The Weekend Stream: April 25, 2025

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. Strap in for a killer line-up of titles this week: two more Record Store Day debuts, an incredible posthumous collaboration between two ’80s icons, the return of one of glam’s most beloved bands, new music by some of our favorite pop girls, a hotly anticipated new take on a Broadway favorite, exciting moments in gospel/soul, an exciting new song from a forthcoming West End musical by one of…

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The Weekend Stream: April 12, 2025

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. By now, you might have hit your participating local shop for Record Store Day – and happily, we’re kicking off this Saturday’s column to share material from five exclusive vinyl titles that are getting a second life in the streaming and download world too. It’s a great way to check out some titles if you missed them, or weren’t sure if you wanted to add them to your…

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Release Round-Up: Week of December 13

It’s Friday the 13th, but it just might be your lucky day for reissues!  Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the titles available today.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Luther Vandross, Never Too Much: Greatest Hits (Epic/Legacy) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada In conjunction with a new documentary film, Legacy Recordings issues a new double-disc anthology of the late Luther Vandross’ work, accompanied by several rare and unreleased tracks. Never Too Much: Greatest Hits offers 20 tracks on two CDs that represent the…

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The Weekend Stream: October 26, 2024

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…

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Release Round-Up: Week of September 6

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. Neil Young, Archives Vol. III (1976-1987) (NYA/Reprise) 17CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 17CD/5BD Deluxe Set: Official Store This week’s biggest release is the long-awaited third volume of Neil Young’s long-running Archives series. Archives Vol. III (1976-1987), spans in its deluxe form a whopping 17 CDs and five Blu-rays boasting a broad array of songs and film footage: 15 unreleased songs, 121 unreleased tracks, and 11 full-length films (four of them unreleased). Housed in a…

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Release Round-Up: Week of May 17

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. Taana Gardner, When You Touch Me: The West End Recordings (SoulMusic/Cherry Red/The Second Disc) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) SoulMusic Records teams with TSD to revisit dance superstar Taana Gardner’s classic West End album as a 2CD set.  When You Touch Me: The West End Recordings opens with Taana Gardner in its original form and mix for the very first time on CD including Larry Levan’s 1979 mixes.  Producer Kenton Nix’s extended…

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The Weekend Stream: April 27, 2024

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. More late period Prince is released from The Vault, plus a new Barbra Streisand single, future Bandcamp Friday favorites, cuts from new Broadway cast recordings and more! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Prince, “Magnificent” (NPG/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) The Musicology 20th anniversary celebration continues with the digital release of another Prince rarity from The Vault! “Magnificent” was issued as part of The Artist’s NPG Music Club as a…

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Release Round-Up: Week of March 1

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 Who, Live at Shea Stadium 1982 (Mercury Studios) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Who’s October 13, 1982 concert at Shea Stadium, the now-demolished, longtime home of the New York Mets, was released on DVD and standard-definition Blu-ray back in 2015.  Now, Mercury Studios is returning to that thunderous gig – the band’s second of two shows there – for an audio release on 2 CDs…

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Release Round-Up: Week of January 12

Happy New Year, and welcome to our first Release Round-Up of 2024, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today!  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Lou Reed, Hudson River Wind Meditations (Light in the Attic) CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Lou Reed’s twentieth solo album (and penultimate studio record) returns from Light in the Attic in CD and LP editions.  Featuring meditative music drawing on Reed’s lifelong interest in drone and ambient sounds, Hudson River was co-produced with longtime collaborator Hal Willner.  It’s…

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Release Round-Up: Week of December 15

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today.  As the next two Fridays will bring few, if any, new releases, this will be the final Release Round-Up of 2024, but we’ll continue to have news and reviews all next week.  We’ll be back with another Release Round-Up in 2024!  As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  Happy Holidays to all! Rosanne Cash, The Wheel: 30th Anniversary Edition (RumbleStrip Records) 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (Vinyl Me, Please Exclusive: Clear…

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Release Round-Up: Week of December 8

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Dan Hartman, It Hurts to Be in Love (Iconoclassic) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Today, Dan Hartman would have turned 73.  Sadly, the singer-songwriter-producer-musician-engineer’s life was cut short by an AIDS-related brain tumor on March 22, 1994.  He was just 43.  The immense musical legacy of the “I Can Dream About You” hitmaker hasn’t been forgotten, though.  Iconoclassic Records has brought his 1981 solo…

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The Weekend Stream: November 18, 2023

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. Our pre-Thanksgiving feast includes three legendary women of rock, a summit of country icons, and some unexpected live gems from an alternative ’80s outfit – plus so much more. Tina Turner, Tina Turns the Country On! / Acid Queen / Rough / Love Explosion (Parlophone) Country: iTunes / Amazon Acid Queen: iTunes / Amazon Rough: iTunes / Amazon Love Explosion: iTunes / Amazon Hot on the heels…

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Cherry Red’s El Label Celebrates Burt Bacharach, Leonard Bernstein on New Box Sets

In recent months, Cherry Red’s El imprint has turned its attention to a pair of legendary American composers.  Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) and Burt Bacharach (1928-2023) were born just a decade apart, though Bacharach lived more than three decades longer than Bernstein.  Neither man was born in New York City, but both created much of their remarkable work there.  Both were proud Jewish Americans, and both wrote for the musical theatre.  An American in New York: Leonard Bernstein – The City Scores brings together recordings of Bernstein’s musicals On the Town, Wonderful Town,…

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The Weekend Stream: August 12, 2023

