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 new singles from Blondie and Olivia Rodrigo (the latter with a high-profile alt-pop pal), 30th anniversary treats from Hootie & The Blowfish and Madonna, a milestone for our friends at SuperVisible Multi Media and another late-round triumph tied to cinema’s favorite boxer.

Hootie & The Blowfish, Fairweather Johnson (Deluxe Edition) (Atlantic/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

Following up a commercial juggernaut like Cracked Rear View wasn’t going to be easy. But the sophomore album from South Carolina pop/rockers Hootie & The Blowfish, released in 1996, kind of went the hard way: a denser, less hook-filled album that debuted atop the Billboard 200 but only ended up selling a fraction of the tens of millions its predecessor did. That said, the band must have some faith in Fairweather Johnson, because this new digital deluxe edition is the equivalent of a 3CD set. It’s got the remastered album, more than a dozen B-sides and outtakes, and selections from two live shows, including an outdoor homecoming concert at the University of South Carolina that was taped for MTV Unplugged and part of a 1997 set in Hong Kong. (The Unplugged portion will be released on vinyl for Record Store Day Black Friday on November 27.)

Blondie, “Spectral Eyes” (BMG Rights Management U.K.) (Apple / Amazon)

A decade after 2017’s Pollinator, it’s High Noon for Blondie next year. The band’s 12th studio record, to be released February 26, will reunite Deborah Harry, Chris Stein and bandmates with Pollinator producer John Congleton and a host of guests. Lead single “Spectral Eyes” is written by and features guest guitar from Johnny Marr of The Smiths, with Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols moving from touring to studio bassist at least here. The track, and several others, will also feature the last work of the band’s longtime drummer Clem Burke, who died of cancer in 2025.

Olivia Rodrigo & Chappell Roan, “expectations” (Interscope) (Apple / Amazon)

Olivia Rodrigo’s third album, this year’s you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, maintained her position as pop’s favorite alt-rocker, with the Top 5 singles “drop dead” (a U.S. chart-topper), “the cure” and “stupid song” as well as deeper cuts like “what’s wrong with me,” featuring Robert Smith of The Cure as a duet partner. For the album’s fourth single, “expectations,” Rodrigo and co-writer/producer Dan Nigro brought in friend and alt-pop sensation Chappell Roan (who sang backing vocals on Rodrigo’s album Sour in 2023, before her own debut went supernova a year later) to duet on the track and appear in the song’s new video, which features game show parodies and a semi-hapless host played by David Byrne.

Madonna, You Must Love Me EP (Warner/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

To coincide with the new 30th anniversary CD and vinyl pressings of the soundtrack to the Madonna-led film adaptation of Evita, this digital EP offers “You Must Love Me,” the Oscar-winning new song original composer and lyricist Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice penned for the picture. B-sides include the tune “Rainbow High” and a non-album orchestral version.

The RH Factor, Hard Groove Remix (Verve) (Apple / Amazon)

Yesterday would have been the birthday of celebrated modern jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, who died at the too-young age of 49 in 2018. To celebrate, Verve put up a pair of remixes tied to 2003’s Hard Groove, an album credited to Hargrove’s hip-hop/jazz/soul combo The RH Factor. Hard Groove featured guest appearances from some heavy hitters, including Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, Common and Me’Shell NdegéOcello, backed by a custom group assembled by Hargrove. The tracks featured are “Poetry,” as remixed by DJ Spinna, and “Forget Regret,” as reinterpreted by remixer Quantic.

Bill Conti, the STEPS (Solo Piano Original Soundtrack) (Rani Music) (Apple / Amazon)

With the 50th anniversary of Rocky driving a lot of entertainment, from a limited theatrical reisssue next month to a three-track EP we covered here a few weeks ago, the film’s star and writer, Sylvester Stallone, has done something really interesting for his recently-published memoir The Steps. Audiobook listeners of this chronicle of Sly’s early years leading through the making of Rocky (also depicted in the forthcoming biopic I Play Rocky, conceived and developed separately from this book) will hear some original piano music by composer Bill Conti, who wrote the scores to five of the six films in the series. Now, his music can be heard separate from the audiobook, including renditions of the Oscar-nominated theme song “Gonna Fly Now” and other classic cues from the original film.

