Features

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 feature: The Weekend Stream, which focuses on hidden gems that recently made it to digital channels that might make your playlists a little brighter!

Coldplay, LeftRightLeftRightLeft (Parlophone) (Amazon / Spotify)

This 2009 live album, initially given away as a free download first to concert attendees and then to everyone, was a memento of Coldplay’s touring years when the British rockers were supporting their critically-acclaimed Viva La Vida album, featuring songs from that LP (“Viva La Vida,” “Strawberry Swing”), a few earlier hits (“Clocks,” “Fix You”) and even the odd B-side (“Death Will Never Conquer”) recorded across Europe and Australia in 2008 and 2009.

Elton John + Dua Lipa, Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) (Mercury/EMI) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)

It’s not clear if this chill new dance track – featuring Elton’s vocals from “Sacrifice,” a sample from Blue Moves deep cut “Where’s the Shoorah,” and vocals by pop star Dua Lipa featuring lyrical snippets from “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time)” and Too Low for Zero single “Kiss the Bride” – is a one-off or not. But this writer is hoping for more: Australian duo PNAU’s treatment of Sir Elton’s catalogue resulted in 2012’s Good Morning to the Night, a brilliant half-hour supernova of a record featuring various portions of Elton’s ’70s material (mostly deep cuts) reassembled into new songs. A sequel to this album – perhaps featuring material from Elton’s unpredictable ’80s – would be extremely welcome.

Cypress Hill, Cypress Hill (Expanded Edition) / How Could I Just Kill a Man (The Alchemist x Beat Butcha Remix) (Columbia/Certified/Legacy)

Cypress Hill (Expanded Edition): iTunes / Amazon / Spotify
How Could I Just Kill a Man: iTunes / Amazon / Spotify

West Coast hip-hop group Cypress Hill celebrate 30 years of recording in 2021, and their debut album (featuring minor hit “How Could I Just Kill a Man” and “Hand on the Pump”) gets digitally revisited with a trio of bonus tracks: an extended reprise of “Stoned is the Way of the Walk,” a Spanish edit of album opener “Pigs,” and an extended mix of “The Phuncky Feel One.” Separately, a remix of “Kill a Man” by Alchemist and Beat Butcher dropped as a standalone single, with a new mix of “Hand on the Pump” by original producer DJ Muggs slated for an undisclosed date.

24-7 Spyz, Gumbo Millennium (Columbia, 1990) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)

After last week’s digital delivery of debut album Harder Than You, Sony Music brings the second album by alt-rock/funk/metal shapeshifters 24-7 Spyz to the digital realm. It’s easy to compare a band of color dabbling in hard rock in the late ’80s to corporate labelmates Living Colour, and Gumbo Millennium is not unlike that band’s sophomore album Time’s Up – a challenge compared to its more accessible original, but full of sonic rewards all its own.

Vinnie Moore, Meltdown (Relativity, 1991) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)

Part of the same guitar virtuoso frenzy that saw Joe Satriani and Steve Vai score deals on the Relativity label, Vinnie Moore was perhaps less known than his labelmates – coming off a stint with Alice Cooper, and more than a decade away from assuming guitar duties in UFO – but for fans of intricate instrumentals featuring the electric axe, you might want to check this out.

Little Hag, Breakfast (Bar None) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify / Bandcamp)

If you’re looking for something new to listen to, Second Disc HQ has been evangelizing Little Hag – the killer alter-ego of Jersey shore singer-songwriter Avery Mandeville – since nearly a year ago. Ahead of debut album Leash, available next month, the Hag’s newest EP is not necessarily what you might deem sweet or savory – the song titles are in fact “Piss,” “Blood” and “Cum” – but Mandeville’s one-of-a-kind songwriting voice and hypnotizing vocals (somewhere between Alanis Morissette and Roy Orbison) should free you of your squeamishness in uncovering one of the most exciting talents out there.