Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! This week features deep cut jazz, country and soul, plus some remixes of an '80s classic and a new, surprise comedic pop track by one of Hollywood's favorite funnymen. Kitty Wells, Kitty Wells' Country Hit Parade / Lonely Street / After Dark / Dust on the Bible (Decca/MCA Nashville/UMG) Hit Parade: iTunes /
UPDATED 3/1/22: As one of the seven members of Chicago as featured on their 1969 debut album Chicago Transit Authority, bassist-singer Peter Cetera's soaring tenor became an integral component of the band's sound on such hits as "25 or 6 to 4," "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," "Just You 'n' Me," and "(I've Been) Searching So Long." When his own composition "If You Leave Me Now" became Chicago's first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 - not to mention in international territories such as Canada,
Back in 2017, Cherry Red's Cherry Pop imprint compiled Bonnie Tyler's Remixes and Rarities, a 2-CD collection drawing on the singer's Columbia/CBS, Epic, RCA, and Hansa recordings originally released between 1979 and 1994. Now, Cherry Pop is picking up the Bonnie Tyler story with a new 3-CD set. The EastWest Years 1995-1998 brings together her two albums for the Warner imprint plus a disc of single versions, edits, and remixes. By the time she joined East West, the distinctively
Chris Christian rose to prominence as one-third of the pop trio Cotton, Lloyd and Christian alongside producer Michael Lloyd (The Osmonds, Barry Manilow) and Daryl Cotton (Zoot, Olivia Newton-John). Before long, Christian's songs were being recorded by the likes of Elvis Presley ("Love Song of the Year"), Dionne Warwick ("When the World Runs Out of Love"), and Carpenters ("(Want You) Back in My Life Again"). Christian also produced and wrote songs for artists including B.J. Thomas, Marilyn
The opening track of Average White Band's new/old release On the Strip: The Sunset Sessions couldn't have a more apropos title: "Let's Go Round Again." Following a successful run of albums with producer-arranger Arif Mardin, the funky big band outfit was re-establishing itself. 1979's Feel No Fret was a self-produced affair on which the band was joined by co-producer Gene Paul; it yielded hit singles in "Atlantic Avenue" and a revival of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Walk on By." For a
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Carnegie Hall (Zappa Records/UMe) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Zappa Records and UMe repackage this 2011 website-exclusive 4-CD set in more compact 3-CD fashion for general release. Carnegie Hall chronicles Zappa and the Mothers of Invention's October 11, 1971 shows at the famed New York venue from the original mono tapes. This version drops the opening set by The Persuasions but
Talk about a well-kept secret... Throughout his too-short life, vocalist Warren Wiebe (1953-1998) never became a household name. Yet he was highly successful. As a background singer, he graced recordings by Johnny Mathis, Paul Anka, Taylor Dayne, and Air Supply. A true songwriter's singer - able to convey the heart and soul of a song without resorting to self-indulgence - he earned the respect and admiration of a "Who's Who" of songwriters who enlisted him to introduce their songs on
Harvey Mason may be best known for his session credits on countless classic records by artists from Carole King to Quincy Jones. But the drummer/percussionist has also led a solo career since 1975, most often fusing his jazz sensibility with R&B textures. His first stint as a solo artist came at Clive Davis' Arista Records, where he recorded five well-received, self-produced albums between 1975 and 1981. Big Break's recent anthology Sho Nuff Groovin' You: The Arista Records Anthology
In a solo career now numbering five decades and counting, California's Lee Ritenour - a.k.a. Captain Fingers - remains one of music's most virtuosic and prolific guitarists. An in-demand session guitarist who has played for artists including Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, Ritenour released his first recording as a leader in 1975 with First Course; his most recent, A Twist of Rit, was issued earlier this year. Now, Cherry Red's Robinsongs imprint has looked
In a career spanning five decades, producer-musician-songwriter David Foster has virtually become a brand name in himself. After making his name in bands like Skylark and Airplay, the Canadian multi-hyphenate contributed as sideman, writer and arranger to albums by George Harrison, Diana Ross, Donna Summer and Earth Wind and Fire; he won one of his sixteen Grammy Awards for co-writing that band’s “After the Love is Gone.” Beginning in the 1980s, he launched a solo career and also established