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've got solo appearances aplenty: Bono, Al Jardine, Grace Potter, John Fogerty, and more new/old music - plus a new subscription service from Crowded House, a Barry Manilow music video, and a tribute to one of the undisputed guitar gods of his generation.

Bono, Stories of Surrender EP (Island/Interscope/UMe) (Apple / Amazon)

In 2023, U2 frontman Bono embarked on his first ever solo tour, promoting the memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. His appearance at the Beacon Theater (what, do you expect him signing at a Barnes and Noble?) was recorded for the new documentary Stories of Surrender, now available on Apple TV+, and three tracks from the performance are now available as a digital EP. (A 7" will be available next month.)

Al Jardine, Islands in the Sun (UMe) (Apple / Amazon)

As Al Jardine gears up for his first-ever tour fronting The Pet Sounds Band - a.k.a. members of Brian Wilson's band including Darian Sahanaja and Al's son Matt Jardine - he's unveiled a surprise EP. Islands in the Sun is titled for an unused song penned for The Beach Boys' 1996 album of country duets Stars and Stripes; the buoyant calypso-flecked tune features Al joined by backing vocalists including Bruce Johnston and Matt Jardine. "My Plane Leaves Tomorrow," an outtake from 2010's A Postcard from California, features Neil Young as well as Flea, who contributes a trumpet solo on "Taps." The EP is rounded out by "Highway 101" - a riff on Leiber and Stoller's "Smokey Joe's Cafe" - and the stripped-down "Crumple Car." Islands in the Sun gives Beach Boys fans a little something to whet their appetites until the release this September (per Jardine) of the band's long-awaited box set covering the period that yielded such albums as The Beach Boys Love You and the unreleased Adult Child.  Al promises that his upcoming tour will feature gems from that era never performed live; now there's something (more) to sing about!

Grace Potter, Medicine (Hollywood) (Apple / Amazon)

Potter was already known as the frontwoman of roots-rock combo Grace Potter and The Nocturnals when she set into the studio for a planned solo debut, recorded in 2009 with producer T Bone Burnett and a murderer's row of session legends. Medicine was on the release schedule for 2010, but ultimately shelved in favor of a Nocturnals record featuring production by Mark Batson and versions of several of the intended Medicine tracks. A decade after The Nocturnals' dissolution - and just under two years after her latest solo album, Mother Road - Potter and Hollywood Records have dusted the original album off for fans to discover anew.

Hank Williams, Jr., Hank Williams Jr. Sings the Songs of Hank Williams / Ballads of the Hills and Plains / Blues My Name / Country Shadows / Hank Williams Jr. Live At Cobo Hall Detroit / Eleven Roses / Send Me Some Lovin' and A Whole Lotta Loving / After You/Pride's Not Hard to Swallow / Living Proof (MGM)

Sings the Songs: Apple / Amazon
Ballads: Apple / Amazon
Blues: Apple / Amazon
Shadows: Apple / Amazon
Live: Apple / Amazon
Roses: Apple / Amazon
Lovin': Apple / Amazon
After You: Apple / Amazon
Living Proof: Apple / Amazon

Thanks to reader Punk who tipped us off last week to an impressive spate of country classics by Hank Williams Jr. making their streaming debuts! These nine LPs, released between 1964 and 1974 and including his debut album of songs popularized by Hank's late, legendary father, showcase the early portion of Bocephus' multi-faceted career, long before he became a bearded, hell-raisin' superstar of the genre, whose '80s favorite "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" was adapted as the theme song to ABC's Monday Night Football.

John Fogerty, "Up Around the Bend" / "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" / "Porterville" (John's Versions) (Concord) (Apple / Amazon)

What a case of timing! When John Fogerty announced a new album of re-recorded versions of his most stalwart classics, Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years, he compared his long, ultimately successful battle for control of his publishing copyrights to Taylor Swift's ongoing project of re-recording her first six albums in versions she owns herself instead of investors Shamrock Capital, who purchased the masters from former label Big Machine. (Fogerty's album of 24 re-recordings, previewed with versions of "Up Around the Bend," "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" and "Porterville," even bore the track supplemental of "John's Version," just like "Taylor's Version" on Swift's re-recordings.) Interestingly, Swift yesterday announced the purchase of all her original masters - so that's two songwriters getting what they want this week.

Jane Child, Don't Wanna Fall in Love (Shep Pettibone and Teddy Riley Remixes) (Warner/Rhino)

Shep: Apple / Amazon
Teddy: Apple / Amazon

It's been just over 25 years since Jane Child - the Canadian singer with a chain on her nose ring and a truly striking mix of spiked hair and long braids - took the dance-pop earworm "Don't Wanna Fall in Love" (which she wrote, produced and recorded everything but guitar on her own) to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first and last time she'd trouble the Top 40. It's a pleasant surprise that Rhino has recently delivered not one but two EPs collecting all the concurrent remixes of the track: one set by acclaimed dance floor filler Shep Pettibone, and one by new jack swing king Teddy Riley.

