Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! From buckets of EPs by Portishead and the Black Crowes to a deep dive on Judy Garland, you'll find much to listen to and love.
Judy Garland, Recordings from the M-G-M Films (Motion Picture Soundtrack Anthology) (WaterTower) (Apple Music / Amazon)
There's plenty of celebrating the late, great Judy Garland's centennial this month (her date of birth was yesterday, June 10) - and Warner's soundtrack arm got into the celebration, too! They turned the 1996 double-disc set Collector's Gems from the M-G-M Films into a massive 115-track archive that, over six hours(!), features just about every one of the legend's featured tunes from her time with Metro Goldwyn Mayer - including team-ups with Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. It's streaming-only, but don't let that distract you from immersing yourself in one of the screen's greatest voice. (A special thanks to reader Roger Grodsky for sharing the great news with us!)
Bob Marley & The Wailers, Live at The Rainbow, 2nd June 1977 (Tuff Gong/Island/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)
The summer of Exodus continues! It's the second week in a row that a concert from Marley's legendary 1977 run at London's Rainbow Theatre has been released in full. The third of four nights follows next week, then a new digital deluxe version of Exodus.
Billy Preston & Syreeta, Music from the Motion Picture "Fast Break" / Billy Preston, Late At Night / The Way I Am / Pressin' On (Motown)
Fast Break: iTunes / Amazon
Late: iTunes / Amazon
The Way: iTunes / Amazon
Pressin': iTunes / Amazon
Having filled the holes in Preston's A&M albums discography over recent Weekend Streams, UMe now in one drop covers all four of his out-of-print albums for the Motown label. The mostly forgotten soundtrack for the Gabe Kaplan comedy film Fast Break did yield a massive hit, the Top 5 "With You I'm Born Again," a duet with Syreeta Wright. It was included on both the soundtrack album and Billy's proper Motown debut, Late At Night. The Way I Am is notable for striking covers of "A Change is Gonna Come" and the Motown classic "Keep On Truckin'."
SZA, Ctrl (Deluxe Edition) (Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA) (iTunes / Amazon)
To celebrate five years since the soulful SZA's acclaimed debut - named the best album of 2017 by TIme, Vice and the New York Daily News as well as a four-time Grammy nominee - she's reissued it digitally with seven previously unreleased tracks including an alternate of "Love Galore" and "Jodie," produced by Tyler, the Creator.
Holly Knight, Holly Knight (Epic) (iTunes / Amazon)
You might not know her voice, but Holly Knight was one of the top songwriters of the '80s, penning songs for Pat Benatar ("Love is a Battlefield," "Invincible"), Tina Turner ("Better Be Good to Me," "The Best"), Aerosmith ("Rag Doll"), Scandal ("The Warrior") and more. After two releases with her band Spider and one with Device, she released one album under her own name in 1988. "Every Man's Fear" and "Heart Don't Fail Me Now" were the singles that didn't take hold with audiences at the time, but the album also features her version of "Battlefield."
Portishead, Numb EP / Sour Times EP / Glory Box EP / All Mine EP (Mercury)
Numb: iTunes / Amazon
Sour: iTunes / Amazon
Glory: iTunes / Amazon
Mine: iTunes / Amazon
They've bristled at the term "trip hop," but British trio Portishead pioneered what was eventually called that style of music, combining rock, hip-hop and electronica into a potent blend of unorthodox soundscapes. The B-sides on this digital EP comprise all the non-LP material from debut album Dummy (1994) plus one single from their 1997 self-titled follow-up.
The Black Crowes, Twice As Hard EP / Hard to Handle EP / By Your Side EP (American)
Twice: iTunes / Amazon
Handle: iTunes / Amazon
Side: iTunes / Amazon
A triplicate of digital EPs from the unpredictable Southern rockers. "Twice As Hard" and "Hard to Handle" feature B-sides heard on the deluxe box set reissue of debut Shake Your Money Maker, while "By Your Side" comes from the 1999 album of the same name.
Con Funk Shun, Loveshine / Candy / Touch (Mercury)
Loveshine: iTunes / Amazon
Candy: iTunes / Amazon
Touch: iTunes / Amazon
Three out-of-print albums from the California funk outfit get digital deliveries; these collectively feature Top 10 R&B hits "Shake and Dance with Me," "Chase Me" and "Too Tight."
Common, Breaker 1/9 EP (Relativity/Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon)
Finally, from back when he was called "Common Sense" (and his co-producer "Immenslope" before he became No I.D.), a Top 10 rap single from the emcee/activist's 1993 debut Can I Borrow a Dollar? It features remixes by both No I.D. and The Beatnuts.
Lawrence Schulman says
Just one voice to say that I think it is appalling that WaterTower is releasing Judy Garland's MGM catalogue in streaming only, and not even as a download. All the more so in that these are 2022 remasterings in 24-Bit/48.0 kHz high-resolution audio. What a wasted opportunity!
David Hidayat says
Missed David Paich here.