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. One of pop’s biggest estates corrects a recent blunder, Paul McCartney goes back to his latest album, new singles from beloved duos and frontmen and much, much more!

Prince, Calabama EP (NPG/Paisley Park) (Apple / Amazon)

Well, well, well. After the release of the outtakes collection Timeless was shockingly overshadowed by the nondisclosure of posthumous overdubs on the track “Calabama,” the Prince estate is attempting to right the course and, to their credit, mostly succeeding. This four-track EP includes the song as heard on that album and a “vault raw” mix with placeholder synths simulating the horns that Prince presumably never oversaw. It also sweetens the pot with two versions of the unissued outtake “Prince and The Band”; originally an oft-riffed motif at live shows in the early ’00s, some of the track’s rapped lyrics were integrated into “Calabama.” The first version of “Band” is a nearly solo joint from 2003, while the second was recorded with a full band in 2006 (complete with a horn section that included James Brown sideman Maceo Parker and Greg Boyer, who ironically set off the “Calabama”-gate in August). A ridiculously worded statement from the estate promises that this EP will offer “more insight into the process and the responsibility of releasing music from this one of a kind Prince Vault” (like, for instance, not posthumously overdubbing recordings without saying so); it also promises “certain selected untouched Vault recordings will also be made available for listening purposes at Paisley Park as archival artifacts in 2027.” We’ll see!

Paul McCartney, The Boys of Dungeon Lane (Special Edition) (MPL/Capitol) (Apple / Amazon)

Macca has expanded The Boys of Dungeon Lane – his 20th studio album, originally released just a few months ago in May – with four bonus tracks (“City Fox,” “One Night Stand,” “Chelsea Boots,” and a “flip mix” of “Home to Us” in which he and Ringo Starr exchange their vocal parts on the song). Visit PaulMcCartney.com to order the Special Edition on both CD and LP; the release date is December 9.

Carly Rae Jepsen, Day and Night (Continued) (School Boy/Interscope) (Apple / Amazon)

Queen of prolific pop! Canadian cult hero Carly Rae Jepsen is known in many circles for her breakthrough chart-topper “Call Me Maybe,” and known in others for her unceasing creative process. She allegedly wrote hundreds of songs for 2015’s E•MO•TION (the album and subsequent reissues and B-sides collections included 30 of them), and her newest album, last month’s Day and Night, is a themed 24-track double album inspired by her recent marriage and motherhood. Jepsen’s pen hasn’t run dry yet: following companion sets of outtakes for her last three albums, Day and Night (Continued) offers eight more tunes, two of which were released as bonus tracks with the standard album in Japan. A double vinyl release of this set will be available for Record Store Day Black Friday, November 27.

Alison Brown & Steve Martin feat. Del McCoury & Dan Tyminski, “Old Town Road” (Compass) (Apple / Amazon)

Still exhausted from the discourse on Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” which recently became the longest-running No. 1 hit in U.S. pop chart history? Take it back to a simpler time with this bluegrass cover of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” which kickstarted our era of super-sized chart runs in 2019 with a 19-week streak. (In terms of consecutive runs, that’s still unbeaten!) Banjoists Alison Brown and Steve Martin – yes, for those of you who don’t know: the legendary actor/comedian has long been a steady presence in the genre – join forces with singers Del McCoury and Dan Tyminski (the latter formerly of Alison Krauss’ Union Station) for a fun take on a song that never took itself terrifically seriously in the first place.

Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr., “Just the Two of Us” (Flatiron) (Apple / Amazon)

Earlier this year, TSD teamed with Cherry Red’s Strawberry imprint to release The 5th Dimension’s Let the Sunshine In: The Soul City and Bell Albums 1967-1974, the group’s first-ever box set. Now, Marilyn and Billy have given fans another gift: a smooth and romantic new recording of the Bill Withers classic “Just the Two of Us,” recorded for the benefit album A Sweet Relief Tribute to Bill Withers.

