chilled, never diluted. James Blake, Portishead, Tirzah, and FKA Twigs lead the first pour with fractured intimacy and spectral groove. Arthur Russell, Sade, and The xx add emotional weight, while Arca, Mount Kimbie, and Nicolas Jaar stir in texture and tension. The second half drifts deeper: Julianna Barwick, Grouper, and Ryuichi Sakamoto evoke stillness and space, while Bon Iver, Moses Sumney, and ANOHNI deliver raw, cinematic ache. It’s a slow sip through shadow and shimmer—elegant, introspective, and quietly intoxicating.

Volume 8: Neat & Dirty is a cocktail of elegance and abrasion, where ambient pop and artful melancholy give way to post-punk grit and no-wave snarl. The “neat” half is all atmosphere: Blue Nile, David Sylvian, Talk Talk, and Sade pour out slow-burning sophistication, while Japan, Virginia Astley, and Steve Hiett shimmer with coastal hush. Then the “dirty” half kicks in: Birthday Party, Lydia Lunch, The Jesus Lizard, and Royal Trux pull the curtain on the night, dragging the mood into darker corners. Patti Smith, Morphine, and The Gun Club close the set with raw ache and swagger. It’s beauty and bruises, perfectly balanced in a final pour.

So, what’s your flavour tonight? (B)

And yes, each set comes with its own cocktail recipe, waiting in the PDF. 

What you do with it is up to you. 

I take no responsibility for your mixing skills… or your morning after...

