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’ve introduced 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!

Nelly Furtado, Loose (Expanded Edition) (Geffen/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)

Portuguese-Canadian folk-pop star Nelly Furtado delivered a tremendous head-fake on her third album, a follow-up to semi-sophomore slump Folklore (2003) and breakthrough debut Whoa, Nelly! (2000). Nobody expected her to team up with hip-hop/R&B producer Timbaland for a record of sensual dance-pop – nor did anyone expect it to hit like it did. But 2006’s Loose remains one of the decade’s top-sellers, spinning off the chart-toppers “Promiscuous” and “Say It Right.” For its 15th anniversary, Loose gets doubled in length with a wave of rare non-album tracks and remixes, including a new take on album closer “All Good Things (Come to An End)” in collaboration with German DJ duo Quarterhead.

Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor (20th Anniversary Edition) (J/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)

Though a double-vinyl version is forthcoming, now is a good time to showcase this new expansion of Alicia Keys’ breakthrough debut album, winner of five Grammy Awards and featuring the chart-topper “Fallin’.” This new edition is augmented with four bonus cuts: previously issued B-sides “I Won’t (Crazy World)” and an alternate version of “Fallin'” for the soundtrack to the boxing biopic Ali and unreleased session outtakes “Foolish Heart” and “Crazy (Mi Corazon).” Note that there’s also a confusing amount of digital versions of the album, including the original album sequence and a 10th anniversary edition with a EP’s worth of bonus tracks; that version was also released physically with a full disc of bonus material. (Whew! Here’s hoping that all makes it to the digital world someday!)

John Cale & Terry Riley, Church of Anthrax (Columbia/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)

From deep in the vaults and definitely worth a lazy weekend listen: a one-off collaborator between the legendary Velvet Underground member and the celebrated minimalist composer – mostly improvisations between them and drummers Bobby Colomby (Blood, Sweat & Tears) and Bobby Gregg (Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sounds of Silence”). Not to be missed by lovers of avant-garde rock!

Bear McCreary, Battlestar Galactica (Original Soundtrack): Seasons 1-4 / So Say We All (Battlestar Galactica Live) (Sparks & Shadows)

Season 1: iTunes / Spotify
Season 2: iTunes / Spotify
Season 3: iTunes / Spotify
Season 4: iTunes / Spotify
So Say We All: iTunes / Spotify

Nobody expected much from a 2003 miniseries that reimagined Glen A. Larson’s campy late-’70s TV take on Star Wars as a gripping sci-fi thriller. But it spun off a universally-praised show that ran for most of the decade, scooping up acclaim and awards for its command performances and allegorical scripts (which many saw as a parallel to the real-life War on Terror America waged at the time). Bear McCreary’s leitmotif-rich themes for the series helped put him on the map as a composer to watch; he’s since scored horror flicks like the Happy Death Day series and a brilliant fusion of his own style and Akira Ifukube‘s legendary themes for 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. McCreary has remastered the four original albums of score material released alongside the series by La-La Land Records, and has also assembled an album of live performances of select cues being heard for the first time. (It’ll be physically available through La-La Land next week!)