Features / The Weekend Stream

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. Looks like some well-known songwriters on each side of the Atlantic have something to say about current events; plus, unearthed tracks and reissues from The Cure, Sia and more.

Bruce Springsteen, “Streets of Minneapolis” (Columbia) (Apple / Amazon)

If you weren’t happy about TSD saying anything about ICE’s presence in Minneapolis in last Saturday’s column, you’re probably not going to like this. Hopefully one little angry protest song from one of the most notable rock musicians of the last 60 years isn’t going to bother anyone here.

Billy Bragg, “City of Heroes” (Cooking Vinyl) (Apple / Amazon)

Uh-oh! Make that two.

The Cure, Boys Don’t Cry (86 Mix) (Elektra/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

Though only The Cure’s second single, 1979’s punchy “Boys Don’t Cry” has developed a considerable reputation among the band’s catalogue; the track recently eclipsed a billion streams worldwide. To celebrate, the band is dusting off a genuine rarity: frontman Robert Smith re-recorded his vocal and remixed the track to promote the 1986 compilation Standing on a Beach: The Singles. This “New Voice – New Mix” version only appeared on that original 7″ until now: a new EP collects a new remaster alongside three outtakes from the same session (“Plastic Passion,” the original 1979 B-side, and “Pillbox Tales” and “Do the Hansa,” the ’86 flipsides) and a 12″ club mix also released in 1986. Best of all? New 7″, 12″ and CD single pressings are also available!

The Style Council, Café Bleu (Special Edition) (Polydor/UMR) (Apple / Amazon)

This new 6CD box set (or 3LP set) was supposed to be available yesterday, but Paul Weller’s social channels informed fans that some sort of unspecified “audio issue” led to a total product recall. The box will now be available May 15; in the meantime, a version of the box (including everything but the live BBC audio, which should come out as a digital product later) is available now for fans to preview or purchase.

Sia, This is Acting (10th Anniversary Edition) (Monkey Puzzle/RCA/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)

Primarily known as a songwriter for others with a modest indie-pop career, Sia Furler got an unexpected boost in 2014 when her maximalist crashout “Chandelier” reached the Top 10 in America. Follow-up This is Acting – so named because the songs were intended for other artists to sing – soared even higher thanks to the chart-topping “Cheap Thrills.” To mark a decade since the Australian mastermind reached her highest highs, this digital reissue combines extra tracks from previous deluxe and retail-exclusive editions (including single mixes of “Cheap Thrills” and “The Greatest,” featuring respective guest verses from Sean Paul and Kendrick Lamar), a few rare dance mixes and a live take on “Bird Set Free.”

Karla Bonoff, New World / Live / All My Life: Mellow Gold (Valley Entertainment)

New World: Apple / Amazon
Live: Apple / Amazon
All My Life: Amazon

Three titles new to streaming (or with a new deal in place) from the inimitable singer/songwriter Karla Bonoff: 1988’s New World, which featured the superb “All My Life” (later a Grammy-winning hit for friend Linda Ronstadt and duet partner Aaron Neville); a 2007 live album, and a six-track EP comprised of tracks from both releases.

Sananda Maitreya, A Slice of Shepherd’s Pie (Live) (TreeHouse Publishing) (Apple)

The soulful Sananda Maitreya made a return to performing in England last year after about two decades away (not long after he’d changed his name from Terence Trent D’Arby). Ahead of a full live album planned for this year comes a three-track EP of originals (including two that, it seems, may be exclusive to this release).

Judy Rodman, Judy (MTM) (Apple / Amazon)

Judy Rodman spent part of the ’70s and ’80s as a dependable backing vocalist in Nashville (credits include releases by Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Janie Fricke and Crystal Gayle) before her number came up as a solo artist. With producer Tommy West (who, with Terry Cashman, co-produced all of Jim Croce’s hit albums), Rodman recorded 1985’s Judy for the short-lived MTM label (yes, an imprint of Mary Tyler Moore’s production company!) and even enjoyed two Top 10 country hits for her trouble: the chart-topping ballad “Until I Met You” and No. 9 follow-up “She Thinks That She’ll Marry.” The fine folks at SuperVisible Multi Media helped get this one up; Rodman recorded more works for MTM (including at least one album that was never released), and we hope great things are in the cards for both of them!