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Track lists

Volume 1 Highball Hijinks CD1

01 France Gall - Laisse Tomber Les Filles 2:03

02 Os Mutantes - Bat Macumba 3:16

03 Monkees - She Hangs Out 2:58

04 April March - Chick Habit 2:09

05 Pipettes - Pull Shapes 2:23

06 Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi 3:01

07 La Luz - Sure as Spring 2:24

08 Los Amigos Invisibles - Ultra-Funk 3:38

09 Go! Team - Huddle Formation 3:11

10 Serge Gainsbourg; Jane Birkin - 69 Année Erotique 3:18

11 Fun and Games - Don't Worry Baby 2:50

12 Dee D. Jackson - Automatic Lover 4:09

13 Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Fire 5:11

14 5.6.7.8's - Woo Hoo 2:02

15 Claudine Longet - Sugar Me 2:54

16 Tuneful Trolley , - Hello Love 2:51

17 Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love 5:35

18 Limiñanas - Garden of Love (feat. Peter Hook) 4:02

19 Orange Bicycle - Here Come The Bumbles 2:33

20 Coconuts - Did You Have to Love Me Like You Did 5:31


Volume 1 Highball Hijinks CD2

21 Claudine Longet - Wanderlove 2:36

22 Lemon Twigs - I Wanna Prove to You 3:41

23 Brigitte Bardot - Moi Je Joue 1:40

24 Explorers Club - Forever 2:21

25 Stereo Total - Dactylo Rock 2:32

26 Zombies - I Love You 3:23

27 Turtles - You Showed Me 3:16

28 Vanessa Paradis - Joe Le Taxi 3:54

29 Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Golden Age 3:50

30 Cowsills - The Rain, the Park and Other Things 3:02

31 Lio - Amoureux Solitaires 0:56

32 Beach Boys - Do You Wanna Dance 2:21

33 Apples in Stereo - Energy 3:30

34 Apples in Stereo - Strawberryfire 4:27

35 Bicycles - Paris Be Mine 1:48

36 Lesley Gore - Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows 1:34

37 5th Dimension - Up, Up and Away 2:38

38 Bird and The Bee - Love Letter to Japan 4:08

39 Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed 2:45

40 Honeys - The One You Can't Have 1:57


Volume 2 Spicy & Mellow CD1

01 ESG - ESG Dance (Cutso Edit) 4:17

02 Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Fire 5:11

03 Talking Heads - Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) 5:49

04 Cass McCombs - County Line 5:37

05 Arto Lindsay - Simply Are 3:41

06 Liquid Liquid - Optimo 2:40

07 Slits - Typical Girls 3:44

08 Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love 5:34

09 M.I.A. - Galang / M.I.A. 7:21

10 Shintaro Sakamoto - You Just Decided 5:06

11 B-52's - Mesopotamia 3:48

12 Yoko Ono - Walking on Thin Ice 2:55

13 Pop Group - She is Beyond Good and Evil 3:25

14 Grace Jones - Pull Up to the Bumper 3:39

15 Prince - Controversy 7:15

16 Luscious Jackson - Naked Eye 4:09

17 Os Mutantes - Bat Macumba 3:10

18 Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers 5:04

19 Santigold vs. Switch and FreQ Nasty - Creator 3:33

20 Knife - We Share Our Mothers’ Health (Shaken-Up Version) 4:22


Volume 2 Spicy & Mellow CD2

21 Bill Withers - I'm Her Daddy 3:17

22 Terry Callier - Ordinary Joe 4:15

23 Khruangbin - White Gloves 3:38

24 Ibibio Sound Machine - Give Me a Reason 4:18

25 Rotary Connection - Want You to Know 3:04

26 Minnie Ripperton; Rotary Connection - A-Muse 4:02

27 Shuggie Otis - Freedom Flight 12:57

28 Laura Nyro - Time and Love 4:26

29 Gil Scott-Heron - Your Daddy Loves You 2:56

30 Avalanches - Reflecting Light 4:21

31 Bobby Womack - If You Think You're Lonely Now 5:36

32 Sly & The Family Stone - Just Like A Baby 5:11

33 Al Green - Simply Beautiful 4:10

34 Leon Bridges - River 3:58

35 Labi Siffre - Make My Day 3:01

36 Marvin Gaye - Soon I'll Be Loving You Again 3:13

37 Durand Jones & The Indications - Is it Any Wonder? 4:36

38 Astrud Gilberto - Berimbau 2:24

39 Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats 2:40

40 Isaac Hayes - I Stand Accused 11:39


Volume 3 Shaken & Not Stirred CD1

01 Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Mas Que Nada 2:36

02 Curtis Mayfield - (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Gonna Go 7:52

03 Temptations - Psychedelic Shack 6:22

04 Isaac Hayes - Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic 9:38

05 Marcos Valle - Estrelar (E.B.M. & Jam's Remix) 5:17

06 Shuggie Otis - Strawberry Letter 23 3:59

07 Air - La Femme D'argent 7:08

08 Stereolab - Ping Pong 3:01

09 Os Mutantes - A Minha Menina 4:40

10 Avalanches - Since I Left You 4:21

11 Minnie Riperton - Les fleurs 3:16

12 Khruangbin - Maria También 3:11

13 Quantic - Time is the Enemy 3:43

14 Thundercat - Them Changes 3:08

15 Toro Y Moi - Say That 4:45

16 ESG - Moody 2:47

17 Broadcast - Come on Let's Go 3:15

18 Cymande - Bra 5:03

19 Beck - Tropicalia 3:20

20 Alice Clark - Don’t You Care 2:48


Volume 3 Shaken & Not Stirred CD2

21 Rotary Connection - I Am The Black Gold of The Sun 5:41

22 Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges - Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser 2:48

