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 usher you into the weekend. This week, a Madonna rarity makes a splashy debut, the daughter of a soul legend sings with her dad on his holiday classic, and Roger Waters emerges from lockdown - plus remixes old and new, and a World Cup throwback you might not believe is real. Madonna, Gambler (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes /
Cherry Red’s Big Break Records imprint has rocked the boat with a batch of recent reissues from the RCA vaults – one seminal title from The Hues Corporation and a trio from “Native New Yorker” group Odyssey. When “Rock the Boat” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1974, it wasn’t exactly new. It had first appeared almost a year earlier on the August 1973 release of Freedom for the Stallion, The Hues Corporation’s debut album for RCA. “One lovely lady” and “two bright young men” is
The sound is familiar but different. The harmony is spellbinding if a bit woozy. You've only given me a flower/I wish I had the whole bouquet... The track, led by acoustic guitar and gently funky percussion, is spare and raw. If I should ask you for an hour/Is there a chance that you would stay/And maybe spend the day? The falsetto is recognizable but eerily haunting. The song is "You're A Song (That I Can't Sing)" performed by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for the album Chameleon, the