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. A real grab bag for you before the Thanksgiving holiday: cut songs from Broadway comedies, rarities from a '60s soul/rock legend, an inexplicably remastered charity single, rare 12" mixes and remastered jazz. Have a listen, won't you??
Various Artists, Monty Python's Spamalot (Original Broadway Cast Recording/20th Anniversary Edition) (Decca Broadway) (Apple / Amazon)
Something to (always) look on the bright side of life over: a new reissue of the music to the unsurprisingly irreverent stage version of Monty Python and The Holy Grail - a winner of three Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical (for stage and film veteran Mike Nichols). It now features a song cut from the production after previews in Chicago: "The Cow Song," a number for the cast's Tony winner Sara Ramirez. (The soundtrack, with this cut song, also features on a new gold vinyl edition with new liner notes.)
U.S.A. for Africa, "We Are the World" (Remastered) (U.S.A. for Africa) (Apple / Amazon)
Not sure why now, but the 1985 mega-charity single - and the impetus for last year's surprisingly great documentary The Greatest Night in Pop - has been remastered, a few months past its 40th anniversary. (There's also a Dolby Atmos mix for Apple Music users.)
Various Artists, Sly Stone in the Studio: 1963 to 1966 (Warner Music/X5) (Apple / Amazon)
An engaging little collection that squeaked by us last month, this 17-song collection offers songs written, performed or produced by pop/rock/soul legend Sly Stone in the years before he signed to Epic with his groundbreaking band Sly and The Family Stone. These sides include rarities and novelties by the likes of Bobby Freeman ("C'mon and Swim"), The Beau Brummels ("Underdog") and Gloria Scott & The Tonettes ("Don't Say I Didn't Warn You"), spanning labels from Warner Bros. to Autumn Records.
Talk Talk, I Believe in You EP (Parlophone/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)
Though most of the non-album material from U.K. art-rockers Talk Talk was compiled on the digitally-available collection A-Sides Besides (1997), Rhino has issued a digital EP replicating the Spirit of Eden-era single "I Believe in You," featuring its non-album B-sides, "John Cope" and an edit of "Eden," along with a rare single edit of the track.
Goldfrapp, Supernature (20th Anniversary Edition) (Mute/BMG) (Apple)
The third album from Allison Goldfrapp and musical collaborator Will Gregory (known to Tears for Fears fans as their saxophonist on tours for The Hurting and Songs from the Big Chair) was their most commercially successful, with the LP and singles "Ooh La La" and "Number One" all reaching the Top 10 of charts in the U.K. (with the latter two singles also topping Billboard's dance survey). It's now available with a collection of B-sides, remixes and rare live session performances for its two-decade mark. (A 2CD/Blu-ray Audio version is also available.)
Foreigner, "That Was Yesterday" (Atlantic/WEA) (Apple / Amazon)
A couple of rarer 12" versions have made their way to digital courtesy of Warner Music's overseas arm. Foreigner's "That Was Yesterday" was the Top 20 follow-up to the smash "I Want to Know What Love Is," both of which came from the album Agent Provacateur. The digital EP includes its original B-side (album track "Two Different Worlds") as well as, for the first time digitally, one of the rock band's few 12" remixes.
Al Jarreau, "Moonlighting" (Extended Remix) (WEA International) (Apple / Amazon)
Recently included on a compilation from Cherry Red, the long single version of Jarreau's theme to the hit NBC comedy Moonlighting (a version produced by Nile Rodgers!) recently made its digital debut as well.
Jill Sobule, "I Kissed a Girl" (Atlantic) (Apple / Amazon)
Sobule's quirky sapphic smash (a minor Billboard pop hit in 1995 remembered for its colorful video co-starring model Fabio and an identical title to Katy Perry's debut single) turned 30 this year - a bittersweet note, considering Sobule passed away this past spring after a house fire. This digital EP offers album cut "Resistance Song" and a live version of "Kissed" as B-sides.
Lalo Schifrin, Lalo = Brilliance: The Piano of Lalo Schifrin (Parlophone/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)
A 1962 album, originally released on the Roulette label, that features bossa nova originals and some choice covers (Jobim's "Desafinado," Monk's "Rhythm-a-Ning"). It predates by several years the Argentinian-born composer's impressive crossover into the world of film and television scoring, perhaps most notably the theme to the spy series Mission: Impossible (utilized in all eight films in Tom Cruise's stunt-filled series, including this summer's closer The Final Reckoning, which hit theaters about a month after Schifrin's passing at the age of 93).
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Space Junk (Snakefarm) (Apple / Amazon)
Released on vinyl for Record Store Day this spring, here's a 20-track instrumental collection, trafficking in surf and rockabilly styles, from country legend Stuart and his band of more than 20 years. (A CD is available next week; all sport a neat cover featuring original artwork from trumpeter Herb Alpert!)
Sonny Rollins, Plus 4 (Remastered 2025) (Prestige/Craft) (Apple / Amazon)
Seminal saxophonist Rollins (retired but still with us at 95 years old!) was making strides in the '50s, kicking a debilitating heroin habit and briefly joining Miles Davis' quintet before taking up with the Clifford Brown/Max Roach quintet. An in-demand composer and would-be bandleader in his own right, Rollins struck a deal with Prestige parallel to the quintet's contract with EmArcy, with the intention for the ensemble to be used on both deals. Plus 4 (featuring two originals and a cover of Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)" among its tracks) and Clifford Brown and Max Roach At Basing Street were the only albums the ensemble would record on those contracts; Brown and quintet pianist Richie Powell were killed in a car accident before Plus 4 was released in the summer of 1956.
Wes Montgomery, Boss Guitar (Remastered 2025) (Prestige/Craft) (Apple / Amazon)
An affable 1963 album from the jazz guitar legend, augmented by organist Melvin Rhyne and drummer Jimmy Cobb and featuring reads of standards like "Besame Mucho" and "Days of Wine and Roses."
Release Round-Up: Week of November 21
The Weekend Stream: November 15, 2025
Release Round-Up: Week of November 7
Release Round-Up: Week of October 31
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