23 Meters - Cissy Strut 3:01

24 Labi Siffre - I Got The... 5:40

25 Gal Costa (& Caetano Veloso) - Baby 3:30

26 David Axelrod - Holy Thursday 5:30

27 Minnie Riperton - Rainy Day in Centerville 5:25

28 Cortex - Huit octobre 1971 4:26

29 Azymuth - Jazz Carnival 3:23

30 Dorothy Ashby - Soul Vibrations 3:02

31 El Chicano - Viva Tirado, Pt. 1 4:43

32 Free Design - Kites Are Fun 2:34

33 Mighty Ryeders - Evil Vibrations 3:45

34 William Onyeabor - Fantastic Man 6:32

35 Faze-O - Riding High 5:21

36 Shuggie Otis - Aht Uh Mi Hed 4:16

37 Astrud Gilberto - Beginnings 8:08

38 Vanishing Twin - Cryonic Suspension May Save Your Life 5:28

39 Lijadu Sisters - Life's Gone Down Low 4:57

40 Sound Stylistics - The Players Theme 4:48


Volume 4 Citrus & Smoke CD1

01 Calexico - Ballad of Cable Hogue 3:32

02 Willie Bobo - Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries (Willie Bobo) 3:03

03 Ennio Morricone - The Sicilian Clan [From the Film "The Sicilian Clan"] 3:59

04 Khruangbin - August 10 4:25

05 Jimmy Smith - The Cat 3:26

06 El Michels Affair - Unathi 3:31

07 Quantic & Alice Russell with The Combo Bárbaro - Look Around The Corner 4:28

08 Los Destellos - Onsta La Yerbita 6:13

09 Budos Band - Up From The South 3:26

10 Mulatu Astatke - Yègellé tezeta 3:18

11 Dusty Springfield - Spooky 2:44

12 Os Mutantes - Panis et Circenses 3:38

13 Santana - Samba Pa Ti 4:50

14 Adrian Younge - Lovely Lady 3:52

15 La Luz - Call Me in the Day 3:16

16 Serge Gainsbourg & Michel Colombier - Requiem Pour Un Con 2:48

17 Chicano Batman - Black Lipstick 3:49

18 Gabor Szabo - Gypsy Queen 5:11

19 Los Mirlos - Sonido amazónico 2:40

20 Samuel T. Herring - Time Moves Slow 4:33


Volume 4 Citrus & Smoke CD2

21 El Michels Affair - Sha Na Na 3:31

22 Los Amigos Invisibles - Sexy (Acoustic) 5:29

23 Gato Barbieri - Last Tango in Paris 2:48

24 Chicano Batman - Freedom is Free 4:04

25 Nicola Conte - Bossa Per Due 5:41

26 Limiñanas - Istanbul is Sleepy (feat. Anton Newcombe) 3:51

27 Quantic - Sol Clap 3:52

28 Rugged Nuggets - Take Me With You 2:52

29 La Femme - Sur la planche 2013 3:47

30 Los Bitchos - Pista (Fresh Start) 3:22

31 Hermanos Gutiérrez - Los chicos tristes 3:49

32 Olympians - Sirens of Jupiter 3:43

33 Combo Chimbita - Esto es real (8100mg) 4:58

34 Adrian Quesada - Starry Nights 3:25

35 Sorcerers - The Viking of 5th Avenue 4:43

36 Senor Coconut - Smoke on The Water 4:45

37 Orgone feat. Adryon de León - Don’t Stop 6:07

38 Brownout - Flaximus (Renegades of Jazz Bboy Edit) 3:37

39 Shaolin Afronauts - Journey Through Time 5:15

40 Mulatu Astatke + Black Jesus Experience - Ambassa Lemdi 5:51


Volume 5 Creamy & Dreamy CD1

01 Sade - Kiss of Life 4:13

02 Minnie Riperton - Inside My Love 4:48

03 Rhye - Open 3:37

04 Marvin Gaye - I Want You 3:58

05 Internet; KAYTRANADA - Girl (feat. KAYTRANADA) 6:55

06 Al Green - Simply Beautiful 4:14

07 Tirzah - Gladly 3:41

08 Smokey Robinson - Quiet Storm (Groove Boutique Remix) 5:38

09 Lianne La Havas - Green & Gold 4:38

10 Blood Orange - Best to You 3:45

11 Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats 2:40

12 Cleo Sol - Promises 4:24

13 D’Angelo - Send it On 5:56

14 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Around My Smile 4:41

15 Me'Shell Ndegéocello - Outside Your Door 5:08

16 Amber Mark - Love Me Right 4:51

17 Maxwell - Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder) 5:46

18 Weyes Blood - Something to Believe 4:45

19 Angie Stone - No More Rain (In This Cloud) 4:42

20 Morcheeba - The Sea 5:47


Volume 5 Creamy & Dreamy CD2

21 Al B. Sure! - Nite and Day 4:00

22 Kadhja Bonet - Delphine 5:54

23 Donny Hathaway - A Song for You 5:28

24 Charlotte Day Wilson - Work 3:44

25 Terry Callier - What Color is Love 4:05

26 Solange - Cranes in the Sky (2016) 4:11

27 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Baby, Baby Don't Cry 3:58