Dion and The Belmonts, Together Again (Dion Productions/Reservoir Media) (Apple / Amazon)

In 1966, Dion DiMucci reunited with his old friends The Belmonts – Fred Milano, Carlo Mastrangelo, and Angelo D’Aleo – at New York’s Regent Sound to record the ABC Records album appropriately entitled Together Again. The album’s repertoire was truly varied, from the single “Berimbau” (written by Brazil’s Vinicius deMoraes and Baden Powell) to the Gershwins’ “But Not for Me” and Bob Dylan’s “Baby You’ve Been on My Mind.” Though the times they were a-changin’ – Dion’s elegiac solo hit “Abraham, Martin, and John” would arrive in 1968 – the group’s street-corner blend remained as flawless as ever. Together Again has never appeared officially on CD in full, making this digital premiere all the more welcome; note that this presentation is of the original mono mix.

Melissa Errico with Tedd Firth, I Can Dream, Can’t I? (Three Graces Music) (Apple / Amazon)

Broadway’s Melissa Errico (My Fair Lady, Amour, High Society) returns with a new album on which she’s paired with accompanist Tedd Firth.  I Can Dream, Can’t I? features luminous new interpretations of Great American Songbook favorites spanning 1930-1979 including songs from Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh (“When in Rome”), Frank Loesser (“Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year”), Peggy Lee (“There’ll Be Another Spring”), Joni Mitchell (“Both Sides Now”), and Dori Caymmi and the Bergmans (“Like a Lover”).

Passings

One of the most vital crossover session players from Jamaica, drummer Sly Dunbar (1952-2026) was, often alongside longtime musical partner/bassist Robbie Shakespeare, one of the foremost drummers in reggae, performing with Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Upsetters, Peter Tosh and Black Uhuru before collaborating with Grace Jones, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Chaka Demus & Pliers, No Doubt and many others over a prolific career as a player and producer. His was a special link between the rhythms of his homeland and the rhythm and blues that powered the best pop/rock music of America and Europe.

Raised in the soulful scene of south Philadelphia in the ’70s and ’80s, Bryan Loren (1966-2026) cut his teeth as a session musician before playing keyboards in Fat Larry’s Band and Cashmere. He scored two minor national R&B hits with solo tracks “Lollipop Luv” and “Do You Really Love Me” – but it was his brief crossover into production that earned him the most acclaim. He worked briefly with the likes of Barry White, Shanice, Chanté Moore and even Sting, overseeing his solo Top 10 hit “We’ll Be Together” in 1987. Crucially, he was one of the first producers to work with Michael Jackson after his tenure with Quincy Jones. Though none of their material made 1991’s Dangerous (and only one co-write, “Superfly Sister,” was released during Jackson’s lifetime), it is believed Jackson was involved with Loren on turning out an unlikely groove (and unlikelier worldwide hit) for animated TV icon Bart Simpson on “Do the Bartman.”

Finally: while she was known for making generations laugh on screens big and small (SCTV, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, four Christopher Guest mockumentaries including Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, Schitt’s Creek), the sudden passing of Canadian actress/comedian Catherine O’Hara yesterday reminds us she had a lovely voice, too. (Her sister, Mary Margaret O’Hara, is a professional musician.) Catherine’s sweet fragility powered “Sally’s Song” from the Tim Burton-produced cult classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, and she was the perfect foil for Eugene Levy in Guest’s A Mighty Wind; their signature tune as folk duo Mitch & Mickey, “A Kiss At the End of the Rainbow,” is even more powerful now that she’s gone.