David Byrne & Daniel Pemberton, “Let Me Sell You a Dream” (Matador) (Apple / Amazon)

When will a David Byrne single test your limits? His latest song might: written for Alex Gibney’s hours-long documentary Musk, a cutting profile of self-styled tech multi-billionaire Elon Musk and his outsize sociopolitical influence, the lyrics of “Let Me Sell You a Dream” are entirely drawn from Musk’s interviews and excessive posts online. Your mileage may vary, but this writer doesn’t need more than a minute to decry this nitwit and the extremist ideologies he aligns himself with. Sorry!

Talking Heads, The Name of This Band Member is Tina (Warner/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

In other Byrne-related news…for a band that dissolved under vaguely acrimonious circumstances in the late ’80s and seemed rather opposed to reunions ever since, the members of Talking Heads are oddly cordial in recent years. They jointly promoted a theatrical re-release of Stop Making Sense in 2023 and a SiriusXM pop-up channel a few weeks ago – not to mention the ongoing spate of deluxe editions of their discography from Rhino (including the just-announced Fear of Music expansion). Now, Rhino is dropping digital playlist products that’ll represent curated tracks picked by each band member, starting with this week’s selections from bassist Tina Weymouth.

Tears for Fears, Woman in Chains EP (uDiscover Music) (Apple / Amazon)

Another digital configuration of bonus tracks from Tears for Fears’ The Seeds of Love, to be reissued next week in a reconfiguration of the 2020 box set version of their third album. This time, it’s for the album’s second single, the moving ballad “Woman in Chains,” featuring star-making duet vocals from the soulful Oleta Adams.

Robert Plant, Saving Grace: All That Glitters… (Nonesuch) (Apple / Amazon)

The Led Zeppelin frontman’s latest album, issued in 2025, was a collection of unexpected roots interpretation of everyone from Moby Grape and Blind Willie Johnson to indie-rock duo Low, recorded with singer Suzi Dian and his longtime touring band. Earlier this year, four more songs from the sessions were collected on a 12″ EP for Record Store Day, which is now more widely available as a digital title.

Brenda Lee, “Didn’t We Do It Good” (MCA Nashville/UMe) (Apple / Amazon)

UMe brings the “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” pop-country legend’s 1983 single produced by Jerry Crutchfield to digital services for the first time. This release concludes MCA Nashville’s initiative to bring 13 of Lee’s classic albums to digital platforms everywhere. This song by Bill Rice and Mary Sharon Rice reached No. 75 on the U.S. country chart and finds the big-voiced singer in a wistful, reflective contemporary country mode.

Roger Daltrey, Daltrey / Ride a Rock Horse / One of the Boys / Rocks in the Head (Cherry Red)

Daltrey: Apple / Amazon
Rock Horse: Apple / Amazon
One of the Boys: Apple / Amazon
Rocks in the Head: Apple / Amazon

The Who frontman’s first three studio albums (including the U.K. Top 10 success Daltrey) plus 1992’s Rocks in the Head return to digital platforms from our friends at Cherry Red Records.

Foreigner, Juke Box Heroes (Trigger/Atlantic/Rhino) (Apple / Amazon)

Originally distributed by Razor & Tie in 2011 and now with the rest of the band’s classic catalogue at Rhino, Juke Box Heroes was a testament to the power of Foreigner’s latter-day touring line-up, with founding guitarist Mick Jones, lead singer Kelly Hansen, bassist Jeff Pilson, keyboardist Michael Bluestein, rhythm guitarist/saxophonist Thom Gimbel and drummer Mark Schulman re-recording the band’s most enduring hits plus a new song, “Save Me.” (Pilson and Bluestein are still active in the band, and Hansen only retired last year; Jones continues to manage the band’s copyrights, and original vocalist Lou Gramm occasionally appears in concert.)

