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. A new month brings cult favorites from pop icons, rare demos from rock icons, and some exciting new songs to check out, too.

Mariah Carey, Glitter (Deluxe Edition) (UMe) (Apple / Amazon)

One of pop’s more notorious flops gets its due, 25 years later. Mariah Carey’s film debut in the musical Glitter turned into one of her biggest bombs, limping into theaters after the dual strikes of the September 11 terrorist attacks and a promotional campaign that found the hitmaker’s appearances so erratic that she was hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. While Carey has come to agree that the film was a low point, fans have remained loyal to the soundtrack, which approximates and updates the ’80s period feel with appealing vigor on tracks like the Cameo-sampling No. 2 hit “Loverboy” and “Don’t Stop (Funkin 4 Jamaica).” So, alongside the album’s vinyl debut, a new digital deluxe edition add vintage remixes, rare and unreleased tracks, and much more.

Weezer, 1192 (self-released) (Apple / Amazon)

Released on vinyl for Record Store Day this past spring, this 1992 demo from the long-lasting alt-rockers was rediscovered by original bassist Matt Sharp and remixed with the help of engineer Joe Chicarelli. It features early studio versions of “Undone (The Sweater Song)”,” “Say It Ain’t So” and more.

CHVRCHES, “Overthinker” (Futures) (Apple / Amazon)

Another single from the Scottish synthpop band’s forthcoming fifth album, All the King’s Men, has been released. This is an exciting one: vocalists Lauren Mayberry and Martin Doherty are in fine voice, while Doherty and Iain Cook are moving the band’s sound forward, combining the group’s classic electronic sound with some really simple but cool guitar and bass textures and an unbeatable medley.

Cold War Kids, Robbers & Cowards / Complete Cowards (UMe) (Apple / Amazon)

For its 20th anniversary, the debut album by blues-rockers Cold War Kids has been expanded with a host of non-album tracks and live cuts from the group’s tour in support of the album back in 2007.

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

With the personal picks of drummer Chris Frantz, the Talking Heads digital curation series comes to a happy conclusion. They’ll each make a perfect companion to the just-announced New Feeling, an official coffee table book about the band due in May.

Tears for Fears, Advice for the Young At Heart EP (uDiscover Music) (Apple / Amazon)

Another digital arrangement of the bonus material from the recently reissued deluxe edition of The Seeds of Love, this time combining all the available versions of the album’s third single – the one with the LP’s sole lead vocal for Curt Smith.

Boy Meets Girl, “Elemental” (self-released) (Apple / Amazon)

Songwriters George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam made lightning strike three times in the ’80s, co-writing two massive chart-toppers for Whitney Houston (“How Will I Know,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)”) before scoring their own Top 5 as Boy Meets Girl with 1988’s “Waiting for a Star to Fall.” Though the pair have since divorced, they haven’t stopped collaborating: their most recent album, Five, arrived in 2022, and new single “Elemental” combines vocal and instrumental elements from a previously unheard recording with new production – a gentle, enjoyable pop track from two old favorites.

Glen Burtnik, Heroes & Zeroes (A&M) (Apple / Amazon)

Though not exactly a household name – in fact, the spelling of his surname has changed over the years – New Jersey-raised rocker Glen Burtnik has had an impressive career. He came up in the cast of the Broadway revue Beatlemania in the role of Paul McCartney (Marshall Crenshaw would later join a touring company as John Lennon), wrote hits like the Patty Smyth/Don Henley duet “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough,” and even had a few stints in Styx, starting with their 1990-1991 comeback (where he replaced guitarist Tommy Shaw, then in Damn Yankees, and participated on the Top 5 hit “Show Me the Way”). His second and final solo album for A&M, released in 1987, had a strong rock pedigree, with Journey’s Neal Schon guesting on a large chunk of the album (including lead single “Follow You,” a minor hit) as well as guest appearances by fellow Jersey rocker Southside Johnny Lyon and Bruce Hornsby. With the help of SuperVisible Multi Media, it’s back in digital print for fans to enjoy.

Wynn Stewart, Something Pretty (Capitol Nashville) (Apple / Amazon)

Also delivered with SuperVisible’s aid: the fourth album from “It’s Such a Pretty World Today” singer Wynn Stewart, released in 1968 and featuring the title track, a Top 10 country hit (his last such for nearly a decade).