28 Arlo Parks - Black Dog 3:48

29 Nancy Wilson - You've Got Your Troubles 2:29

30 Moses Sumney - Me in 20 Years 3:40

31 Delfonics - La-La Means I Love You 3:19

32 Tirzah - Devotion 4:14

33 Anita Baker - Sweet Love 4:18

34 Nick Hakim - Bet She Looks Like You 3:45

35 Les Imprimés - Love & Flowers 2:53

36 Norah Jones - Come Away With Me 3:06

37 Angela Bofill - This Time I'll Be Sweeter 4:21

38 Sault - Wildfires 3:27

39 Everything But The Girl - Mirrorball 3:27

40 Låpsley - Falling Short 3:23


Volume 6 Mocktail Mix CD1

01 Clientele - Reflections After Jane 3:24

02 Kings of Convenience - Cayman Islands 3:03

03 Vashti Bunyan - Diamond Day 1:47

04 Air feat. Gordon Tracks - Playground Love 3:32

05 High Llamas - Nomads 4:03

06 Stereolab - Lo Boob Oscillator 6:36

07 Linda Perhacs - Parallelograms 4:33

08 Prefab Sprout - Bonny 3:46

09 Sea and Cake - Jacking the Ball 3:52

10 Aluminum Group - A Boy in Love 3:04

11 Mild High Club - Homage 2:57

12 Jim Sullivan - U.F.O. 2:49

13 pearlfishers - even on a sunday afternoon 3:14

14 Blueboy - Cloud Babies 3:21

15 Gentle Waves - Hold Back A Thousand Hours 3:57

16 Free Design - I Found Love 2:42

17 Pale Fountains - Jean's Not Happening 4:09

18 Harpers Bizarre - Witchi Tai To 2:44

19 Millennium - To Claudia on Thursday (mono) 3:07

20 Belle and Sebastian - Piazza, New York Catcher 3:03


Volume 6 Mocktail Mix CD2

21 Innocence Mission - Bright as Yellow 3:34

22 Michael Franks - Antonio's Song (The Rainbow) 5:04

23 Lilac Time - Return to Yesterday 3:47

24 Mojave 3 - Love Songs on The Radio 5:48

25 Everything But the Girl - Oxford Street 3:21

26 Montgolfier Brothers - Even If My Mind Can't Tell You 6:13

27 Left Banke - Pretty Ballerina 2:38

28 Apartments - The Goodbye Train 4:48

29 Magnetic Fields - The Book of Love 2:42

30 Francoise Hardy - La Maison Ou J'Ai Grandi 3:38

31 Pale Saints - Henry 10:48

32 Ladybug Transistor - Like A Summer Rain 3:10

33 Claudine Longet - I Love How You Love Me 2:12

34 Softies - Tracks and Tunnels 3:20

35 Donovan - Wear Your Love Like Heaven 2:23

36 Clientele - Since K Got Over Me 3:52

37 Free Design - I Found Love 2:43

38 Tracey Thorn - Plain Sailing 1:57

39 Zombies - Beechwood Park 2:42

40 Aislers Set - The Red Door 2:46


Volume 7 On the Rocks CD1

01 James Blake - Retrograde 3:43

02 Portishead - Roads 5:09

03 Tirzah - Go Now 3:06

04 Smerz - Believer 4:12

05 FKA Twigs - Cellophane 3:24

06 Arthur Russell - This is How We Walk on The Moon 7:12

07 Sade - Bullet proof soul 5:25

08 xx - Angels 2:49

09 MorCheeba - Otherwise 3:42

10 Solange - Beltway 1:41

11 Nicolas Jaar - Mi Mujer 6:32

12 Meshell Ndegeocello - Bitter 4:13

13 Arca - Piel 4:07

14 Massive Attack - Teardrop 5:21

15 Låpsley - Station 3:16

16 Bon Iver - Woods 4:45

17 Kelela - Bluff 1:12

18 Ryuichi Sakamoto - solari 3:51

19 Julianna Barwick - The Harbinger 5:50

20 Badbadnotgood Ft. Colin Stetson - Confessions Pt Ii 6:21


Volume 7 On the Rocks CD2

21 Dean Blunt - The Redeemer 3:32

22 Grouper - Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping 2:53

23 Julee Cruise - Floating 4:55

24 Mount Kimbie - Carbonated 4:18

25 Arlo Parks - Eugene 3:43

26 Brian Eno & Harold Budd - The Silver Ball 3:30

27 Kelela - Enough 5:09

28 Julianna Barwick - One Half 3:37

29 Tirzah - Sink In 3:57

30 Bon Iver - 715 - CR∑∑KS 2:12

31 Moses Sumney - Quarrel 6:45

32 Lucrecia Dalt - No tiempo 3:35

33 Cinematic Orchestra - To Build a Home 6:11

34 Fka Twigs - Home With You 3:45

35 ANOHNI - Drone Bomb Me 4:11

36 Low - Days Like These 5:20

37 Son Lux - Easy 4:00

38 Kelly Lee Owens - Melt! 3:34

