The Weekend Stream: September 26, 2026

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. One of the busiest weeks this column has ever enjoyed includes new music from pop’s biggest figure, its reigning queen and one of the biggest rock bands in the world – plus a generous handful of even more rarities, remixes, re-recordings and rediscoveries. Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore (Republic) (Apple / Amazon) Like death and taxes, new…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 25

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out! 60th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (Zappa/UMe) 5CD/BD: Zappa.com (opens in new tab)/ uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) 5LP (Pre-Master Mix & Mono Mix + 60th Anniversary Highlights): Zappa.com(opens in new tab) / uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) 2LP (Remastered 1966…

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If I Fell: Three Solo Albums from Sir George Martin Reissued on CD, LP, Digital

Sir George Martin would have turned 100 earlier this year, on January 3.  Before the year’s out, Warner Music UK will celebrate the legacy of the producer-arranger-composer-conductor with a trio of reissues.  On November 6, the label will revisit 1964’s Off the Beatle Track, 1965’s Help!, and 1966’s And I Love Her on vinyl and streaming everywhere, and on CD in the United Kingdom.  The first two albums feature Martin’s lush orchestral renditions of Beatles favorites, while the third blends Beatles songs (including the title track) with other hits of the day. …

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Trane Schedule: Multiple Reissues, Unreleased Delights Planned for Saxophonist’s Centennial

Today, September 23, marks the 100th birthday of John Coltrane – and every label is getting in on the celebration. We’ve already shared news of a career-spanning compilation and vinyl box set due soon, but even more titles have hit the release schedule, from CD to vinyl – including what may be the most anticipated unreleased recordings of them all from the legendary jazz saxophonist. Tiberi’s Trane Pulls In On November 6, Impulse! will finally release The Tiberi Tapes, a legendary collection of the near-mythic amateur recordings of Coltrane experimenting on stage in…

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Drastic Symphonies: Fourth Def Leppard Albums Box is Packed with Rarities

Def Leppard are surprising fans not only by starting up their ongoing box set series, but widening the scope of the latest release, too. Volume 4, available as a 6CD or 11LP set on November 13, continues the thread of albums plus the rarities that these sets have been known for since the first volume in 2018, collecting the group’s studio output between 1978’s The Def Leppard E.P. and 1987’s Hysteria (plus one rarities set and a Pyromania-era live set). Subsequent volumes covered the British group’s ’90s output (2019’s Volume Two) and covers-heavy ’00s (2021’s Volume…

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The Weekend Stream: September 19, 2026

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. Cyndi Lauper celebrates one of her best-known albums, an Earth, Wind & Fire legend pays tribute to the man who founded the group, plus rare and unvaulted favorites from Peggy Lee, Neil Sedaka and Burl Ives, and reissues of new records by David Byrne and Wednesday. Cyndi Lauper, True Colors (40th Anniversary Expanded Edition) (Epic/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon) Of course a…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 18

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today…and it’s one of the biggest weeks in recent memory!  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. David Bowie, The Shel Talmy Recordings (Parlophone) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Official Store (180-gram red vinyl) The Shel Talmy Recordings collects 21 recordings the then-unknown David Bowie recorded with producer Talmy (The Who, The Kinks) during 1965, when he was a member of bands The Manish Boys and The Lower Third. Only four of these tracks…

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You’re Gonna Get It! Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ Early Years Chronicled in ‘Origins’ Box

50 years ago, Gainesville, Florida native Tom Petty formed the group that would take him and his bandmates into the stratosphere.  Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers blazed a path of rootsy rock and roll for over forty years, curtailed only by Petty’s untimely passing in 2017 at the age of 66.  Now, UMe is celebrating the birth of the legendary band with Origins 1971-1978, a new 4CD/1DVD/1BD or 5LP/1DVD/1BD box set.   (An “Uber Deluxe” vinyl edition limited to just 500 copies will also be available.)  The set shines a spotlight on the…

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It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (Original Soundtrack Recording – Extended Edition)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Barnes & Noble (teal) / Urban Outfitters (magenta) / RSD Outlets (white) The 11th animated Peanuts special, first released in 1974, gets a premiere soundtrack release. Longtime composer Vince Guaraldi flirted with a funkier direction than previous releases, performing piano, electric piano, clavinet and even electric guitar on this set of original cues. (There’s a few classic trio-style covers of jazz standards among the bonus tracks!)

