Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. This holiday weekend, three long-running digital initiatives by three very different artists had their latest installments release. Let's check them out!
Duran Duran, Notorious / Skin Trade / Meet El Presidente EPs (Parlophone)
Notorious: iTunes / Amazon
Skin Trade: iTunes / Amazon
Meet El Presidente: iTunes / Amazon
Duran Duran's digital EP series continues into the Notorious era. Remixes and B-sides for the album's singles - the hit title track, "Skin Trade" and "Meet El Presidente" - have surfaced, but "Skin Trade" appears to only be available outside of America at present. (As of July 10, it's available worldwide.) We suspect that it has to do with the use of the original single cover (which wasn't even utilized in the Singles 1986-1995 box set), which featured a heavily airbrushed behind that was perhaps too "cheeky" for Apple and Amazon's U.S. stores. Bummer! (Thanks to reader Johnny Kalifornia on X for letting us know it was live in the U.K.!)
The Alan Parsons Project, Vulture Culture (2024 Remaster) / Vulture Culture (Sessions) (Arista/Legacy)
Vulture Culture: iTunes / Amazon
Sessions: iTunes / Amazon
Alan Parsons and five vocalists, including stalwarts Eric Woolfson, Lenny Zakatek and Colin Blunstone, power this 1984 album - the only APP project that didn't feature orchestration by Andrew Powell. A hit in Europe, Vulture Culture has been newly remastered, and the bonus material from a previous reissue (plus some rare single edits) have been compiled onto a separate release.
Duke Ellington, Ellington in Order, Volume 8 (1937) (Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon)
Finally, the third ongoing series covered in today's Stream is Legacy Recordings' Ellington in Order volumes, now covering 1937 in full - the year Duke Ellington issued the immortal "Caravan." It's presented here alongside four dozen other master takes and alternates, all featuring Ellington as bandleader or sideman to a host of other acts on Sony-controlled labels and repertoire.
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Weird that the original sleeve art for Duran Duran's Skin Trade would be an issue, Amazon currently has both Simple Pleasures by The Tindersticks and Pure by The Golden Palominos with the original album sleeve art and both are a helluva lot more detailed, Freaking puritanical country.
Duran Duran's Skin Trade EP on Spotify with the bum on the cover (in Australia at least) includes the S.O.S. Dub & Parisian Mix which were only on promos previously.