39 James Blake - Limit to Your Love 4:40

40 Loma - Black Willow 5:17


Volume 8 Neat & Dirty CD11

01 Blue Nile - Tinseltown in the Rain 5:57

02 Anna Domino - Land of My Dreams 4:20

03 Everything But The Girl - Twin Cities 4:36

04 Style Council - The Paris Match 3:46

05 David Sylvian - Orpheus 4:51

06 Talk Talk - I Believe in You 6:16

07 Sade - Cherish The Day 6:20

08 Durutti Column - Otis 4:15

09 Prefab Sprout - Desire As 5:20

10 Arto Lindsay - Simply Are 3:44

11 Japan - Ghosts 4:35

12 Thomas Dolby - Screen Kiss 5:28

13 Antena - Camino Del Sol 3:43

14 Steve Hiett - Blue Beach - Welcome to Your Beach 4:18

15 Virginia Astley - A Summer Long Since Passed 4:37

16 Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Perpetuum Mobile 4:28

17 Lewis - I Thought The World of You 2:34

18 Paul Buchanan - Mid Air 2:32

19 Joni Mitchell - Hejira 6:41

20 Carla Bley, Larry Wills, Hiram Bullock, Steve Swallow, Victor Lewis & Don Alias - Lawns 7:06


Volume 8 Neat & Dirty CD2

21 Birthday Party - Release The Bats 2:31

22 Breeders - Safari 3:29

23 Beat Happening - Indian Summer 3:00

24 Jesus Lizard - Nub 2:30

25 Lydia Lunch - Mechanical Flattery 2:48

26 Patti Smith - Pissing in A River 4:51

27 Rowland S. Howard - Autoluminescent 3:26

28 Shannon Wright - Black Little Stray 6:20

29 Kills - Black Rooster 4:24

30 Swell Maps - Midget Submarines 5:49

31 Royal Trux - The Inside Game 3:42

32 PJ Harvey - Dress 3:18

33 Replacements - Unsatisfied 4:01

34 Cat Power - Cross Bones Style 4:32

35 Fall - Totally Wired 3:26

36 Andwella's Dream - Cocaine 5:04

37 Morphine - Buena 3:18

38 Jon Spencer Blues Explosio - Bellbottoms 5:18

39 Screaming Females - Ripe 3:10

40 Gun Club - Mother of Earth 3:24

41 Bathers - She's Gone Forever 2:54

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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Thursday, August 6, 2026

Classics IV feat. Dennis Yost - Spooky: The Complete Singles Collection (1966-1975) (60th Anniversary Special Edition) (2CD) (2026)

K SPECIAL

“This set was researched, curated and assembled by K a regular contributor to this blog, shared here with his permission for BB readers. 

The write up, the images and most importantly the music selections; the entire layout and presentation below is his creation, I’m just the host”.

Classics IV feat. Dennis Yost - Spooky: The Complete Singles Collection (1966-1975) (60th Anniversary Special Edition) (2CD) (2026)

In celebration of 60 years since Classics IV released their debut single "Pollyanna” on August 8, 1966, here is my personal compilation of their complete 7” 45 singles as a 2CD set to mark this anniversary. This collection contains every A and B-side released between 1966 and 1975.

The Classics IV is an American band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965. The band, founded by Dennis Yost, is known mainly for the hits "Spooky", "Stormy", and "Traces" (released 1967-69), which have become cover standards.

1965-1966: Early days

The group began as The Classics, a Jacksonville cover band consisting of guitarist J. R. Cobb, bassist Walter Eaton, keyboardist Joe Wilson, sax player Greg Carroll, and drummer Dennis Yost, who had previously been a member of The Echoes. The name "The Classics" came from the Classic drum set Yost owned. He was known in the Georgia/Florida area as the "stand-up drummer" because he played standing. The Classics played Ventures covers and instrumental versions of "Misty" and "Summertime". People started requesting vocals, so Dennis said "I can sing," and it was the beginning of the group's new direction.

