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. This week's got a new single by a comedy icon, some more Duran Duran EPs, a recent Paul McCartney 7" making its way to streaming and so much more.

"Weird Al" Yankovic, Polkamania! (Way Moby) (iTunes / Amazon)

Ten summers ago, pop's parody king released his 13th (and likely final) album Mandatory Fun, and even got a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 for his trouble. A lot of songs have become famous since then, and with his trusty accordion, his longtime band and a clutch of horn and woodwind players, Al's put out a medley of the biggest ones, complete with a typically humorous video. (He's also done some great interviews about the track and video, so check those out, too.)

Paul McCartney & Wings, One Hand Clapping - The Backyard (One Hand Clapping Sessions) EP (MPL/Capitol/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

A short selection of loose covers recorded by Paul McCartney in the backyard of Abbey Road Studios just after wrapping up the live-in-studio One Hand Clapping sessions were included as a bonus 7" EP on the recent vinyl edition of that belated release. If you missed them, you now have a chance to hear them without a turntable.

Duran Duran, I Don't Want Your Love / All She Wants Is / Do You Believe in Shame? / Burning the Ground EPs (Parlophone)

Love: iTunes / Amazon
Wants: iTunes / Amazon
Shame: iTunes / Amazon
Burning: iTunes / Amazon

Duran Duran's digital singles campaign concludes, just as their albums come back into print, with three singles from 1988's Big Thing: the Top 10 hit "I Don't Want Your Love," the underrated dance groove "All She Wants Is" and the introspective "Do You Believe in Shame." All are packed with rare mixes and B-sides. As a bonus, they've also released a digital version of "Burning the Ground" and "Decadance," a set of megamixes released to promote the 1989 compilation Decade. (As The Singles 1986-1995, the box set that made this single more widely available, is not available digitally in the U.S., we've got ourselves a Stateside premiere!)

Ashlee Simpson, Autobiography (Expanded Edition) (Geffen/UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

The younger sister of pop sensation turned reality TV star Jessica Simpson courted a slightly more edgy pop/rock audience with her diaristic debut in 2004, largely co-written with songwriting pro Kara DioGuardi and producer John Shanks and featuring the Top 5 hit "Pieces of Me." (She earned a place in pop culture infamy when the studio vocal from that track accidentally cued during a performance on Saturday Night Live, leading to accusations of lip-syncing.) Two decades after its release, it's been digitally redelivered with three bonus tracks from international pressings.

Neil Diamond, Home Before Dark (Deluxe Edition) (UMe) (iTunes / Amazon)

After the success of 12 Songs, the legendary crooner's second collaborative album with producer Rick Rubin, released in 2008, was also a record-setting No. 1, to boot. (At 67, Diamond became the oldest to top the Billboard charts, surpassing Bob Dylan's achievement of releasing the No. 1 album Modern Times when he was 65. A year later, Dylan broke Diamond's record when Together Through Life reached the peak while the legendary singer-songwriter was eight months older than Diamond had been when he'd released this LP.) It now features two covers that were available on physical deluxe editions: a take on Harry Nilsson's "Without Her" and - surprise! - a rendition of Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love."

U2, Beautiful Day EP (Island/UMO) (iTunes / Amazon)

After covering the Pop era in great detail, U2 turn their attention to All That You Can't Leave Behind, an era that was pretty thoroughly covered in a recent box set. Nonetheless, there's a few new-to-digital tracks amid the reprises from that box on the "Beautiful Day" EP, including two live cuts from a PopMart Tour gig in Mexico City (there's three, but one was already available on a separate EP) and one of the three dance mixes of the focus track.

Tron Austin, Better Days (Tron Music) (iTunes / Amazon)

This engaging EP of melodic rock tunes - stylistically, not too different from what you'd hear on the radio in the late '90s and early '00s, but with a bit more spirit to them - comes from a most unexpected artist: Tron Austin is the son of R&B/hip-hop producer Dallas Austin and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas of TLC. He's pretty talented in his own right, though - you don't want to miss this, if you're a fan of the genre.