Oingo Boingo, The Great Pumpkin Drop (uDiscover Music) (Apple / Amazon)

With Halloween a few weeks away, UMe’s editorial vertical has compiled this down ‘n’ dirty assembly of some of the most recognizable hits from Danny Elfman’s old rock band (“Dead Man’s Party,” “Weird Science”), a few he’s recently dusted off for his  recent solo tour dates (“On the Outside,” “Just Another Day”) and one that recently earned a bit of virality online (“Perfect System,” from the band’s 1981 self-titled debut).

Eddy Grant, Born Tuff (Ice) (Apple / Amazon)

The synth-heavy, rhythmic ninth album from Guyanese/British singer Eddy Grant is his latest to roll out on digital storefronts after years of resistance.

Sheena Easton, When He Shines EP (RT Industries) (Apple / Amazon)

Sheena’s 1981 single “When He Shines” anchors an EP also featuring the original B-side “Right or Wrong” plus a live version and “piano version” of the A-side and “Have You Heard the Rumour.” This EP is available on CD in Easton’s recent The Singles 1980-1987 box set.

Stuff Smith, Have Violin, Will Swing (Deluxe Edition) / Cat on a Hot Fiddle (Deluxe Edition) (Verve/UMe)

Will Swing: Apple / Amazon
Hot Fiddle: Apple / Amazon

A well-regarded jazz swing violinist (part of the legendary “Great Day in Harlem” photo), Stuff Smith’s first works as bandleader were in the mid-to-late ’50s for Verve, including one LP where he shared top billing with Dizzy Gillespie. Have Violin, Will Swing and Cat on a Hot Fiddle were his last for the label; they’ve been expanded digitally with material from the long out-of-print box set from Mosaic rounding up his material for the label.

Vince Guaraldi Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas (Remastered 2026) / Miles Davis Quintet, Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet (Remastered 2026) / John Coltrane, John Coltrane with The Red Garland Trio (Remastered 2026) (Craft Recordings)

Guaraldi: Apple / Amazon
Davis: Apple / Amazon
Coltrane/Garland: Apple / Amazon

Fresh remasters of a few little-heard jazz albums.

Modern Mandolin Quartet, The Nutcracker Suite (Windham Hill) (Apple / Amazon)

Delivered with the help of SuperVisible Multi Media, this wintry wonder from 1991 finds the Modern Mandolin Quartet tacking Tchaikovsky as well as Vivaldi (The Four Seasons) and Mozart (The Magic Flute) in their inimitable style.

Billy Jackson & The Citizens’ Band, Billy Jackson & The Citizens’ Band (RCA) (Apple / Amazon)

A known producer/songwriter for Cameo Parkway, Billy Jackson cut only one album as a bandleader in 1976, with a studio group he called The Citizens’ Band. The songs are mostly early pop and pre-rock cuts (“Mr. Sandman,” “Old Devil Moon”), and the rhythm section was led by drum legend Bernard “Pretty” Purdie.

Melody Federer & Burt Bacharach, “Love Will Find a Way” (Melody Place) (Apple / Amazon)

Singer-songwriter Melody Federer was one of the late Burt Bacharach’s final collaborators. Following the recent release of “Blanket Capes,” she’s now dug into the archives for another Bacharach/Federer collaboration. The beautiful “Love Will Find a Way” features Bacharach on the piano and production by another of the Maestro’s final co-writers, Daniel Tashian.

The Phantom of the Opera (The Andrew Lloyd Webber 2026 Mix) (The Other Songs) (Apple / Amazon)

In advance of its November 6 release on CD and vinyl, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new mix of the classic original cast recording of Phantom of the Opera hits streaming services. Lloyd Webber’s remix emphasizes the rock elements of the score without sacrificing the lushness and romanticism; it also restores some minor bits excised from the album for reasons of space. Including three fun bonus demos (one of which is the amusing, previously unreleased song “Box Five”), this new version of the album runs about 16 minutes longer than the original release.

