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. We're positively packed this Saturday: posthumous tracks from Van Halen, Luther Vandross and DMX; a great deluxe live set from Linda Ronstadt; plus some Halloween and Christmas surprises...and, to top it all off, a call to action to aid one of our favorite power-pop acts of the last 40 years.

Edward & Alex Van Halen, "Unfinished (Between Us Two)" (self-released) (official site)

Alex Van Halen just released Brothers, a heartfelt memoir about his career and life as a bandmate and older brother to the late Edward Van Halen. The audiobook version closes with an instrumental track billed as the last song they ever wrote together; the full version is now available to download for free on the official VH website.

Linda Ronstadt, Live in Hollywood (Deluxe Edition) (Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon)

One of the best recent archival live albums just got better! Linda Ronstadt's Live in Hollywood, issued in 2019, was the first-ever concert release by the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and brilliant song interpreter - but fans were certainly saddened that the CD and vinyl did not feature the entire set. Now, Live in Hollywood - recorded at CBS Television Center in 1980 (months after the release of the stellar Mad Love) for a special that aired on the nascent HBO - gets its propers with this digital release, featuring eight unreleased cuts for all 20 songs from the set.

Various, Transa: Selects (Red Hot Org) (iTunes / Amazon)

Next month, the long-running Red Hot Organization will release its latest compilation, Transa, to raise awareness of the transgender community through dozens of artists (including many trans and nonbinary performers). Five of the most anticipated tracks from the set have been released digitally, including "Young Lion," a gentle number from legendary British singer Sade Adu (dedicated to her trans son); a stirring cover of Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" by Lauren Auder (with contributions from Wendy & Lisa of Prince and The Revolution); a new 26-minute flute composition by Andre 3000 of OutKast; plus works by Sam Smith & Beverly Glenn Copeland and L'Rain.

Luther Vandross, "Michelle" (Epic/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon)

With the documentary Luther: Never Too Much set for a limited theatrical release at the beginning of November, Legacy Recordings will issue a new companion greatest hits collection in December - and the first single is quite a find! It's Luther's signature velvet voice interpreting The Beatles' "Michelle," recently found in Vandross' archive by friend and backing vocalist Fonzi Thornton on a cassette simply marked "Luther Vandross Michelle 6/1/89." Both a radio edit and album version will be available on the collection; more details will be posted here on TSD next week!

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Road Diary (Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon)

The brand-new, revealing documentary from Thom Zimny chronicling Springsteen's past, present and future with his legendary backing band is available on Hulu starting today, and Columbia has surprise dropped a companion soundtrack featuring two dozen performances from the 2023 leg of the latest tour, as heard in the film.

Danny Elfman, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Score from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (WaterTower Music) (iTunes / Amazon)

Next week is Halloween, and Warner Music has scared up something good for film score fans. Only main and end titles from Danny Elfman's score to Tim Burton's blockbuster sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice were included on the soundtrack album release last month - but now, WaterTower Music has made a score album digitally available, featuring nearly 50 minutes of classic themes and new arrangements from one of Hollywood's most celebrated director/composer collaborations. No physical release has been indicated as of yet.

Simple Plan, Still Not Getting Any... (20th Anniversary Edition) (Lava/Atlantic/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon)

The Canadian pop-punkers just announced an in-development documentary on the group will premiere on Prime Video in 2025, and have also issued this digital expansion of their sophomore album, featuring the singles "Welcome to My Life" and "Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)" as well as two bonus tracks making their digital debuts: "Crash and Burn" and an acoustic version of "Welcome..."

DMX, "Favor" (Def Jam/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

The passing of rapper DMX in 2021 was one of the biggest recent tragedies of late '90s/early '00s hip-hop. In December, UMe will issue his second posthumous project (full-length album Exodus, completed months before his passing, was issued only weeks after fans said goodbye): Let Us Pray: Chapter X is an EP of spoken-word prayers featuring new backing tracks by producer Warryn Campbell. Lead single "Favor" features guest vocals by rapper Killer Mike, gospel duo Mary Mary and the RoyzNoyz Orchestra; additional tracks will feature appearances by Lecrae, MC Late and Snoop Dogg, and the four tracks will be backed by instrumental versions on the B-side.