The Very Best of Sting & The Police (A&M) (iTunes / Amazon)

One of the more unusual finds of the day is the original version of this 1997 compilation, the only one to package The Police's hits with Sting's solo material. The more familiar version (also digitally available, with a cover featuring Sting in the ...Nothing Like the Sun album shoot) was issued in 2002, incorporating Sting solo material up to 1999's Brand New Day; this one, thus, features a different running order and two hard-to-find-on-digital tracks: a single edit of the Mercury Falling cut "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot," and a truly unusual remix of "Roxanne" by now-sort-of-disgraced producer/rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs. If you've wanted to hear a rap from Pras Michel of the Fugees combined with samples of The Police's chorus (along with James Brown and Funk Inc., for good measure)...here's your chance.

Patti LuPone, A Life in Notes (Center Stage) (iTunes / Amazon)

Patti LuPone has brought her new, intimate, autobiographical concert to the studio for this recording. The Tony Award-winning star (Company, Gypsy, Evita) hits many of the high points of her Broadway career ("The Ladies Who Lunch," "Some People," "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina") in stripped-down arrangements, while also showcasing the classic pop and rock songs that have influenced her including songs from Janis Ian ("Stars"), The Beatles ("In My Life"), Leon Russell ("A Song for You"), Bacharach and David ("Alfie"), and Bob Dylan ("Make You Feel My Love," "Forever Young"). The CD edition arrives on August 30.

Lastly, Joe would like to pay tribute to a couple of heroes...

Bob Newhart (1929-2024)

Bob Newhart earned legions of fans as Dr. Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show and, later, as Dick Loudon on the even more simply-titled Newhart. But before that pair of sitcom triumphs (and the indelible performances in Elf and The Big Bang Theory), the stammering everyman with the deadpan demeanor and flawless timing endeared himself to audiences with his debut album.  The Warner Bros. LP The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart (iTunes / Amazon) sold more than a million copies, pulled its label out of dire financial straits, went to No. 1 on the Billboard chart, and beat Nat "King" Cole and Frank Sinatra for Album of the Year at the Grammys. (Bob also picked up Best New Artist and Best Comedy Performance - Spoken Word, the latter for the "sequel" album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!). If you only know Bob from his legendary sitcoms, take a half-hour or so out of your weekend and give The Button-Down Mind a listen. ("Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue" and "Driving Instructor" are two favorites.)  If you've got a little more time, dig into Rhino's unsurpassed Something Like This...The Bob Newhart Anthology (iTunes / Amazon), drawing on his seven WB albums. (One highlight: "Introducing Tobacco to Civilization.") In any setting, Bob was an American original. His legacy of good-natured yet sharply incisive laughter will endure.

Jerry Fuller (1938-2024)

Jerry Fuller made his mark on American music across eight decades. As a songwriter with a gift for both melody and lyrics, he wrote such classics as Ricky Nelson's "Travelin' Man," Al Wilson's "Show and Tell," and Gary Puckett and The Union Gap's "Young Girl," "Lady Willpower," and "Over You." As a singer, he charted four songs as a teen idol in the late 1950s and early 1960s, returning to the Country charts in the late 1970s with another pair of singles including "Lines," first recorded by The Walker Brothers. Jerry was a versatile producer, too, helming successful albums for Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Mark Lindsay, O.C. Smith, and his close friend and onetime bandmate, Glen Campbell. Jerry was a cherished friend of TSD, contributing to various releases of his productions for Mathis and Williams. We were also thrilled to unearth a previously unreleased version of Jerry's "Touch and Go," a 1974 hit for Al Wilson, as recorded for Motown by Shaun Murphy, a.k.a. Stoney. Jerry remained enthusiastic about music in his later years, recording numerous volumes of his songs, old and new, and always willing to share stories about his many collaborations. Thanks for the music, Jerry. You can listen to Stoney's "Touch and Go" here (iTunes / Amazon), and to Johnny Mathis' original recording of "Show and Tell" here (iTunes / Amazon).