Leo Sayer, Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow (Live in Melbourne) (Silverbird/Edsel) (Apple / Amazon)

This 2008 live set from the “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” singer – recorded just a year before the U.K.-born Sayer moved to the Australian continent – gets its first release outside of this year’s box set Leothology: The Studio Albums 1973-Now.

The Levellers, Levelling the Land (35th Anniversary Edition) (China/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

The sophomore album from the British folk rock band goes large for its 35th anniversary, with a new mix from original engineer Al Scott, a collection of B-sides and outtakes, and a selection of unreleased demos. (It’s all available as a 3CD set, as well.)

Lois Walden, Traveller (Warner/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

An accomplished writer of novels, essays and even librettos to opera – not to mention a brave career as a “death doula” volunteering with hospice services – Lois Walden had an undeservedly forgotten career as a singer/songwriter in the ’90s, cutting an album as The Sisters of Glory alongside luminaries Thelma Houston, CeCe Peniston, Phoebe Snow and Albertina Walker. Her second and final solo album was 1997’s Traveller, an intriguing folk-inspired album that gets a second look thanks to the work of SuperVisible Multi Media.

Wynn Stewart, In Love (Capitol) (Apple / Amazon)

SuperVisible also helped deliver this 1968 album by Bakersfield country pioneer Wynn Stewart, featuring several songs from writer Dale Noe, who penned his country chart-topper “It’s Such a Pretty World Today.”

Mark Isham, Songs My Children Taught Me (Windham Hill) (Apple / Amazon)

And with this 1991 collection of suites featuring music from several “Rabbit Ears Storybook Classics” the New Age keyboardist and Oscar-nominated film composer wrote and performed in the late ’80s, SuperVisible has now helped digitally deliver more than 1000 tracks to streaming and download partners! Great job to the SVMM team!

Dave Alvin, Blackjack David (Deluxe Edition / Remastered 2026) (Craft Recordings) (Apple / Amazon)

Nearly two decades after co-founding roots-rockers The Blasters with his brother Phil, Dave Alvin’s 1998 Blackjack David gets expanded with two bonus cuts.

Harry Chapin, Stories, Tales, Balderdash and Other Love Songs (Elektra/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

An odd new compilation for Harry Chapin features nine deep cuts primarily from his first four albums for Elektra (all of which contribute to the title in some way); it does not, however, feature his biggest hits, debut single “Taxi” or the chart-topping smash “Cat’s in the Cradle.”

Talking Heads, The Name of This Band Member is Jerry (Warner/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

The second curated compilation from the Talking Heads features the favorite songs of keyboardist Jerry Harrison.

Nina Simone, Verve Remixed // Nina Simone (Verve) (Apple / Amazon)

The first artist-centered title in the Verve Remixed series offers eight ambient and avant-garde reinterpretations of material by Nina Simone. (It’s also available on vinyl.)

The Tuneabomber (Original Cast Recording) (Joy Machine) (Apple / Amazon)

We’ll let this one speak for itself: “The TUNEabomber is set at a parole board hearing, where Ted Kaczynski (aka The Unabomber) recounts his life through song in the hope of proving that he never wanted to be a monster, he only wanted to be a star. While he may have spent years sending explosives, this is one performance Ted can’t bomb. With direction by Liz Power, this musical comedy dares to ask the question no one needed an answer to: What if this notorious eco-terrorist was the next Bob Fosse?” This irreverent musical comedy written and performed by John Lampe and Michael Wysong has played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Kansas City Fringe, and was selected as a participant in the third annual Broadway Shark Tank at Open Jar Studios. It has also played cities including Los Angeles, St. Louis, Austin, and Columbus. Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein guests on the cast recording, which will be available in physical format at venues hosting the musical – including two performances in Boston on November 7.