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there’s plenty of great new/old music to float you into the weekend. A short but intriguing selection of digital debuts this week includes rare ’00s rock, ’80s soul, ’30s jazz, a new take on a ’60s prog classic and some new surround mixes from one of Broadway’s greatest. 3 Doors Down, Away from the Sun (Deluxe) (Republic/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon) Debut album The Better Life (2000) established Mississippi rockers 3 Doors Down…

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The Weekend Stream: June 3, 2023

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing 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. Our latest round-up brings new music from Joan Jett, terrific live rarities from Bruce Springsteen, a band with a lot more going on than their name, and a tribute to one of the 20th century’s greatest lyricists. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Darkness Tour ’78 (Columbia/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) Following up a record as lauded as…

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The Weekend Stream: May 27, 2023

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 from a Sly and the Family Stone rarity to the latest expanded edition from Taylor Swift! Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years Too Soon (The Remix Album) (Epic/Legacy) (iTunes / Amazon) Perhaps the most bizarre item in the Sly and the Family Stone catalogue has hit download and streaming services this weekend.  Ten Years Too Soon enlisted…

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The Weekend Stream: May 6, 2023

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. Today’s might be our biggest and best round-up of the spring: classic rock remixes, classic soul legends, rising rap icons, all kinds of ’80s pop, a classic Broadway album making its belated digital debut – plus two urgent social causes we really want you to know about. David Bowie, Golden Years (TOKiMONSTA Remix) (Parlophone) (iTunes / Amazon) Created…

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Release Round-Up: Week of March 17

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! U2, Songs of Surrender (Interscope) 4CD (40 tracks): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP (40 tracks): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Deluxe CD (20 tracks): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD (16 tracks): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP (16 tracks): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada U2 is revisiting its discography on the new project Songs of Surrender.  The album takes its name from the speaking tour undertaken last year by frontman Bono, tied to his memoirs. While writing those, he – along with guitarist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and…

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Release Round-Up: Week of January 27

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles available today. BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM Bob Dylan, Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 (Columbia/Legacy) 5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 10LP: Bob Dylan Store 2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The seventeenth volume of Bob Dylan’s long-running Bootleg Series explores the creation of Dylan’s thirtieth studio album.  Fragments: Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997) takes a deep dive into the three-time Grammy Award-winning album which was perceived by many as a comeback after a…

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Release Round-Up: Week of December 2

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores this week! The Beach Boys, Sail On Sailor: 1972 (Capitol/UMe) 6CD Super Deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD Highlights (Remastered Albums plus bonus tracks): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP+7″ Super Deluxe Vinyl Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 5LP+7″ Super Deluxe Vinyl Edition (Limited Edition): Beach Boys Store 2LP+7″ Remastered Albums Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2LP+7″ Remastered Albums Vinyl (Limited Edition): Beach Boys Store Sail On Sailor – 1972 continues the story of The Beach Boys where the 2021 box set Feel Flows: The Sunflower…

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The Weekend Stream: October 29, 2022

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, it’s a stuffed Halloween sack full of sweet rarities from INXS and Madonna, remixes of Frank Zappa and Bing Crosby, two completely unreleased 50-year-old albums and a brand-new spin on a Stephen Sondheim classic – and that’s only half of it! INXS, Shabooh Shoobah (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Atlantic/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) The INXS catalogue is…

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Release Round-Up: Week of December 10

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! The Band, Cahoots: 50th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/UMe) 2CD/LP/BD/7-inch single: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2CD (Contents of CDs 1 & @ below): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP (2021 Mix of Original Album): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada The Band and Capitol/UMe are in Cahoots for a deluxe 50th anniversary reissue of the group’s fourth studio album.  The remixed and remastered Cahoots arrives in various formats including a Super Deluxe 2CD/BD/LP/7-inch vinyl box set, 2CD, 180-gram half-speed-mastered black vinyl, limited edition vinyl, and digital download/streaming.  All of these formats have been overseen by Robbie Robertson and…

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In Memoriam: Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)

October 1999: It was a crisp fall afternoon when I first met Stephen Sondheim. Working on a production of his 1965 musical Do I Hear a Waltz? at New Jersey’s George Street Playhouse, I was asked to greet the great man at the train station and accompany him back to the theatre. “Mr. Sondheim!” I called as I extended my hand to the familiar figure heading my way. “I’m Joe from the theatre!” His look suddenly turned to one of concern, and his response took me aback: “Are you okay?”  I paused, visibly…

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Release Round-Up: Week of November 13

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Elton John, Jewel Box (EMI/UMe) 8CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Deep Cuts 4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Rarities & B-Sides 3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada And This Is Me… 2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Elton John is reaching deep into the vault with Jewel Box, a new, super-sized collection of rare and unreleased material.  The British pop legend’s deep dive into his expansive, five-decade-plus archive features 148 tracks on 8 CDs, approximately 63 of which are previously unreleased, plus three dozen B-sides being compiled together for the first time.  The discs are thematically organized as Deep…

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Barnes and Noble’s Vinyl Weekend Begins TODAY with Exclusive LPs from The Doors, The Hollies, Bread, Linda Ronstadt, Otis Redding, Classic Broadway Musicals

Today, Vinyl Weekend kicks off at Barnes and Noble locations around the United States.  This promotion sees the release a number of exclusive vinyl titles including classic albums, compilations, and cast recordings.  These titles are typically available even at locations that (shudder) no longer have full music departments, and should also be available at BN.com.  We’re spotlighting the catalogue-related titles and more below.  Click here to locate a B&N near you. Bread, Anthology of Bread (White Vinyl) (Elektra/Rhino) The 1985 compilation (based on the 1977 U.K. release The Sound of Bread) features…

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