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/ Features / The Weekend Stream

The Weekend Stream: October 15, 2022

October 15, 2022 By Mike Duquette 1 Comment

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 usher you into the weekend - including a few surprise digital expansions from some '80s U.K. legends, holiday remixes, a lost fitness favorite and more!

Sting, ...Nothing Like the Sun (Expanded Edition) (A&M/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

This week marked the 35th anniversary of Sting's second solo album, and UMe commemorated the occasion (much like they did the 30th anniversary of follow-up The Soul Cages) with a digital-only expansion of the album. The brooding, eclectic LP - inspired by various ailments and injustices of the world as well as the passing of the former Police man's mother - is appended with more than a dozen bonus cuts, including new-to-digital B-sides and remixes of quirky Top 10 hit "We'll Be Together," "Englishman in New York" (reworked by Ben Liebrand in 1990 to moderate U.K. hit status) and, interestingly, some mixes of "Fragile" released around the live album ...All This Time in 2001.

Robert Palmer, Secrets (Expanded Edition) / Clues (Expanded Edition) / Maybe It's Live / Pride (Deluxe Edition) / Riptide (Deluxe Edition) (Island/UMe)

Secrets: iTunes / Amazon
Clues: iTunes / Amazon
Live: iTunes / Amazon
Pride: iTunes / Amazon
Riptide: iTunes / Amazon

What does it say about the late, legendary British singer that five of his Island-era albums were delivered to digital services, most with many extra tracks, but no fanfare followed it? The provenance of these reissues (including a re-delivery of 1982's Maybe It's Live, indeed part studio and part live record, plus versions of Pride (1983) and the hits-packed Riptide (1985) with enough extras to merit "deluxe" status) is not entirely known; Pride has a release year of 2013, so perhaps this was all part of a long-lost campaign for fans old and new to rediscover one of the most versatile voices of his generation? Whether that was the case or not, we hope you check them out know - they're well worth your (re)discovery.

The Weather Girls, It's Raining Men EP (Columbia/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon)

Hallelujah! 40 years ago, the duo previously known as Two Tons O' Fun (Martha Wash and Izora Armstead) recorded one of the great disco anthems of all time, written by the late Paul Jabara and David Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer. Now's your chance to get absolutely soaking wet - musically, that is - with this EP featuring the original single version, an instrumental and a long medley including the musical classic "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair."

Various Artists, Body by Jake: Don't Quit - Music from the Original Video Soundtrack (UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

Ready to work up a sweat? Jake Steinfeld was already a personal trainer to the stars (most notably Harrison Ford, whom he helped get into shape for the Indiana Jones films) when he released his own exercise video, complete with an original soundtrack that featured contributions by some hard-working musicians, including Bobby Caldwell, Michael Sembello and future Toto vocalist Joseph Williams. As part of an ongoing deal with the fitness impresario and UMe, that classic LP now makes its digital debut.

Various Artists, John Hammond's Spirituals to Swing 30th Anniversary Concert (Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon)

In the '70s, Columbia issued a boutique line of records in honor of one of their best-known behind-the-scenes talents: John Hammond. And for good reason: Hammond was responsible for discovering or cultivating talent like Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen for the legendary label. In 1972, Columbia issued a concert Hammond assembled some five years earlier, tracing the history of 20th century music with stirring performances by Big Mama Thornton, Count Basie's orchestra and an on-the-rise jazz guitarist named George Benson.

Nelly, Still Hot in Herre (Republic/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

The shifting vagaries of the music business mean that plenty of artists from the turn of the millennium and later, for whatever reason, have never enjoyed the fruits of the greatest hits compilation, even as songs in their catalogue continue to stream briskly. St. Louis-raised rapper Nelly is just such an example, but he's now putting out a neat little collection of some of his biggest hits for the streaming era, including "Country Grammar," "Ride Wit Me," "Dilemma" and, as the title suggests, "Hot in Herre."

MC Tunes vs. 808 State, Tunes Splits the Atom (ZTT) (iTunes / Amazon)

Rapper MC Tunes and electronic collective 808 State were at the forefront of a new British dance music movement (dubbed "Madchester") with "The Only Rhyme That Bites," a No. 10 hit. "Tunes Splits the Atom" was their Top 20 follow-up, and all its remixes and edits (plus one of potential A-side "Dance Yourself to Death") have been compiled for this new digital EP.

Too $hort, Freaky Tales: The Saga Continues Part II (Jive) (iTunes / Amazon)

One of the earliest major-label singles by a pioneer of West Coast hip-hop. Too $hort would continue recording for Jive Records for nearly 20 years afterward, an impressive run.

Andy Williams, Solitaire (Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon)

While "artistic leap" is not often a phrase one might associate with the soft-pop crooner Williams, 1973's Solitaire (produced by Richard Perry) was actually a bit of a departure for the artist, who started adding more contemporary fare into his repertoire rather than familiar standards. (Williams even joined the session musicians for some rough live-in-studio vocals, something he almost never did.) While it didn't pay off for Williams in the States, it did re-elevate Neil Sedaka, whose well-known song served as the title track to the album and was later a hit for the Carpenters. But in England, it was Williams who made the tune a smash, reaching No. 4.

Blink-182, Edging (Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon)

The truth of the matter is The Second Disc was founded by a writer who's now in his mid-30s, and feels as nostalgic about Blink-182 as any classic rock or soul act of the past. The irreverent pop-punk trio have announced their second reunion with founding guitarist Tom DeLonge, and the mid-tempo head-bopper "Edging," the lead single from their ninth studio album due in 2023, sounds like a return to the cheeky sound of their '90s and early '00s prime.

Brenda Lee, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (Reimagined by Filcus) (MCA Nashville/UMe) / Bobby Helms, Jingle Bell Rock (Ryan Riback Remix) (Geffen/UMe)

Brenda: iTunes / Amazon
Bobby: iTunes / Amazon

Billboard's updated chart rules enabled Mariah Carey's seasonal standard "All I Want for Christmas is You" to become her milestone 19th career No. 1 on the Hot 100 - one more than Elvis and one less than The Beatles - and like Christmas clockwork, the song has reached the summit every December in 2019, 2020 and 2021. But the rules also allow for a host of holiday perennials to chart, giving some artists heretofore unprecedented success. Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" have consistently peaked just behind Mariah's monster hit during the season, and UMe must be gunning for a higher placement for either of them, if these new remixes are any indication.

Categories: The Weekend Stream Formats: Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Classic Rock, Disco/Dance, Everything Else, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Andy Williams, Big Mama Thornton, Blink-182, Bobby Helms, Brenda Lee, Count Basie, George Benson, Nelly, Robert Palmer, Sting, The Weather Girls

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Mike Duquette

Michael Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he discovered there was more than one version of John Williams' soundtrack to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, with bylines on catalog at Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Prince and credits on titles including the Grammy-winning 'Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic.' Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with an ever-expanding collection of music.

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Comments

  1. Tom Heusinger says

    October 19, 2022 at 10:51 am

    Sting makes it really easy to not care anymore whether a physical Super Deluxe Version of any record will be made available or not. Those "playlists" do not do justice to his work at all but since he is not bothered to release anything Police related from the vault one can only assume that the same rule applies to his solo output as well. The much rumored 4CD box of Regatta de Blanc has yet to see the light of day. Next, please....

    Reply

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