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Summer Magic 1985

20CD: Dead.net Merriweather 6/30/85 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Merriweather 6/30/85 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amaazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The latest heavy-duty box set from the Grateful Dead archive offers seven complete shows – released for the first time – from the group’s 20th anniversary tour. (There’s three “official” anniversary shows from the Greek Theatre at UC-Berkeley, plus a further four from the weeks since in Saratoga Springs, New York; Hershey, Pennsylvania; and Columbia, Maryland.) Additional features in the box include a 96-page book, seven art cards…

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The Weekend Stream: September 12, 2026

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 some timely tributes to some recently deceased icons, plus rarities from The Alan Parsons Project and Matt Monro, a host of treasures from 1976, and a very unusual pair of compilations for four disco legends and a beloved San Francisco rock combo. Dolly Parton, The 1962 Mercury Recordings (Mercury Nashville/UMe) (Apple / Amazon) A surprising tribute from a label…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 11

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. The Roches, Runs in the Family: The Warner Bros./Rykodisc Albums (Cherry Red/Lemon/Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Runs in the Family, from TSD and Cherry Red’s Lemon Recordings imprint, is the first-ever albums collection from the genre-bending trio of Maggie, Suzzy, and Terre Roche, a.k.a. The Roches.  The set features the sisters’ debut The Roches (1979) produced by King Crimson legend Robert Fripp; Nurds (1980) produced by Simon…

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Reissue Theory: 50 Years of ‘Muppet Show’ Memories (and More!)

Welcome to another installment of The Second Disc’s long-unused column Reissue Theory, where we reflect on well-known albums of the past and the reissues they could someday see. As a classic force of television scores big at the Emmys this year – 50 years after their most significant series first started – it’s time to play the music, light the lights, and dream of a wider availability for the music of Jim Henson’s Muppets! There’s a major diva looming over the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards this coming weekend. Hacks, HBO Max’s delightful…

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Freak Out! 60th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

5CD/BD: Zappa.com (opens in new tab)/ uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) 5LP (Pre-Master Mix & Mono Mix + 60th Anniversary Highlights): Zappa.com(opens in new tab) / uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) 2LP (Remastered 1966 Stereo Mix Only): Zappa.com(opens in new tab) / uDiscoverMusic.com(opens in new tab) Freak Out!  Frank Zappa’s 1966 Verve Records debut with his band The Mothers of Invention was a call-to-arms to the Los Angeles underground music scene.  Subverting notions of traditional pop and…

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The Weekend Stream: September 5, 2026

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. Two major years linger in this latest column: 2006 (where two pop legends recorded blockbuster albums that are newly expanded) and 1976 (origin of no less than five left-field titles coming back into digital print). Beyoncé, B’DAY (20th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION) (Parkwood/Columbia) (Apple / Amazon) Two decades to the day after it was released (and, indeed, on her 45th birthday),…

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Yours For The Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb

Yours for the Taking: The Found Songs of Jimmy Webb draws on the songs in the composer-lyricist’s trunk.  Though the songs may date back decades, the recordings are new – and in Webb’s trademark sweeping, poignant, lyrical, romantic, and thoughtful style. Yours for the Taking welcomes Marc Cohn, Amy Grant, and Michael McDonald, and includes two vintage demos alongside the new recordings: “Winter Clothes” (written for Frank Sinatra) and “If I Ever Get to Talk to You Again.” Available on CD, LP, and digitally.  (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 4

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles out today!  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds Five (30th Anniversary Edition) (Capitol/UMe, 2026) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada  2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Piano-pounding alternative trio Ben Folds Five have revisited their first album – both versions of their first album – for a new expanded edition.  The group’s self-titled debut has been remastered and expanded, one year after its 30th anniversary…

