Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles (and some new ones, too!) making digital debuts. By now, you might have hit your participating local shop for Record Store Day - and happily, we're kicking off this Saturday's column to share material from five exclusive vinyl titles that are getting a second life in the streaming and download world too. It's a great way to check out some titles if you missed them, or weren't sure if you wanted to add them to your haul!
Jeff Bridges, Slow Magic, 1977-1978 (Light in the Attic) (Apple / Amazon)
Years before The Big Lebowski made him a pop cultural elder icon but well into a celebrated acting career that by then had two Oscar nominations to his name, Jeff Bridges had also spent parts of the '70s indulging his passion for music. Slow Magic is a chronicle of a period during which he recorded some genre-bending jam sessions with a group of "childhood friends, artists, and assorted L.A. oddballs." (The full list of players hasn't been revealed on the digital edition, though Rocky co-star Burgess Meredith features on two tracks from the cassette-sourced offering: "Here on This Island" and the closer "Kong.") It's something that'll really tie your record collection together.
CHVRCHES, Every Open Eye (10th Anniversary Special Edition) (Glassnote) (Apple / Amazon)
After the thrill of the Scottish electronic trio's debut The Bones of What You Believe, CHVRCHES proved themselves a formidable act with sophomore album Every Open Eye. This anniversary reissue mixes the 2015 album - featuring favorites like "Leave a Trace," "Clearest Blue" and "Make Them Gold" with a newly-compiled set of rare B-sides and remixes, including "Warning Call" (from the video game Mirror's Edge Catalyst) and a re-recording of "Bury It" cast as a duet between singer Lauren Mayberry and Hayley Williams of Paramore.
Thompson Twins, "The Gap"/"Judy Do"/"In the Name of Love"/"Love on Your Side" (Live at the Del Mar Race Track, USA, 1984) (BMG)
The Gap: Apple / Amazon
Judy Do: Apple / Amazon
In the Name of Love: Apple / Amazon
Love on Your Side: Apple / Amazon
A terrific complement to last year's deluxe edition of the trio's breakthrough Into the Gap, this 14-song live set from the ensuing tour (released on video four decades ago) adds a new shade to the era that gave us "Hold Me Now," "Doctor! Doctor!" and others. It's a standout Record Store Day release - but BMG is seemingly meting the release out a track at a time since March, with no order that matches the album. (We've arranged them here in the order they appear on the double LP set, with "In the Name of Love" being the newest, released yesterday.
Shane MacGowan & Sinéad O'Connor, Haunted EP (Island/UMR) (Apple / Amazon)
Originally recorded by The Pogues for the soundtrack to Sid and Nancy, the Celtic punk band's unmistakable frontman Shane MacGowan (who, at the time, was instead fronting his own group The Popes after getting canned from his old band) gave "Haunted" a new life as a duet with Sinéad O'Connor for a different soundtrack, 1996's forgotten Sandra Bullock/Denis Leary romantic comedy Two If by Sea (released overseas as Stolen Hearts). The original CD single, featuring two cuts from The Popes' 1994 release The Snake and a non-LP MacGowan cover of Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rosie," is digitally available alongside its RSD release today.
Clarence White, Melodies from a Byrd in Flyte: 1963-1973 (Liberation Hall) (Apple / Amazon)
This release has 14 tracks (one side acoustic and the other electric) from The Byrds' Clarence White. Spanning much of White's too-short career - he died in 1973 at the age of 29 after being killed by a drunk driver - these tracks feature the groundbreaking country-rock guitarist supported by a host of guests including Roger McGuinn, The Everly Brothers, Gene Parsons, Skip Battin, Eric Weissberg, and Byron Berline.
And there's plenty more where that came from! Here's some more can't-miss streaming debuts.
John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band, SOUND OF WAVES (Moonstone) (Apple / Amazon)
Best known for the indelible "On the Dark Side," from their contributions to the soundtrack of the 1983 cult classic Eddie and The Cruisers, SOUND OF WAVES is a long time coming: Cafferty and his band started releasing material from it in 2023, just after the release of Iconoclassic's authorized greatest hits package for the group - and it's their first album of all original material in over 35 years! It's a really solid, heartfelt record with a loosely summery theme, ideal for the imminent change in seasons. And worry not, CD lovers - you can get it on disc, too!
Various Artists, Verve Remixed: The Hits (Verve) (Apple / Amazon)
Back in 2002 (and for a decade to follow!), Universal Music Group had a neat idea to bring some shine to their deep jazz and blues repertoire under the Verve umbrella. Verve Remixed brought together a galaxy of dance and electronic acts - Diplo, Thievery Corporaation, Masters At Work, Danger Mouse, The Postal Service, Moodymann, DJ Premier and Toro y Moi, just to name a few - to remix and interpret classic tracks by Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and countless others. Now, for the first time since 2013, there's a new entry in the series: a compilation bringing together 20 tunes from the original albums plus - in a hopeful sign of more mixes to come - a new take on Billie Holiday's "You Go to My Head" remixed by Henry Green.
T Bone Burnett, The Criminal Under My Own Hat (Columbia) (Apple / Amazon)
Splitting the difference between the acoustic folk of his self-titled 1986 album and the light alt-rock of 1987's The Talking Animals, this Grammy-nominated 1992 effort is regarded as one of the producer's finest works.
Audra McDonald, Danny Burstein & Joy Woods, "Together, Wherever We Go" (Octoverse Media/Arts Music) (Apple / Amazon)
This weekend, listeners got their first taste of the long-awaited, upcoming cast recording of the current Broadway revival of Gypsy with "Together, Wherever We Go." Audra McDonald, as Madame Rose, is joined on the charming and witty Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim tune by Danny Burstein as the long-suffering Herbie, and Joy Woods as Rose's daughter Louise, on the cusp of her own personal transformation. The complete cast recording of the electrifying revival directed by George C. Wolfe (sure to pick up more than a few Tony nominations!) is due on April 25 in digital formats, while CD and vinyl editions will follow later in the year.
Goddess, Moto Moto Presents Nights in Mombasa EP (Octoverse Media/Arts Music) (Apple / Amazon)
On April 29, the musical Goddess begins previews at New York's Public Theater. Now, following the release in March of the singles "Honey Sweet" abd "Boom Boom," you can sample the show's score on this five-song EP blending dance, soul, and R&B sounds. Composer-lyricist Michael Thurber (bassist in Jon Batiste's Late Show band and the orchestrator of Broadway's upcoming Bobby Darin bio-musical Just in Time) joins with The Public Theater's Associate Artistic Director Saheem Ali (who conceived the project) and cast members Amber Iman, Austin Scott, and Nick Rashad Burroughs for Goddess; Jocelyn Bioh wrote the book for the musical. Like what you hear? Visit the Public to see Goddess onstage; it runs through June 1.
Rambo Women, "We've Weathered Storms Before" (Rambo Women) (Apple / Amazon)
Contemporary Christian icon Reba Rambo and her daughter Destiny Rambo Khouri have teamed as Rambo Women for a new album - the first single from which arrived this weekend. The inspirational but upbeat "We've Weathered Storms Before" was co-written and originally recorded by late Rambo family matriarch Dottie Rambo, making this track a poignant collaboration from three generations of Rambo Women.
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