Brad McNett & Tyler Driskill, Live at the Metropolitan Room (Amazon)

Fans of classic standards would do well to check out this new live album from vocalist Brad McNett and pianist Tyler Driskill recorded a decade ago at New York’s long-gone Metropolitan Room. McNett and Driskill tackle an appealing range of standards (Lerner and Loewe’s “On the Street Where You Live,” Cole Porter’s “In the Still of the Night,” “Just One of Those Things” and “What is This Thing Called Love”) and surprises (Ben Gibbard’s “Me and Magdalena,” famously recorded by Michael Nesmith and The Monkees) alike on this enjoyable half-hour set.

Imani Coppola, “Torn” (7a Records) (Apple / Amazon)

Singer-songwriter-violinist Imani Coppola releases her new single, “Torn” – a striking reinterpretation of the Anne Preven/Phil Thornalley/Scott Cutler song made famous by Natalie Imbruglia – this weekend via 7a Records.

FABULOUS FINDS

Here’s a new, occasional space we’re going to make in The Weekend Stream for titles that may not be new to streaming, but are certainly interesting either way.

The Police, “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” (Japanese and Spanish Versions) (A&M)

Japanese: Apple / Amazon
Spanish: Apple / Amazon

While mourning a merch drop for the 45th anniversary of Ghost in the Machine that includes everything but a reissue to match 2024’s Synchronicity box, TSD discovered a pair of new-ish-to-digital tracks by The Police we had never seen before: two foreign-language versions of the band’s deceptively simple 1980 hit “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.” Originally released on a limited single with a double-sided, culturally-matching picture sleeve for each side, both Spanish and Japanese versions have been delivered as their own single-track products – complete with those sleeve sides as artwork. Whenever this happened, it remains pretty exciting for fans of the band!

The Hooters, Largo (Island) (Apple / Amazon)

The 1998 album Largo was sort of hiding in plain sight on digital storefronts for many years. Loosely inspired by Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony, it’s a collection of original Americana tracks led, co-written and co-produced by Rob Hyman of Philadelphia rockers The Hooters. Much of The Hooters’ collective – co-founder/co-writer Eric Bazilian, co-producer Rick Chertoff, engineer William Wittman – is present, along with friends and guests like Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nile, Joan Osborne, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of The Band, The Chieftains, Taj Mahal and Carole King. So – perhaps with the help of SuperVisible Multi Media, who recently got some latter-day Hooters albums digitally available – Universal has properly tagged in the group on digital versions, allowing fans to discover this for the first time or familiarize themselves with a lesser-known project.

PASSINGS

Freddie Jackson, a purveyor of satin soul in the ’80s and ’90s, logged 10 chart-topping singles on Billboard‘s R&B chart, including the crossover pop hits “Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times’ Sake)” and his signature ballad “You Are My Lady.” Gone last week just days after his 70th birthday, he’ll be missed by connoisseurs of the genre.

A prolific film composer, George Fenton worked with directors like Richard Attenborough (Gandhi, Cry Freedom), Nora Ephron (Mixed Nuts, You’ve Got Mail) and even rom-com director Andy Tennant (Sweet Home Alabama, Hitch). His frequent, varied and expressive works continue to touch us, particularly in his native England, where he composed many themes to BBC news programs as well as the score to David Attenborough’s gripping documentary epic Planet Earth.

Chicago-born singer Verne Allison was the second tenor for beloved vocal group The Dells, known for pop hits like “Stay in My Corner” and “Oh What a Night.” Formed in the Chicago suburbs and signed for many years to the city’s Chess Records imprint Cadet, the group were truly survivors of their form. The Dells had a unique distinction as an act with a Top 40 hit on the R&B charts in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s – the latter thanks to writer/director Robert Townsend’s film The Five Heartbeats, loosely based on their career. In a business of constant upheaval, The Dells also maintained a shockingly consistent line-up, with the best-known quintet together from 1961 to 2009. (Baritone Michael “Mickey” McGill now stands as the group’s last living member.)