Liz Story, Jazz Standards & Originals (Windham Hill/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon)

Talk about an inspiring story: a classically-trained pianist who later pivoted to jazz, Liz Story took both of those sensitivities and spun them into gold for the Windham Hill label in the '80s and '90s. She spent the 2010s largely out of the spotlight, first taking care of her parents in their final years, and then suffering a brain hemorrhage during a 2019 concert. Amazingly, she made a full recovery, and performed at Carnegie Hall last year to mark the 40th anniversary of her debut. This new collection - different from Legacy's digital Essential title - assembles 33 of her own favorite standards and original compositions.

Jason Robert Brown and Stephen Sondheim, Live in Concert (Town Hall: June 24, 2019) (Concord Theatricals) (iTunes / Amazon)

Concord has dropped a surprise from Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade) and the late Stephen Sondheim: a live recording of their one-night-only, sold-out performance at New York City's Town Hall in 2019. Joe was lucky enough to attend the evening of conversation and song between two generations of musical theatre tunesmiths, recalling it as an evening of powerful, moving song with plenty of (happy) tears shed.  The mutual admiration society of Sondheim and Brown were joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Katrina Lenk, Rob McClure, and Joshua Henry-McClure performed his showstopping "I Love Betsy" from Brown's Honeymoon in Vegas score, a favorite of Sondheim's - but Sondheim stole the show with his tender, affecting rendition of "Good Thing Going" from Merrily We Roll Along. He then joined Brown with a reharmonization of the younger composer's "It's Hard to Speak My Heart" from Parade, and the evening fittingly closed with Brown's exciting 'Wait 'Til You See What's Next." What was, in fact, next? For Sondheim, one more score was still in the wings (Here We Are); Brown's latest musical - an adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - arrives on Broadway later this season. This celebratory and reflective evening - Stephen Sondheim's first live album! - makes a poignant coda to his remarkable career. No CD edition has been announced, but a vinyl LP is due on December 13.

Various Artists, Sunset Blvd.: The Album (The Other Songs) (iTunes / Amazon)

The original London cast album of the Jamie Lloyd Company's acclaimed revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, and Christopher Hampton's Sunset Blvd. - the same production currently packing houses at Broadway's St. James Theatre with the same principal cast including Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond and Tom Francis as Joe Gillis - sees digital release today in anticipation of next month's physical editions. This live recording from London's Savoy Theatre powerfully documents Scherzinger's extraordinary performance in this electrifying production which has to be seen to be believed.

Karen Mason, And All That Jazz (Zevely) (iTunes / Amazon)

Come on, babe, why don't we paint the town? Broadway's Karen Mason pays tribute to the team of John Kander and Fred Ebb with a sizzling set featuring songs from their sweet 'n sour scores to Chicago (the title track), Cabaret ("Willkommen," "Maybe This Time," "Married," "Cabaret"), Flora, the Red Menace ("A Quiet Thing"), The Scottsboro Boys ("Go Back Home"), The Visit ("Love and Love Alone"), and many more, including The Happy Time, The Act, and, of course, New York, New York. Mason, one of the stars of off-Broadway's seminal K&E revue And the World Goes 'Round, once again proves herself a stellar interpreter of the duo's classic songbook on this new release. Available on digital/streaming and CD via Karen's official shop.

Robert Lamm, Monday Clouds, Tuesday Rain (Heart x Coffee Cup Studios) (iTunes / Amazon)

Chicago's preeminent singer-songwriter, Robert Lamm, has gifted fans with a number of new songs this year including "Tougher Than These Times" and "The Rhythm of Your Heart" (both co-written with Jim Peterik of Survivor and The Ides of March) and "The Stillness" (penned with his longtime collaborator John Van Eps).  Now, Lamm has teamed up with another TSD favorite, singer-songwriter Jeff Larson, for the striking "Monday Clouds, Tuesday Rain." Larson's original version of the song appeared on his album The World Over; he and Lamm have written a new section for this recording. (For another Larson/Lamm collaboration, see Jeff's new album Adobe Home and its beautiful bossa nova "A Matter of Time.")

