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. We're pleased to kick things off with another four Record Store Day titles making their way to stream and download, followed by a classic, underrated R&B work and some new music we're digging today, as well.

Neil Finn, Sessions At West 54th (Epic/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)

Well, that's Mike's Record Store Day sorted! This indelible live set from the Crowded House frontman - taped as part of PBS' Sessions At West 54th to promote his 1999 solo debut Try Whistling This - is now available to hear off vinyl.

Thompson Twins, Into the Gap Live! (BMG) (Apple / Amazon)

Another treat from the RSD racks this year: a live set from the Thompson Twins in support of mainstream breakthrough Into the Gap, remastered and expanded last year for its 40th anniversary. Previously only available on video, you can now take the audio with you wherever you quick step and side kick.

Shudder to Think, Pony Express Record (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Epic/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)

One of the more unusual indie-to-major transitions in '90s alt-rock, D.C. rockers Shudder to Think made waves with their genre-bending Pony Express Record in 1994, considered to be one of the decade's more challenging and rewarding listens. Like Legacy's 2LP reissue, it includes five updated recordings of some of the band's earlier works, cut during the Pony Express sessions in 1994. (Founding frontman Craig Wedren and longtime/Pony-era members Nathan Larson on guitar and Adam Wade on drums recently performed their first set as Shudder to Think since 2013, adding bassist Jherek Bischoff and guitarist Clint Walsh to the fold.)

The Boomtown Rats, Dawn of the Rats: B-Sides, Demos and Live 1975-1979 (Mercury/UMR) (Apple / Amazon)

Here's a collection of early, raw live demos from Bob Geldof and The Boomtown Rats, including the four songs which earned the Rats a recording contract. The live tracks are supplemented by the band's earliest B-sides, some of which have never appeared on CD or LP.

Bruce Springsteen, "Blind Spot" (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)

Another song from Tracks II is up for discovery; this time, it's the lead track from the synth-and-loop-heavy, maybe-it's-a-hip-hop-album Streets of Philadelphia Sessions from 1993.

The Unifics, Sittin' in At the Court of Love (Deluxe Edition) (Kapp/UMe) (Apple (TBD) / Amazon)

Washington, D.C. vocal group The Unifics hit it big out of college with their solidly soulful Sittin' in At the Court of Love, released in 1968. Featuring striking covers of The Beatles ("A Hard Day's Night"), Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA" and the Bacharach-David immorrtal "This Guy's in Love with You," Court of Love also featured the de facto title track, a Top 40 pop hit that climbed to No. 3 on the R&B charts and boasted an arranger credit for a rising talent in the genre named Donny Hathaway, who also co-wrote the album track "Which One Should I Choose" with frontman Al Johnson. (Johnson would later write arrangements for Tata Vega.) Five non-LP single tracks from the group's Kapp sessions have been added to this digital reissue.

Little Hag, "Show Me Your Head" (Rhyme & Reason) (Apple)

New Jersey-raised singer/songwriter Avery Mandeville made a splash with the Bar/None standouts Leash (2021) and NOW That's What I Call Little Hag! (2024). Now she's got a down-and-dirty, minute-long rocker that makes plain her feelings on the American oligarchy.

Megan from Work, "Life Into a Movie" (self-released) (Apple / Amazon)

Megan Simon, a terrific singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist based in New Hampshire, released a great pop-punk album last year called Girl Suit and is following that up with a swoon-worthy new track that's bound to get stuck in your head.

Finally, TSD would like to take a moment to remember the late musician, singer, producer, arranger, and composer Nino Tempo (1935-2025). Nino, born Antonino LoTiempo in Niagara Falls, New York, was a musical renaissance man. To some, he's best remembered for sweetly harmonizing with his sister April on their chart-topping, Grammy Award-winning recording of "Deep Purple" in 1963. To others, he's well known as Phil Spector's right hand, not only playing saxophone, piano, drums, and guitars as part of Spector's Wall of Sound but arranging songs for Cher, Darlene Love, Dion, and John Lennon. Nino could out-Spector his friend, too, as evidenced by his thunderous recordings with April of "All Strung Out" and "The Habit of Lovin' You, Baby." Just as delightful is "You'll Be Needing Me Baby," written by a pre-Bread David Gates and featuring Nino and April at their sunniest.  Nino's heart was with his saxophone, and he continued to record sublime jazz albums through the mid-1990s. (His solo career began in 1956 with Nino Tempo's Rock 'n Roll Beach Party!) In 2018, our friends at Omnivore Recordings compiled the best of Nino's Atlantic jazz recordings on the compilation Purveyor of Balladry.  In my review for TSD, I observed that "'Class' is the word for these thirteen recordings...Purveyor of Balladry makes a strong case for Nino Tempo as a sax man in the grand tradition of Stan Getz or Paul Desmond, bringing impeccable musicality and a strong accessibility to his recordings." The very next day, I was shocked to find an email in my inbox from Mr. Tempo himself. It read, in part, "Wow!! Do You Hear! AND DO YOU RECOGNIZE! Hi Joe, man, you sure know what you're hearing. You didn't miss a trick, not a nuance, not a slur, not a grace note...How you know so much about my history is not only flattering but amazing...Thanks for summing it all up with one word...'Class.'" I was floored that he would have taken the time to read my thoughts on his album, let alone take the time to reach out to me about them, and I will never forget his kindness. He was a rare man, indeed; Nino Tempo exemplified class as well as talent, determination, and endurance. His contributions to the sound of American popular music will always be remembered. Let's raise a toast to Nino with some of his finest recordings! -JM

Nino Tempo & April Stevens, Deep Purple (ATCO, 1963) (Apple / Amazon)

Nino Tempo & April Stevens, Sing the Great Songs (ATCO, 1964) (Apple / Amazon)

Nino Tempo & April Stevens, All Strung Out (White Whale, 1967 (Apple / Amazon)

Nino Tempo (with Roberta Flack and Rachele Cappelli) Tenor Saxophone (Atlantic, 1990) (Apple / Amazon)