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!
Lionel Richie, Louder Than Words: Deluxe Edition (Mercury/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
After dominating airwaves in the '80s, Lionel Richie took things considerably slower in the '90s, only breaking his silence with a compilation (1992's Back to Front) and two studio albums of sturdy soul, pop and dance. That first full-length, 1996's Louder Than Words, turns 25 this week, and UMe is reissuing it and several other albums with bonus tracks. (Words, which featured production from David Foster, Babyface and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as well as longtime associate James Anthony Carmichael, includes five bonus tracks including Japanese bonus track "What Do They Know" and foreign language versions of "Still in Love.") A press release confirms that deluxe versions of Time (1998) and Just for You (2004) will follow in May and June, along with a stateside release of 2008's Symphonica in Rosso, a symphonic live album. We'll have more details as they're available!
Busta Rhymes, The Coming: 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (Elektra/Rhino) (iTunes: Deluxe / Instrumentals & Acapellas / Amazon: Deluxe / Instrumentals & Acapellas / Spotify)
A digital super deluxe edition might seem like an oxymoron, but this new version of Busta's solo debut (featuring the immortal banger "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check") has twice the tracks of the original release, including an instrumental version of the album and remixes by DJ Scratch and J. Dilla.
Madonna, What It Feels Like for a Girl (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
While there's no telling as to what era Madonna's team is delivering classic singles and remixes to the digital music world - other than knowing some choice single release dates, we imagine - it's certainly always welcome when they pop up. This week, it's a dozen versions of the third single from her 2000 album Music, which featured a boundary-pushing video confined to late night play for its violence.
Camp Lo, Luchini aka (This is It) (Profile/Arista/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
One of the most underrated '90s hip-hop hits - and perhaps the last great single from the Profile label, which gave us Run-DMC and Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two" in the '80s - gets its due in the form of a digital EP featuring the Bronx duo's signature song in edited, instrumental and a capella forms as well as and edit and instrumental of the B-side "Swing."
DAMIEN says
I'm loving that they're finally acknowledging that maxi-singles should be on streaming sites, and all the remixes and edits need preservation for newer generations (now Atlantic needs to finish getting all of Missy's remixes out there, as well as Brandy's and En Vogue's (EastWest)...