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!
Chicago, Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete (Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
Released physically earlier this year, this 14-hour set features all eight sets the classic jazz-rock outfit Chicago played at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan in the spring of 1971 - which became the basis for a Top 5, quadruple-vinyl box set that made its way into stores almost exactly a half century ago.
Rockwell, Somebody's Watching Me (Syzz Remix) / Somebody's Watching Me (Deluxe Edition) (Motown/UMe)
Syzz: iTunes / Amazon / Spotify
Deluxe: iTunes / Amazon / Spotify
Halloween is the perfect time to get absolutely spooked out of your goddamned mind - and this massively expanded edition of Rockwell's 1985 debut is the perfect opportunity for that! Rockwell, of course, was the alter ego of one Kennedy Gordy, who sought a record deal without hanging onto the coattails of his famous father, Motown founder Berry Gordy. Even so, the album's smash title track soared to No. 2, no doubt thanks to Rockwell's childhood pal singing the song's chorus: an uncredited but very obvious Michael Jackson. (Rockwell actually had another Top 40 hit off this record in "Obscene Phone Caller.") In addition to those classic singles and a cover of The Beatles' "Taxman," the expanded Watching features 10 mostly unreleased tracks, from instrumentals and vintage 12" mixes to a brand-new, extended take on the title track by groove master John Morales. (A standalone remix of the track by EDM duo Syzz was also released last week.)
Sublime, Sublime Meets Scientist & Mad Professor Inna L.B.C. (Geffen/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
Though frontman Bradley Nowell died months before Sublime's third and most commercially successful album was released in 1996, fans are still discovering the Long Beach ska-punkers through old albums and new. The most recent was this year's Record Store Day exclusive Sublime Meets Scientist & Mad Professor Inna L.B.C., a collection of dub mixes from two of reggae's most acclaimed producers. (This set matches the CD pressing's eight-track running order, while the vinyl only had six.)
Infectious Grooves, The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move...It's The Infectious Grooves (Epic) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
From singer "Cyco" Mike Muir came this quirky, good-time funk-metal outfit that featured off-kilter MTV hits like "Therapy" (featuring vocals from Ozzy Osbourne). This record was fertile ground for current and future members of Muir's main band, Suicidal Tendencies; guitarist Dean Pleasants would later join that band's line-up, which at the time included the Grooves' bassist and co-producer Robert Trujillo (who would, of course, join Metallica in 2003).
Indigo Girls, Live Summer 2000 / Live at The House of Blues EP (Epic)
Summer: iTunes / Amazon / Spotify
House of Blues: iTunes / Amazon / Spotify
The Indigo Girls excavation continues with a pair of promo-only live EPs released after 1999's Come On Now Social. (Live Summer 2000 was a two-track collection available only at indie record retailers, while the four-track House of Blues set was a Tower Records exclusive. Feel old about that?)
Bush, Golden State (20th Anniversary Expanded Version) (Atlantic/Rhino) (iTunes / Spotify)
A generous, expansion of the British rock group's fourth album, featuring eight B-sides, radio remixes and live cuts.
Elmer Bernstein, Sweet Smell of Success (Music from the Soundtrack) / Chico Hamilton Quintet, Sweet Smell of Success (Jazz Themes for the Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Decca/Verve)
Bernstein: iTunes / Amazon / Spotify
Hamilton: iTunes / Amazon / Spotify
The music to an acclaimed 1957 noir picture starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis was split across two separate albums upon initial release: orchestral score selections by the mighty Elmer Bernstein (only a year out from his work on The Ten Commandments) and a selection of modern jazz pieces by the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Modern reissues combined the repertoire as sequenced in the film and less one of the Hamilton cuts - but now, both albums are available discretely and digitally.
Christmas favorites from The Ed Sullivan Show (SOFA Entertainment/UMe)
UMe is continuing its rollout of rare performances from the vast Ed Sullivan Show library, and this week the spotlight is on Christmas tunes. Plenty of new videos have been uploaded to YouTube from the archive (not all of which are available in audio form), including Patti Page and Julius LaRosa's "The Christmas Song" and "Winter Wonderland/Sleigh Ride" (the latter set to a skating routine!), yuletide medleys from family singing groups The Ames Brothers and The Cowsills, Mahalia Jackson's stirring "Sweet Little Jesus Boy," and even a "What the World Needs Now" holiday dance number from Broadway choreographer Peter Gennaro). It's not too early to bookmark these nostalgic variety offerings for the holiday season ahead.
Gordon MacRae and Jo Stafford, Kiss Me, Kate (Capitol) (iTunes / Amazon / Spotify)
Capitol's 1949 studio cast album of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate - the very first Tony Award winner for Best Musical - comes to streaming services. Originally issued as a 10" LP or an album of singles, it features two of the label's leading lights, Gordon MacRae and Jo Stafford, stepping into the roles of Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi to sing some of Porter's most delicious songs including "Why Can't You Behave?" (Stafford), "So in Love" (MacRae), "Wunderbar" (both), and even "Too Darn Hot" as performed by Stafford's husband Paul Weston and his orchestra. Though it only preserves highlights from the score, this album is a delightful romp from start to finish.
Radiohead's full discography on Bandcamp (XL Recordings)
Fourteen albums from the legendary British alt-rock band - including every studio release and the forthcoming KID A MNESIA (including the experimental one-two of Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001) alongside a disc of unreleased archival material) - are now digitally available on Bandcamp. They're not "pay what you want," but Bandcamp digital revenue greatly outshines any other platform, so download with confidence.
Rob M says
I wonder if this will be seen as BandCamp’s “Jump The Shark” moment…
Mark H. says
Amazon Music identifies the Chicago at Carenegie as "No longer available".