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Total Freedom: Two George Michael Live Releases – One with Wham! – Due This Year

If you’ve never caught George Michael in concert, this year will see the release of not one but two peak-era releases showcasing his live skills – an EP of unreleased live cuts with Wham!, and a full concert album from 1988’s tour in support of solo debut Faith. Both projects are tied to recent or forthcoming film releases. 10 Days in China – The Live EP follows the recent release of Wham! 10 Days in China, unbelievably the third documentary on the duo in the last four years. (The first, a self-titled, career-spanning documentary, bowed…

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This is Not a Review of Prince’s ‘Timeless.’ Here’s Why

Until yesterday, this was going to be a pretty standard review of Timeless (NPG/Paisley Park 19958 44929-2), the newest posthumous Prince project, arriving just over a decade after his tragic passing. You would read about how unusual it is at this juncture to release a short compilation of unrelated outtakes from the Minneapolis icon’s storied vault, one not curated by him or guided by his examples, one that reminds you of projects we’d love to have on our shelves – a pre-1999 deep dive, a complete presentation of his final concerts (or any…

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Ben Folds Five: 30th Anniversary Edition

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada  2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Piano-pounding alternative trio Ben Folds Five have revisited their first album – both versions of their first album – for a new expanded edition.  The group’s self-titled debut has been remastered and expanded, one year after its 30th anniversary mark. This 2CD or 180-gram 2LP release pairs that original album, featuring seminal tracks like “Underground” and “Philosophy,” with a mostly unreleased “Shelved First Attempt” featuring many of the same tracks (and a few others) recorded in an earlier session. Both sets offer expanded liner…

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John Coltrane 100 – Selections from 1951-1967

6LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada John Coltrane 100 – Selections from 1951-1967 assembles 37 tracks across six 180-gram vinyl LPs showcasing Coltrane as both a bandleader and a sideman who logged time with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, and others. Licensed from multiple labels including Atlantic, Impulse!, Columbia, Blue Note and Prestige, it’s one of the most definitive musical portraits of Trane ever assembled. Pressed at Optimal in Germany and remastered by Bernie Grundman, the package will also include a 12-page booklet…

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Back to Black: 20th Anniversary Edition

3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Zoetrope LP: Official Store UMe reissues the late Amy Winehouse’s 2006 triumph Back to Black on October 23 (the Friday before its official anniversary on October 27) in a variety of formats, most notably 3CD and 3LP sets packed with more than two dozen bonus tracks. (In a coup for CD buyers, five B-sides and three live cuts will not be on the 3LP set, which is pressed on clear vinyl.) Additional pressings of the original album will be available, including a…

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Head Games: Super Deluxe Edition

3CD/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) 1LP: Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab) 7″: Rhino.com Following last year’s deluxe expanded edition of Foreigner’s 1981 album 4(opens in new tab) – the band’s fourth overall album – Rhino turns back the clock to another multi-platinum album, 1979’s Head Games.  Head Games is returning in a 3CD/1Blu-ray edition as well as a standalone 1LP vinyl edition of the new album remix at the centerpiece of the full box set.  The Super Deluxe 3CD/1BD edition…

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Sinatra at the Sands: 60th Anniversary Edition

Frank Sinatra Enterprises and Capitol/UMe are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the original Sinatra at the Sands with a new campaign encompassing a 2LP remixed reissue of the album, a 5CD box set premiering five previously unreleased concerts from the Sands “residency,” and digital versions including a Dolby Atmos mix of both releases.  (The Atmos mix is not included within the physical package.) The main attraction for CD fans and collectors alike will be the 5CD box.  Whereas the original album’s performances were culled from various nights at the Copa Room with Count Basie…

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The Quiet Celebration Concert

Paul Simon came out of live retirement for his acclaimed Quiet Celebration tour, reflecting his acknowledged hearing loss with new arrangements of classic favorites alongside a full presentation of his Seven Psalms album.  This live album recorded at Seattle’s McCaw Hall features both acts of the concert, including Seven Psalms, “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “The Boxer,” “Homeward Bound,” “Graceland,” and more. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)

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