Features / The Weekend Stream

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. We’ve got throwbacks to the ’90s and the ’00s, a legend of film music conducting live for America, some deluxe editions of the  current top-selling album in the country from a timeless pop icon, and so, so much more!

Mariah Carey, Daydream (30th Anniversary Edition) (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)

A sweet, sweet fantasy came true for all the Lambs out there: a semi-surprise expansion of Mariah’s fifth album, which saw her leaning in a more R&B and even hip-hop adjacent direction and getting handsomely rewarded for it. The Tom Tom Club-sampling “Fantasy,” the Boyz II Men collab “One Sweet Day” and the dreamy ballad “Always Be My Baby” all topped the Billboard Hot 100, with “Sweet” planting there for 16 straight weeks – a record unbroken until Lil Nas X’s country/hip-hop hybrid “Old Town Road” bested it in 2019. This deluxe edition, which will be getting physical formats we’ll detail in a future post, offers vintage remixes, unissued outtakes, live material and even some extended a cappella versions of some of the standout tracks.

John Williams with The United States Marine Band, John Williams and “The President’s Own,” Vol. 3 (Naxos) (Apple / Amazon)

Classical label Naxos surprised John Williams fans recently by licensing two performances the Maestro led the United States Marine Band in from 2003 and 2008 for physical release (after years of being available as a free download). Now, they’ve surprised again with a third performance, with a cover image so nearly identical to the previous release that it took us weeks to realize it was something different. This concert took place in 2023, making it one of his last appearances as conductor to date, and features selections from the scores to the Star Wars saga, the Indiana Jones series (including that year’s then-new Dial of Destiny) and even the humorous march to Steven Spielberg’s World War II comedy 1941. As if this release wasn’t exciting enough, it’ll be available physically, too!

Michelle Branch feat. New Radicals, “The Game of Love” (BMG) (Apple / Amazon)

Singer/songwriter Michelle Branch rose to prominence in the early ’00s with simple, effective folk-pop jams like “Everywhere,” “All You Wanted” and “Breathe.” For her forthcoming EP Everywhere and Back Again (out November 6), she’s re-recording several of those favorites – and the first single is truly intriguing. Branch teamed up with Santana on 2002’s Top 5 hit “The Game of Love,” which was co-written by Gregg Alexander, briefly the voice of alt-pop act New Radicals before retreating from performance to work as a songwriter for hire. Branch, who participated at Clive Davis’ behest after Tina Turner and Macy Gray recorded versions that didn’t work for various reasons (Turner declined to shoot a video; hers was released later), has cut her own version for Everywhere and Back Again – and she’s gotten a full commitment from Alexander, only his third formal appearance as New Radicals in the 21st century. (He’s also recruited longtime collaborator Danielle Brisebois on backing vocals and Nick Lashley on guitar and keyboards.) Alexander stated that this new version is dedicated to Mr. Davis, but most of all, it’s just nice to hear him sing again.

Carly Rae Jepsen, “After All” (School Boy/Interscope) (Apple / Amazon)

Whee! A romantic new single from CRJ’s forthcoming double album Day and Night, with a summery feeling and a laidback vibe that still allows a generous amount of shuffle dancing around your home.

Madonna, Confessions II: Afterhours Edition / Instrumentals / Grindr Edition (Warner)

Afterhours: Apple / Amazon
Instrumentals: Amazon

The Queen’s 15th album recently became her 10th to top the Billboard 200; naturally, there are some digital bonus versions floating around. The “Afterhours Edition” offers six additional remixes, while HD audio partners and Amazon are also carrying a version that adds the entire album in instrumental form as well as a version first offered through queer dating app Grindr, which includes a short live set she performed last month in Manhattan’s Times Square.

Andy Partridge, Fuzzy Warbles Vol. 8 (Ape House) (Apple / Amazon)

The final regular volume in the XTC co-chief’s mid-’00s demo archive collection is now digitally available alongside the rest, with the album’s improbably Swedish title even replicated in the metadata. (We left it off here.) No word if the box set-exclusive ninth disc, Hinges, will make its way to streamers and download sites in another two weeks.

The All-American Rejects, Move Along (Deluxe Edition) / Move Along (Live and Acoustic) (Interscope)

Move Along: Apple / Amazon
Live and Acoustic: Apple / Amazon

Oklahoma power-pop-punkers The All-American Rejects shot for the back of the arena with their sophomore album in 2005 and succeeded, with “Dirty Little Secret” and “It Ends Tonight” reaching the U.S. Top 10 (and the terrific title track hitting No. 15 – God, for a time when bands were doing this regularly!). A new deluxe edition – soon to be released physically – adds three studio B-sides. It’s different from a different digital deluxe edition out there – but there’s also a “Live and Acoustic” version that rounds up an assortment of live tracks from the period, some (but not all) of which are on that different deluxe edition. Confusing, but still – great, nostalgic pop-rock!

