Features / The Weekend Stream

Welcome back to another edition of The Weekend Stream, The Second Disc’s review of notable catalogue titles making digital debuts, plus new works from legacy acts and even some personally curated favorites. We’re catching up on some stray things we missed ahead of the Fourth of July holiday – so there’s certainly plenty to love!

Beyoncé, “Morning Dew (Donk)” (Parkwood/Columbia) (Apple / Amazon)

Queen Bey surprised the hive with a surprise release over the Fourth of July weekend: a fleshed-out version of the previously-leaked demo “Donk.” Though the track was believed to stem from the sessions to her famous 2013 surprise self-titled fifth album, Columbia in fact indicates it’ll feature later this year on a 20th anniversary edition of her sophomore album B’Day.

U2, “Street of Dreams” (Island) (Apple / Amazon)

Working with producer Jacknife Lee (who oversaw the group’s surprise EPs Days of Ash and Easter Lily earlier this year), U2 reapply once more to be one of the biggest bands in the world with the lead single off their as-yet unannounced next studio album. It’ll be the first such since the re-recording project Songs of Surrender in 2023, and their first of all-new material since 2017’s Songs of Experience.

Ben Folds Five, “Jackson Cannery” (Original 7″ Version) (self-released) (Apple / Amazon)

In addition to the exciting news about an expanded edition of their debut album, Ben Folds Five have also digitally dropped both sides of their independent debut single, recorded and pressed on 7″ vinyl in 1994 and sold at their concerts. “Jackson Cannery” and B-side “Eddie Walker” were re-recorded during the Caleb Southern-produced sessions for the trio’s debut – but while this original version of “Cannery” appeared on the 1998 odds-and-ends collection Naked Baby Photos, the more polished version of “Eddie” was included on the same disc, as it was one of three tracks cut from Ben Folds Five. As such, this version of “Eddie Walker” is being heard digitally for the first time!

John Lennon, Love (Meditation Mixes) (UMe) (Apple / Amazon)

Released on triple vinyl for Record Store Day back in April, this is a selection of ambient mixes and breakdowns of Lennon’s 1971 classic “Love,” perfect for getting you back into harmonic realignment.

Green Day, “I’m Never Gonna R.I.P.” (Reprise) (Apple / Amazon)

The pop-punk trio’s newest single – their first new studio material since 2024’s Saviors – comes with a most interesting delivery: it’s part of the soundtrack to the forthcoming comedy Nimrods, about a teenage band who hit the road under the mistaken impression that they’re opening for Green Day. We have a sinking suspicion that it’s all gonna work out; after all, the film’s 30-song soundtrack is more than half-filled with hits and deep cuts from the group’s catalogue. (The full soundtrack releases July 31, and will feature cuts from the groups-within-the-film as well as some additional live versions from Green Day themselves.)

Curt Smith, Mayfield / Halfway, Pleased (self-released)

Mayfield: Apple / Amazon
Halfway: Apple / Amazon

The Tears for Fears singer/bassist noted yesterday that two of his solo works are now universally digitally available. Mayfield was initially the name of a project between Smith and a new collaborator after exiting TFF, guitarist Charlton Pettus. (Pettus is now in the Tears for Fears family.) Their 1998 album of the same name was reissued by Smith in 2011 with a bonus version of the song “Trees” featuring indie-pop singer Janice Whalley. 2008’s Halfway, Pleased was a solo project Smith put aside when rejoining old bandmate Roland Orzabal and finished after their comeback album Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004).

George Michael feat. Mosimann, “I Want Your Sex” (Columbia/Legacy) (Apple / Amazon)

Swiss DJ Quentin Mosimann offers an uptempo club remix of George Michael’s sensuous 1987 chart-topper.

Andy Partridge, Fuzzy Warbles Vol. 7 (Ape House) (Apple / Amazon)

The seventh demo collection from XTC’s Andy Partridge arrived digitally, with one or two more to follow.

Christina Perri, lovestrong. (deluxe edition) (Atlantic/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

Singer/songwriter Perri made a huge splash when her gloomy pop single “Jar of Hearts” appeared on the reality competition So You Think You Can Dance in 2010. (To this day, I have vivid memories of the person who came into the Target I worked at angry that we hadn’t yet stocked debut lovestrong. only days after the episode in question aired. The album was released nearly a year later. -MD) This new deluxe edition includes a myriad of tracks included on a previous deluxe edition along with a new “epic” version of “Jar” produced by Rob Cavallo.

Jim Reeves, The Country Side (RCA) (Apple / Amazon)

Originally released on the budget RCA Camden imprint, this 1962 collection is still classic Reeves through and through. As always, Supervisible Multi Media worked with Reeve’s estate and Legacy Recordings to get this one live.

Mary Ann Kennedy, Strays (self-released) (Apple / Amazon)

Remember Mary Ann Kennedy? The former member of country group Calamity Jane who’s released a lot of tunes about horses? Supervisible also got this one up, featuring odds and ends from her independently-released work.

Scott Cossu, Islands (Windham Hill) (Apple / Amazon)

One last one from Supervisible, who’s been filling out the rare early ’80s works of the Windham Hill label. Pianist Scott Cossu’s deft blend of contemporary jazz and classical is a perfect, relaxing note to close out (and vibe out!) our column.

PASSINGS

Victor Willis – who passed away June 30, just a day short of his 75th birthday – was a man in uniform and a man of contradictions. His big, distinctive voice powered all the hits of the Village People in their short run as disco hitmakers, including “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man” and “In the Navy.” But Willis, frequently sporting the gear of a motorcycle cop, was not gay and, to hear him say it, did not contribute to the writing of those songs with the intention of crafting gay anthems. (This gets even weirder when you consider “Y.M.C.A.” is frequently played at rallies by president Donald Trump, who, as a Republican, seems to harbor little interest in the causes of queer Americans. Willis appreciated Trump’s usage of the song as an uptempo energy-setter, even though he, too, attempted to distance himself from full approval of his politics.) Whatever the truth is to you, it is hard to deny that those songs do have their share of get-up-and-go nearly 50 years later, and Willis, in their heyday and in this current era, was a force behind them.

The name of songwriter-producer Brian Potter (1939-2026) might not be instantly familiar, but his compositions certainly are: “Rock and Roll Heaven.” “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got).” “It Only Takes a Minute.” “Don’t Pull Your Love.” “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.).” With partner Dennis Lambert, the British-born Potter was a mainstay on the pop charts in the 1970s; his hit roster only grows when productions are taken into account, too – among them Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” and Player’s “Baby Come Back.” Potter, like Lambert, had a knack for a melodic hook and a universal lyric, and matching a song to an artist. They first teamed up for “One Tin Soldier,” the anti-war anthem which charted in different versions for The Original Caste, Coven, and Skeeter Davis.  When the Talent Associates publishing firm was sold to ABC-Dunhill Records, Lambert and Potter moved with it; Potter relocated to Lambert’s native U.S. to continue their collaboration. Blurring genre lines, the duo re-established a post-Motown Four Tops at ABC-Dunhill and goosed Glen Campbell’s career at Capitol in addition to notable songs and/or productions with Dusty Springfield, The 5th Dimension, “Papa” Denny Doherty, Tavares, The Righteous Brothers, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Santana, and countless others. Whether writing and producing in a pop, soul, or country vein, Brian Potter knew his way around a hit record.  His songs will continue to stand the test of time.