The group was discovered performing in Daytona Beach by talent agent Alan Diggs, who became the band's manager in partnership with Paul Cochran and, later, Buddy Buie. The pair had formed an alliance with manager-publisher Bill Lowery and urged the band to relocate to Atlanta. With the help of Lowery, they quickly snagged the group a singles deal with Capitol Records.

The Classics' debut single was "Pollyanna” released on August 8, 1966, a song written by Lowery client Joe South and sung in a style resembling the Four Seasons. However, after they were later informed that there was already a recording act called The Classics, who had had a hit single in 1963 with "Till Then", the group added "IV" to their name to represent their four members.

1966-1970: Success

The Classics IV performed "Pollyanna" on Dick Clark's TV Show Where the Action Is! and the record became a regional hit. But when WABC (AM) radio in New York started playing it they received a call from the Four Seasons' manager demanding they cease airplay of "Pollyanna" or they would no longer get exclusives on future Four Seasons recordings, among other disincentives. The group landed a deal with Imperial Records. Guitarists Cobb and Buie added lyrics to a jazz instrumental titled "Spooky", a 1966 regional hit for Atlanta saxophonist Mike Sharpe. The single made it to No. 3 on the Hot 100 in February 1968 in the U.S. and No. 46 in the UK.

Drummer Kim Venable (born Clayton Kimbal Venable on May 5, 1944, in Eclectic, Alabama, died June 12, 2016) was brought in so Yost could move freely out front (drummer Dennis St. John and bassist Emory Gordy were the musicians on their studio recordings). Wilson left the band and was replaced by Candymen member Dean Daughtry. The band changed its name to The Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost and enjoyed two more top-10 hits, "Stormy" (1968, Hot 100 No. 5) and "Traces" (1969, Hot 100 No. 2, Easy Listening No. 2), the latter of which Emory Gordy also co-wrote. Cobb and Buie borrowed heavily from 1936's "Every Day with Jesus" by Robert C. and Wendell P. Loveless to pen the top 20 follow-up "Every Day with You Girl" (1969, Hot 100 No. 19, Easy Listening No. 12).

"Spooky", "Stormy", and "Traces" each sold over one million units and all were awarded gold discs by the R.I.A.A. Those three hits plus "Every Day with You Girl" also appeared in the 1977 film The Chicken Chronicles.

In 1970, Cobb, Buie and Daughtry formed what would become Atlanta Rhythm Section with Candymen drummer Robert Nix. However, the former two remained active as writers and producers for the band. After recovering from a car accident suffered in May 1969, Eaton left the band and later on became an electronics expert, working for Unisys.

1970-1975: Later years

With Yost as the remaining original member, the group changed its name again to Dennis Yost and the Classics IV. After Imperial was absorbed into United Artists Records, the group signed with MGM South. In 1971 after working for other Lowery artists Tommy Roe and the Swingin' Medallions, Michael Huey became the drummer. During this period Huey also became the staff drummer for Lowery Studios and later moved to Los Angeles.

The band's subsequent releases were less successful, despite the final top 40 hit, "What Am I Crying For?" which peaked at No. 39 in 1972. By this time, the partnership between Cochran and Buie ended. After the release of "My First Day Without Her" in 1975, Yost disbanded the group and returned to Florida.

1975-2001: After Classics IV

In 1977, Yost returned to performing on the Holiday Inn circuit, this time simply under his own name or "The Classic One." (He lost the rights to the Classics IV name.) The same year, Eaton got a job on Jacksonville's computer system in 1977 and later on worked for the City Hall. As of 2008 he was a professor at Florida Community College. During the mid 1970s to early 1980s, the Atlanta Rhythm Section scored a number of Top 40 hits, notably "Doraville", "So in to You", "Imaginary Lover", "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight", "Do It or Die", and their rendition of "Spooky".

During the 1990s, Yost used many backup bands including Steve "Stevie G" Guettler (guitar, vocals), Jeff "JT" Strickler (bass guitar, vocals), Steve Farrell (guitar, vocals), Mike Wilson (keyboards, vocals), and Wes Armstrong (drums, vocals) of the Atlanta-based group The Rockerz. He also used Nashville-based Steve Jarrell and The Sons of the Beach Band, as well as the Hitts out of Virginia Beach, Virginia, with Ed Hutchison (guitar, backing vocals), Ramon Gonzalez (keyboards, backing vocals), Andy Crosswell (drums), and David Voss. Other incarnations included Toledo musicians Danny Joe Greenburg on bass and Sid Siddall on drums. Nashville bassist Louie Meek also did a stint with the band. Joe Smalley, David Ford, James Ford and Craig Overton (Rocket88) also backed Dennis as The Classics IV.