Mariah Carey, The Emancipation of Mimi (20th Anniversary Edition) (Def Jam/UMe) (Apple / Amazon)

Mimi's classic 2005 comeback album got a deluxe 5LP reissue today, but it's worth pointing out that the digital version has a different track list. It lacks instrumentals of "It's Like That," "Shake It Off" and "Say Somethin'" and one remix of "Your Girl" - all of which were already available on digital EPs - but adds a new remix of "Say Somethin'" (by Solange Knowles, Beyoncé's sister) and an a cappella version of "Joy Ride."

UFO, "Young Blood" (Single Version) (Chrysalis) (Apple / Amazon)

UFO's expanded reissue of No Place to Run includes remixed audio of a 1980 concert - but digital services also get the original single edit of U.K. Top 40 hit "Young Blood."

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets, Echoes (Live) (Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)

Released on a single-sided, reverse-cut 12" single with etching for Record Store Day, this recording from a German show in 2024 features former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and his group Saucerful of Secrets (including former Floyd touring bassist Guy Pratt, Transit Kings keyboardist Dom Beken, guitarist Lee Wright of Ian Dury's Blockheads and ex-Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp) interpreting a classic work from the group's early years.

Pavement, Pavements (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Matador) (Apple / Amazon)

One of the most striking music films released this year is Pavements, from writer/director Alex Ross Perry. The movie, ostensibly about seminal '90s alt-rockers Pavement, turns the entire ideas of music documentaries inside out, combining actual documentary footage with reality-blurring segments from a biopic on the band (featuring Stranger Things star Joe Keery as a stand-in for frontman Stephen Malkmus who gets too deep into his role) and even selections from a (maybe?) fictional musical featuring the group's catalogue called Slanted! Enchanted! Naturally, a movie this offbeat has a soundtrack to match, combining clips from the film, archival performances (including a rehearsal version of "Wichitai-To," the band's first new recording in more than a quarter-century) and a performance by Lindsey Jordan under her nom de alt-rock Snail Mail.

Next to Normal (Original London Cast Recording) (Ghostlight) (Apple / Amazon)

Following the premiere of its pro-shot film earlier this month on PBS' Great Performances, the Donmar Warehouse's London production of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's Next to Normal receives an audio cast album. The album captures the power and drama of director Michael Longhurst's acclaimed staging which starred Caissie Levy (Disney's Frozen, the upcoming Ragtime revival) and Jamie Parker (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and ran in the West End last year at Wyndham's Theatre. This Next to Normal makes a fine companion to the still-striking original Broadway album and adds about 15 minutes of additional material. No physical release has yet been announced.

And that's not all! Here are a couple of other neat musical extras you might want to check out.

Crowded House Presents Private Universe

Neil Finn and his stalwart band are starting a new subscription service for fans, appropriately named after their incredible 1993 single. For just $6.99 a month, you'll have access to some exciting exclusives like concert ticket pre-sales, early access to shows, an online message board, live streams, rare and unreleased streaming audio and video (currently including a new 2024 recording of "Don't Dream It's Over" and a 1985 live set from pre-Crowded House group The Mullanes) and an exclusive t-shirt.

Barry Manilow, "Could It Be Magic" (Music Video)

One of TSD's favorite singer/songwriters has released another music video for one of his classic tracks. This sweeping Top 10 ballad gets a narrative clip that's at once tragic and even...sensual? It was created by Ástrea Filmes and shot in various locations around Rio de Janiero in Brazil, including, appropriately, the beach of Copacabana! (The video is cut to Manilow's shorter hit single version, but we'd love to see that original 1973 mix of the album make its way from a recent LP reissue to a digital format!)

Finally, we couldn't let the week end without an acknowledgement of the passing of Rick Derringer, who died May 26 at the age of 77. Guitarists don't get much more versatile than him, with a formidable career that covered a wide range of rock through the '60s, '70s and '80s. At 17, he fronted The McCoys and took a Bert Berns co-write, "Hang On Sloopy" (Apple / Amazon) to No. 1 in 1965. He served as a sideman and guitarist for both Johnny Winter (Apple / Amazon) and his brother Edgar, producing the smashes "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" (Apple / Amazon). His 1973 solo single "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" (Apple / Amazon) remains a rock radio staple; he played on Steely Dan's Countdown to Ecstasy (Apple / Amazon), Katy Lied (Apple / Amazon) and Gaucho (Apple / Amazon); laid down solos for Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" (Apple / Amazon) and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (Apple / Amazon); and is responsible for everything from one of wrestling's first seminal entrance themes (Apple / Amazon) to the production of "Weird Al" Yankovic's first six albums (Apple / Amazon). Most working artists would do anything for one of those achievements, but Rick did it all - and we're most grateful.