Vaquita, Secrets (Real Gone Music) (iTunes / Amazon)

Edie Anderson (guitar/vocals), Liza Davitaia (bass/vocals), and Clara Mothersbaugh (daughter of Bob Mothersbaugh of Devo) (drums, vocals) are Vaquita - and this trio of teenaged high school classmates is ready to take the rock world by storm! They've already played to a sold-out audience at the Whisky and now their debut album arrives! Secrets has been produced by the band and Paul Roessler and mastered by Howie Weinberg of Nirvana's Nevermind fame. Next year, Vaquita will be opening for The Motels at The Whisky on April 18...get in on the ground floor now!

You know it's about that time...more vintage holiday cheer is sliding down the chimney from Legacy Recordings and UMe!

Ken Griffin, The Organ Plays At Christmas (Columbia) (iTunes / Amazon)

A pre-rock stalwart on the Columbia label (ironically born in Columbia, Missouri!) Ken Griffin was best-known for his organ rendition of "You Can't Be True, Dear," a pre-Hot 100 hit in 1948. (It reached No. 2 on Billboard's "best sellers chart," shortly after a version that featured vocalist Jerry Wayne singing over the same track hit No. 1.) 1955's The Organ Plays At Christmas was one of the last albums Griffin issued before his death from a heart attack early the following year, after which Columbia issued a then-unusual amount of posthumous recordings.

Various Artists, Here Comes Santa Claus! (Harmony) (iTunes / Amazon)

A kid-friendly 1958 release on Columbia's Harmony label, this set featured a mix of big band singers and performers (Bob Hannon, Artie Melvin and someone called "The Singing Princess," who was backed by the Tony Mottola Orchestra) lending their vocals to favorite, mostly modern carols ("White Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town").

The Chuck Wagon Gang, Christmas with the Chuck Wagon Gang (Harmony) (iTunes / Amazon)

The beloved Southern gospel quartet, who recorded for Columbia for many years, put together this collection of classic carols in 1965.

Brenda Lee, Noche Buena y Navidad (MCA Nashville/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

Ever since Billboard's streaming rules resulted in a surge of catalogue Christmas hits returning to the Hot 100 every December, there have been a few fascinating stories. Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" became her 19th No. 1 hit a quarter-century after it was released (making her the solo artist with the most U.S. chart-toppers, second only to The Beatles). Last year, Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" did the same, 65 years after its original release in 1958. (Lee, who recorded the track when she was 13, turned 79 during its chart run.) UMe's latest "Rockin'" ploy involves a newly-created Spanish-language version of the track, utilizing "responsibly trained," artist-approved artificial intelligence to create an approximation of what the young Lee would sound like singing the song in another language back in '58. (The model was created by tech company SoundLabs, who entered a strategic partnership with Universal Music Group earlier this year.) We'll leave it up to you to assess the rights and wrongs of this use of technology, as well as interpret our guess that there's...more of this where that came from.

Finally, a worthy cause for rock fans...

This past week, we heard the horrible news that power-pop legend Matthew Sweet suffered a stroke while on tour in Canada. Over time, additional details have come to light: after receiving care in Toronto that almost certainly saved his life, he was flown back in an ambulance plane and admitted to a rehab facility in his home of Omaha, Nebraska. He's begun physical and speech therapy - "my goal is to play guitar and sing and make art," a chart at his bedside reads - and will begin outpatient therapy at home in December for anywhere from six months to a year.

As a touring, independent musician, insurance premiums are costly, as is the necessary conversion of parts of his home for ADA compliance. A GoFundMe page has already reached nearly two-thirds of its $750,000 donation goal. If you can spare it - and if Sweet's deep catalogue of favorites, from "Girlfriend" and "I've Been Waiting" to "Time Capsule" and "Sick of Myself" (plus his three volumes of cover albums with Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles), have touched your heart at any time - we invite you to contribute. The only way musicians can endure such hardships is together.