Hot Chip, The Warning (20th Anniversary Edition) / Made in the Dark (Expanded Edition) / One Life Stand (Expanded Edition) (Domino)

Warning: Apple / Amazon
Dark: Apple / Amazon
Stand: Apple / Amazon

The British synthpop act just reissued their second, third and fourth albums on LP and CD, and have treated digital listeners with rarities-packed deluxe editions of the same albums. (Perplexingly, the bonus offerings for 2010’s One Life Stand are markedly shorter than initial press reports.)

Portugal. The Man, In the Mountain in the Cloud (Deluxe Edition) (Atlantic/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

Year’s before the 2017 hit “Feel It Still,” 2011’s In the Mountain in the Cloud marked the major-label debut of alt-rockers Portugal. The Man. Alongside a heavy-duty summer tour, the album has been expanded with remixes and rarities galore.

Bobby Timmons, This Here is Bobby Timmons (Remastered 2026) (Craft Recordings) (Apple / Amazon)

A pianist with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Cannonball Adderley’s group, Bobby Timmons arguably never got his due, thanks in part to the substance abuses that killed him before he turned 40. Much happier to consider is his 1960 debut for Riverside Records (all of 25 years old) and only second as a bandleader, backed by bassist Sam Jones and drummer Jimmy Cobb on stirring renditions of standards like “My Funny Valentine” and “Lush Life” as well as two of Timmons’ most famous originals, “Moanin'” and “Dat Dere.”

They’re Playing Our Song: New Spanish Cast Recording (Concord Theatricals) (Apple / Amazon)

Concord has released the delightful cast recording of the 2024 Teatro del Soho CaixaBank production of Neil Simon, Marvin Hamlisch, and Carole Bayer Sager’s 1979 musical comedy They’re Playing Our Song. Under the direction of the theatre’s founder and Artistic Director Antonio Banderas, Miquel Fernández and María Adamuz star as composer Vernon Gersch and lyricist Sonia Walsk, respectively – characters loosely based by Simon on his collaborators Hamlisch and Sager – in this effervescent and romantic show. The cast album of the Spanish-language production boasts a big, two dozen-strong orchestra supporting the cast on such showstopping numbers as “I Still Believe in Love,” “Just for Tonight,” and the ecstatic title song. Tocando nuestra canción follows Concord’s cast recordings of Teatro del Soho CaixaBank’s stagings of A Chorus Line, Godspell, and Company. It’s out on digital/streaming services today, and a CD is available now for pre-order directly from Concord. The CD includes a lavish booklet with lyrics, color production photos, and a note from Banderas. The digital booklet can be accessed here.

Engelbert Humperdinck, “Drive” (Cleopatra) (Apple / Amazon)

Engelbert Humperdinck, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, tackles The Cars’ classic hit as the first single from his upcoming album Faithfully (due August 28 from Cleopatra). Engelbert is joined on the LP by such guests as Jonathan Cain, Rick Wakeman, Al DiMeola, Ian Anderson, and Eric Gales as he brings his singular style to such favorites as “Beth,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Something,” “Take My Breath Away,” “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” and Journey’s title track.

PASSINGS

A bridge of sorts between traditional synthpop and the burgeoning wave of late-decade sophisti-pop, U.K. trio Johnny Hates Jazz scored a Top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic with “Shattered Dreams,” a song that will surely get stuck in your head when you hit play. JHJ’s Calvin Hayes, whose passing was reported last weekend, was a key player in not only “Shattered Dreams” but the band’s early sound as a multi-instrumentalist and co-producer – skills that certainly rubbed off on him from his father (and founder of the band’s label RAK Records), producer Mickie Most.

So hard it is to imagine that Roy Orbison was quite young (only 52!) when he died of a heart attack in 1988, that it’s also hard to imagine that some of his greatest collaborators might have still shared the earthly plane with us. But Joe Melson, whose July 1 passing was reported on this month, was one of those lucky men. Melson, like Orbison, was an aspiring rockabilly performer – but Melson recognized that Orbison’s voice had the power to cross genres and generations, and so started to hone interesting songs to his writing partner’s unique instrument. The result? Some of the greatest songs of the rock and roll canon: his first major hit, “Only the Lonely,” plus “Blue Angel,” “Running Scared,” the heavenly “Crying” and the cross-generational hit “Blue Bayou,” an even bigger smash for Linda Ronstadt.

Finally, the name Dave Kendall may be obscure among MTV VJs; he was a rotating presence on a specific block from about 1988 to 1991. But that block, which he created for the network as a producer, remains one of the channel’s most significant contributions coming into the end of the ’80s and start of the ’90s: 120 Minutes presided over a supernova of alternative rock during its run from 1986 to 2000, including the world premiere of the video to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Kendall helped give a microphone to a new class of voices in an already crowded monoculture, and for that we remain grateful.