The Weekend Stream: January 17, 2025
Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. New music from country and soul icons and a reissue of a big pop album for its 25th anniversary kick things off, plus some appealing odds and ends from other corners of the music world.
Al Green, To Love Somebody (Fat Possum) (Apple / Amazon)
The Hi Priest of Memphis soul issues his first bundle of tracks since 2008’s full-length Lay It Down, all of which are covers and two of which are previously released. (An alternate version of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” without vocals from RAYE, dropped in 2023, and his take on R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” followed a year later.) The EP is rounded out by another Reed cover – The Velvet Underground’s “I Found a Reason” – and the title track, originally by the Bee Gees.
Jennifer Lopez, J.Lo (25th Anniversary Edition) (Epic/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)
Actor/singer/dancer Jennifer Lopez followed up debut On the 6 – and introduced a lasting nickname – on her 2001 sophomore album, featuring the Top 5 hit “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” and chart-toppers “I’m Real” and “Ain’t It Funny.” This new digital deluxe edition – also coming to 2LP, naturally – features a host of new and rare tracks, including “Crazy (Nobody Else),” a new mix of single “Play” by drag queen and musician Trixie Mattel, Spanish language versions of “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” and “Ain’t It Funny,” and the hit “Murder” remixes of “Real” and “Funny” featuring rapper Ja Rule (and, on “Funny,” Murder Inc. rapper Cadillac Tah).
Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Reba McEntire, Queen Latifah & Lainey Wilson, Light of a Clear Blue Morning (Butterfly) (Apple / Amazon)
Dolly Parton is marking her 80th birthday with a new re-recording of her 1977 song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning.” Originally released on her New Harvest…First Gathering album, the song was a reflection of her independence from Porter Wagoner and her personal and artistic rebirth. Dolly earlier reinterpreted the song on both the Straight Talk soundtrack and her For God and Country album; for this celebratory version, she’s been joined by goddaughter Miley Cyrus, country stars Reba McEntire and Lainey Wilson, and even actor/rapper/singer Queen Latifah.
Nick Miller, “Every Single Night” (self-released) (Bandcamp)
An appealing Brooklyn singer/songwriter with a penchant for Nick Lowe/Dave Edmunds-esque pop/rock, Miller has put out his first single in almost a year. “Every Single Night” is an appealing, lovelorn track bolstered by a Costello-esque vocal delivery and Southwestern-style accordion chords.
Jim Reeves, Songs to Warm the Heart (RCA) (Apple / Amazon)
This new-to-digital 1959 album from Gentleman Jim (perfect for the frigid temperatures in the Northeast right now!) featured the song “Am I Losing You” – two versions of which (in 1957 and 1960) reached the Top 10 of Billboard‘s country chart. (A cover by Ronnie Milsap topped Billboard‘s country survey in 1981.)
Ghost, “It’s a Sin” (Loma Vista/Concord) (Apple / Amazon)
This Pet Shop Boys cover was previously only available on a 7″ with copies of the theatrical Swedish rockers’ 2018 album Prequelle.
Gloria Onitiri, Our Lady of the Underground (Arts Music/Sing It Again) (Apple / Amazon)
Warner Music Group’s Arts Music imprint and Sing It Again Records have released a new single from the Original London Cast Recording of Hadestown. “Our Lady of the Underground,” from Anais Mitchell’s Tony Award-winning score, is performed by Gloria Onitiri, the original Persephone in the London company of the musical. Hadestown: Live from London is available now digitally as well as on CD and in deluxe and standard vinyl editions.
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Always glad to see a vintage country album returned to availability.
“Songs To Warm The Heart” was Jim Reeves’ sixth RCA album release [July 1959] and the second to be issued in both mono and stereo versions. Other than the two Jim Reeves Bear Family CD box sets this entire album has not received a digital release.
In late July 1958 Jim was one of the first artists to take advantage of the newly installed stereo console and multi-track recorder in RCA’s Nashville Studio B. Sessions for Jim’s 5th RCA album, “God Be With You,” an LP of sacred songs began late that month. Late that year in December and during mid-January 1959 three sessions completed tracks for the “Songs To Warm The Heart” album.
At the dawn of the stereo era in the late 1950’s, record producers and engineers had no standard for mixing stereo. Clearly they were figuring it out on the fly. Like some other record labels RCA’s early stereo country releases usually had lead vocals (with some instrumentation) in one track (usually left channel) with the remaining instruments in the right channel often with the back-up singers. That configuration provided the listener a rather lop-sided experience unless they were sitting equal distance from both stereo speakers.
Unfortunately this “Songs To Warm The Heart” release suffers from that configuration. With today’s digital technology & tools the remastering engineer could have been easily rebalanced the tracks to a modern stereo mix with the vocal in both channels.