Welcome to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc's review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts. A lot of exciting stuff this week: a celebration of a classic '90s pop album, the first in a series of digital archive titles for a British art rock duo, and the streaming debut of one of the biggest hits of the '80s! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Eddy Grant, Killer on the Rampage (Ice Records) (iTunes / Amazon)
Possibly the biggest single of the '80s missing from digital channels was "Electric Avenue," the hard-driving tune by Guyanese legend Eddy Grant. Though it reached No. 2 on both sides of the Atlantic, Grant remained steadfast against releasing much of his self-controlled catalogue for streaming and download. In a warm, thoughtful video released to fans yesterday, it appears that wall might finally be coming down - and indeed, 1982's Killer on the Rampage, which featured "Electric Avenue" and U.K. smash "I Don't Wanna Dance," is now available once more.
TLC, Silly Ho / No Scrubs / Unpretty / Dear Lie (LaFace/Arista)
Silly Ho: iTunes / Amazon
No Scrubs: iTunes / Amazon
Unpretty: iTunes / Amazon
Dear Lie: iTunes / Amazon
Marking the 25th anniversary of TLC's terrific FanMail - the last album the trio released before the passing of member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes only three years later - with a quartet of remix-packed digital EPs. In addition to the chart-toppers "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty," the single "Dear Lie" and promo cut "Silly Ho" have also been delivered with radio edits, instrumentals, a cappella tracks and more.
The Dells, Like It Is Like It Was / Sweet As Funk Can Be (Cadet/Geffen)
Like It Is: iTunes / Amazon
Sweet As: iTunes / Amazon
A pair of early '70s albums by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted vocal group have been delivered to digital - and you can thank Questlove for this one!
Alan Parsons Project, I Robot (Sessions) (Arista/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon)
Featuring the 14 bonus tracks taken from the 2013 Legacy Edition of The Alan Parsons Project's sophomore album I Robot (1977), this digital "sessions" release is being touted as first in a series related to all the duo's albums between Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976) and Gaudi (1987), due for release throughout 2024. (These releases will no doubt make available various bonus tracks from reissues that are currently digitally unavailable.)
Bonnie Bramlett, Sweet Bonnie Bramlett (Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon)
Freshly split (personally and professionally) from her guitarist husband Delaney, Bonnie Bramlett's first solo album, released in 1973, included a formidable ensemble backing her: a nascent group soon to be called the Average White Band.
Whisper Darkly: The Electro-Swing Musical (TBIC Music Group) (iTunes / Amazon)
Get in on the ground floor: a concept album for an exciting new musical has just hit digital services. Whisper Darkly, with a book by D.J. Salisbury (The Man Who Would Be King, Merlin's Magicacademy) and a score by Andrew Gerle (recipient of the Ed Kleban Award, Jonathan Larson Award, and Richard Rodgers Award), is inspired by - and written in the style of - the internationally popular genre that blends vaudeville sounds of the 1920s and 1930s with EDM beats of the present day. The cast includes Aléna Watters (The Cher Show), Kayla Davion (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Keri René Fuller (Six: The Musical), Tony Award nominees Brad Oscar (The Producers) and Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera), Alli Mauzey (Kimberly Akimbo), Claybourne Elder (Company), and the West End's Alistair Brammer (Miss Saigon). Also featured are Victoria Huston-Elem, Riley Noland, Graham Stevens, Hansel Tan, Khalifa White, D'Kaylah Whitley, and Luke Hawkins. The album is produced by Andrew Gerle and PiSk (Roberto Costa) and co-produced by Pamela and Stephen Della Pietra and Avadon Broadway LLC. Keep an eye out for this one-of-a-kind show!
Billy D says
All Eddy Grant has been missing for a long time and his cds have been OOP.
It's about time...