JONI MITCHELL – The Philadelphia Tapes (3CD)

FM Broadcast 9.0 – This material was broadcast in 1974, and so you can tell the performances were somewhat pro or at least held up pretty well.  There is a slightly amateurish nature to the old tapes but therein lies the charm, since Joni herself pours charm out of her like maple syrup. A great collection of early vintage classic American folk.

Joni Mitchell
The Second Fret, Philadelphia, PA
October 11, 1967

Disc 1

01 -Marcie
02 -London Bridges
03 -Ballerina Valerie
04 -Michael From The Mountains
05 -Go Tell the Drummer Man
06 -I Don’t Know Where I Stand
07 -Brandy Eyes
08 -Winter Lady
09 -Mister Blue
10 -Both Sides Now
11 -Urge For Going
12 -The Circle Game
13 -Morning Morgantown
14 -Born To Take The Highway
15 -Eastern Rain
16 -Song To A Seagull
17 -Night In The City

Disc 2

January 29th, 1974
WMMR-FM retrospective
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

01 WMMR intro [1:43]
— Second Fret, 17 November 1966 (w/ Chuck) —
02 interview [3:18]
03 Circle Game [5:31]
— “Folklore,” WHAT-FM studios, 28 May 1967 —
04 Sugar Mountain [4:14]
— Second Fret, 17 March 1967 (second visit) —
05 backstage interview [5:08]
— “Folklore,” WHAT-FM studios, 12 March 1967 (w/ Leonda Newberry) —
06 Both Sides Now [4:12]
07 interview [6:38]
— Second Fret, 12 March 1967 —
08 Mr. Blue [4:31]
09 Carnival in Kenora [4:59]

Disc 3

01 WMMR intro [0:46]
— “Folklore,” WHAT-FM studios, 19 March 1967 (w/ Gordon Lightfoot & Chuck Klein) —
02 Just Like Me [4:55]
03 Eastern Rain [5:50]
04 Blue on Blue [3:04]
— Second Fret, 17 March 1967 (third visit) —
05 Born to Take the Highway [4:10]
06 Winter Lady [2:48]
07 London Bridge [8:16]
— “Folklore,” WDAS-FM studios, 3 November 1968 (w/ Dave Van Ronk & Chris Smither) —
08 interview [7:17]
09 Sisotowbell Lane [4:00]
10 interview [12:18]
11 The Gallery [4:20]
— Second Fret, October 1967 —
12 Conversation [5:43]

Solo line-up:
Joni Mitchell – acoustic guitar, vocals
except “Circle Game” with
Chuck Mitchell – acoustic guitar, vocals

Notes:

Here’s WMMR’s Ed Sciaky and Gene Shay hosting a special program featuring performances and interviews from Joni’s early Philadelphia appearances on the “Folklore” program and live music recorded at The 2nd Fret, between 1966 and 1968. This is as it was broadcast the day before her appearance at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia in 1974. “Just Like Me” has a mid-cut, and there are speed fluctuations throughout the 17 March 1967 tracks and elsewhere, but mainly in “London Bridge.”