In 1993, Classics IV was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

2001-2006: Reformation

In 2001, Yost underwent successful throat surgery for a condition that had severely impaired his singing voice. Later on, he started touring under the Classics IV name, which he gained the rights to.

2006-2008: Death of Yostedit

On July 11, 2006, Yost fell down a flight of stairs and suffered serious brain trauma. To assist Yost and his wife with their medical bills, a benefit concert was held on March 25, 2007, at Rhino's Live in Cincinnati, Ohio. The concert did not significantly benefit Yost or his wife financially as hoped, as expenses far exceeded the money raised, leaving the event in the red.

After the accident, Tom Garrett was chosen by Yost to replace him as lead singer. The plan was for Yost to make a few yearly "special appearances", and gradually have Garrett take over as the leader of the band. However, Yost was able to perform with them for only one appearance in 2008.

Dennis Yost died aged 65 from respiratory failure on December 7, 2008, the 40th anniversary of the entrance of "Stormy" into the Hot 100's top 10.

2008-present: Post-Yost

The current line-up of Classics IV consists of Tom Garrett as lead vocalist, Mark Cowles on bass, James Yoder on keyboards, Paul Weddle on saxophone, John Kerner on guitar, and Shawn White on drums. The group regularly tours to this day.

This superb 43 track 2CD set contains many rare and extremely hard to find tracks. Only the original studio recordings are included, with all tracks featured in their original 7" single form. No later remixes, 'stereo enhanced' or live versions here!

No official compilation of every A and B-side has ever been released, so this is a true first for many collectors and music fans everywhere.

Compiled as always using the very latest and highest quality digital remasters, with a considerable amount of tracks sourced from the original master tapes for superior sound quality and enjoyment.


K

“Thanks again to K for sharing this one with us. Cheers”.

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Track lists

CD1

1 Classics IV - Pollyanna 2:19

2 Classics IV - Cry Baby 2:01

3 Classics IV - Little Darlin' 2:47

4 Classics IV - Nothing to Lose 2:33

5 Classics IV - Spooky 3:01

6 Classics IV - Poor People 3:08

7 Classics IV - Soul Train 2:42

8 Classics IV - Strange Changes 2:17

9 Classics IV - Mama's and Papa's 2:05

10 Classics IV - Waves 2:17

11 Classics IV - Stormy 2:46

12 Classics IV - 24 Hours of Loneliness 2:01

13 Classics IV - Ladies' Man 2:08

14 Classics IV - Traces 2:45

15 Classics IV - Mary, Mary Row Your Boat 2:10

16 Classics IV - Everyday with You Girl 2:28

17 Classics IV - Sentimental Lady 2:16

18 Classics IV - Change of Heart 2:56

19 Classics IV - Rainy Day 2:37

20 Classics IV - Midnight 2:51

21 Classics IV - The Comic 2:09


CD2

1 Classics IV - The Funniest Thing 2:37

2 Classics IV - Nobody Loves You But Me 3:16

3 Classics IV - God Knows I Loved Her 2:59

4 Classics IV - We Miss You 2:17

5 Classics IV - Where Did All the Good Times Go 2:31

6 Classics IV - Ain't It the Truth 3:48

7 Classics IV - Cherryhill Park 3:11

8 Classics IV - Pick Up the Pieces 3:04

9 Classics IV - It's Time for Love 3:03

10 Classics IV - Most of All 3:03

11 Classics IV - What Am I Crying For 3:02

12 Classics IV - All in Your Mind 3:02

13 Classics IV - Rosanna 2:32

14 Classics IV - One Man Show 3:20

15 Classics IV - Make Me Believe It 2:19

16 Classics IV - Save the Sunlight 2:43

17 Classics IV - Love Me or Leave Me Alone 2:20

18 Classics IV - I Knew It Would Happen 2:14

19 Classics IV - It's Now Winter's Day 3:26

20 Classics IV - Losing My Mind 2:27

21 Classics IV - My First Day Without Her 2:59

22 Classics IV - Lovin' Each Other 2:21

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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