Love on Ice, Nude (Interscope) (Apple / Amazon)

And one more from SuperVisible: the sole released album by Portland, Oregon-based funk metal band Love on Ice, issued in 1992. (The group had a song the year before on the soundtrack to Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.)

Doris Day, “Pillow Talk” / “Inspiration” (Columbia) (Apple / Amazon)

Legacy brings this single featuring two songs – including the title track – from the 1959 Doris Day/Rock Hudson romantic comedy Pillow Talk to streaming services. (Thanks to reader GDR for pointing this one out!)

Thanks to our pal Tim Dillinger at God’s Music Is My Life for sharing news and blurbs of two long-awaited CCM titles from the Word Records vaults hitting streaming services this weekend!

Teri DeSario, Voices in the Wind (Word/Curb) (Apple / Amazon)

After the success of her CCM debut A Call to Us All (also now streaming), Teri DeSario didn’t choose to follow a safe path for her 1985 follow-up. Voices in the Wind, her second and final album for Word Records’ Dayspring imprint, explored childhood trauma (the title track), earth-centered spirituality (“Celebrate”), the moral conundrums of capitalism (“All Day Thursday”), and took a stand against Christian militarism (“I Don’t Wanna Be a Soldier”). The album earned her a Grammy nomination and four Christian radio hits. It was her last full-length album until 2014’s jazz project, Dream Wandering.

Bobby Jones & New Life, Come Together (Word/Curb) (Apple / Amazon)

While Bobby Jones is most often regarded as a television personality and the leader of the Nashville Superchoir, the public forgets his entry into gospel and contemporary Christian music with his ensemble New Life.  1984’s Come Together is the crown jewel of his years as a contemporary gospel innovator. With super producer Tony Brown (Reba McEntire, Lyle Lovett, Wynonna) at the helm, Jones bridges gospel and contemporary Christian music in a way that has been deeply overlooked. The group interprets Glenn Jones self-empowerment anthem “I Am Somebody” (lead by Jones and Charles Miller) and the Will Jennings/Joe Sample composition “I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today” alongside country superstar Barbara Mandrell with such panache, it’s easy to see why, during this era, the group was navigating in mainstream circles far beyond the confines of gospel.  The album earned Jones, New Life and Mandrell a Grammy for Best Soul Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group.

PASSINGS

A hero in the Pittsburgh and Cleveland areas – the former of which he hailed from – Dominic Ierace rose to prominence as a member of The Jaggerz, who scored a No. 2 hit with the Ierace-penned “The Rapper” in 1970; he later joined “Play That Funky Music” band Wild Cherry for their final album. But he really hit his stride upon changing his name to Donnie Iris and, with backing band The Cruisers, embarked on a tear of great power pop-affected records in the ’80s, ’90s and beyond. “Ah! Leah!” was a Top 40 hit in 1981, becoming a favorite for its muscular riff and magical, overdubbed vocal chorus. A stalwart performer to the end, he gave his last performance just about a month ago and announced his retirement weeks later due to health issues. His work will be hard to forget.

Though unfairly underrated in the modern era, country singer John Anderson was a stalwart singer/songwriter who scored a plethora of Top 10 genre hits in the ’80s and ’90s, with five songs that topped Billboard‘s country chart including “Swingin’,” “Straight Tequila Night” and “Black Sheep.” A pioneer of the genre’s “new traditionalist” movement, his work influenced straightforward country acts in the ’90s like Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton.

You know you’re good at your job when a band breaks up but all its members want to keep working with you. So Phil McDonald, a longtime engineer Abbey Road, must’ve been great: working with The Beatles in the studio since “Yesterday,” McDonald went on to share recording duties with Geoff Emerick of the band’s final sessions, released in 1969 as Abbey Road. He won a Grammy for his work on the LP and went on to engineer the 1970 solo debuts by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He’d go on to work in the studio with Deep Purple, Syd Barrett, Derek and The Dominos, Harry Nilsson, the Traveling Wilburys, Roy Orbison, and – in one of his few works as a co-producer – Squeeze, on their Sweets from a Stranger (1982).