While The Second Disc prides itself on connecting people to reissues and box sets they can keep on their shelves, it's no secret that listening audiences are also digital - catalogue music lovers, too - and our passion is connecting people to music from the past that they might adore. So we're introducing a new Saturday feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter!
Cheap Trick, Out to Get You! Live 1977 (Epic/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
Record Store Day is still a little ways off - due to COVID-19, it's moved to from April to June 12 - but you can relive one of last year's releases whenever you want: Cheap Trick's incendiary Out to Get You! Recorded at the Whisky-a-Go-Go in Los Angeles before sophomore album In Color was even completed, these previously unreleased performances showcase Rockford's finest in a way few got to hear: with all the raucous live energy heard on In Budokan but in a packed small club.
Donny Hathaway, Live at The Bitter End 1971 (ATCO/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
Speaking of Record Store Day, one of the highlights of 2014's festivities was a standalone release of the live disc that made up Donny Hathaway's masterful Never My Love: The Anthology box set. Taped in the same run of shows that comprised one side of his legendary Live album, Jerry Wexler (who co-produced the recordings alongside Arif Mardin) wasn't kidding when he deemed it "funk in excelsis" - they're every bit as galvanizing as the tracks first released nearly 50 years ago. Now, to help cap Rhino's Black History Month releases, it's digitally arrived on its own.
Ne-Yo, In My Own Words (Deluxe 15th Anniversary Edition) (Def Jam/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
With a voice that recalled Michael Jackson in his prime and an already-impressive list of credits as a songwriter, including favorites for Beyoncé and Rihanna, the man born Shaffer Smith came into his own as Ne-Yo with this 2006 debut. It's now got six bonus tracks, including new acoustic renditions of the hit single "So Sick" and "Sexy Love" plus a handful of instrumentals and rare tracks only available on import or retail exclusive editions of the original record.
The Lennon Sisters, Today!! (Mercury/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
On the heels of three new CD releases and a recent public television special, The Lennon Sisters' 1968 Mercury long-player makes its streaming debut. As the title would suggest, Today featured Dianne, Peggy, Kathy, and Janet's shimmering renditions of the day's pop favorites. Producer Snuff Garrett and arranger Al Capps provided the elegant backdrops for the Sisters' rich harmonies on such now-standards as "Different Drum," "What the World Needs Now is Love," "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," "California Dreamin'," and "Everything That Touches You." While Today has been issued on CD twice in Japan, this new addition to your streaming library marks its return to U.S. availability. Sunshine pop rarely has sounded so sweet!
Craig says
While I am a CD (and sometimes vinyl) buyer, I have been thrilled to see these Saturday posts as there are a lot of digital releases I have missed or digital releases of vinyl only or RSD releases, etc. Keep up the great work!
RecordSteve says
Ditto! C'ya on the flip side....
Shawn C. says
1980s hit makers "The Outfield" (Your Love, Since You've Been Gone, Voices of Babylon) have also released a digital collection of unreleased material spanning 1994 to 2014 - "Final Innings." Available on Apple Music, Spotify, etc...
Geoff D says
Agreed - I think this is a great idea as well
Robert Lett says
We were just chatting about the Lennon Sisters recently Joe. I love me some Lennon Sisters too. Would love to know if there are any outtakes or interesting things unheard in the vaults. I asked them on Instagram about thier master tapes (I had seen thier names on one of those lists of artists who lost tapes in the Universal fire) and they said the Dot tapes are still around and safe but they may have lost some of thier Coral recordings in the fire. Has Second Disc ever done a piece on the fire? What a loss for so many artists. (And fans)
Zubb says
Yes, I would love to see a complete, detailed list of all of the masters that were lost in that fire.