Intelligent Life On Planet Rock
Best Ever Bonus Track
Posted by Steerpike on 3 April 2009 - 9:04pm.
Usually they add nothing meaningful and often spoil the memory of a perfectly balanced album. Yet, just sometimes a bonus track can be a diamond - twinkling and unexpected. My personal favourite can be found on Love's Forever Changes - 'Your Mind and We Belong Together' (Tracking Session Highlights). The combination of Arthur Lee's 'far out' guidance to long suffering guitarist Bryan Maclean as he struggles not to play too fast, too quiet etc over 37 takes is hilarious. And what a guitar solo! Great value.
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Eels
MrE's Beautiful Blues from Eels' Daisies Of The Galaxy. That's pretty good.
Agreed
but Mr E never wanted it there because it didn't fit with the album and insisted on a long pause before it started.
Surely
The Cunts Are Running The World from Jarvis Cockers album, just a shame its half an hour after the final track!
For some reason...
Elbow's Asleep In The Back was originally released without the title track - if memory serves, the track was released as a standalone single before being added to the reissued album. Nice tune, though.
a peach
My all-time favourite Elbow track that.
Better than the original tracks sometimes
Some of my favourites:
Jack a Lynn on Tull's Broadsword & the Beast
Who Can I Be Now on Bowie's Young Americans
When a Blind Man Cries from Purple's Machine Head
Black Dog and The Ocean from The Song Remains the Same
This Must Be the Place - a wonderful addition to Stop Making Sense
I Can See - gem from Martin Stephenson's Gladsome Humour & Blue
Naked Eye on at least 2 of the Who's Next reissues
The alternate When Heart is Open on Van's Common One
Mickey Rourke would be proud
"the Wrestler" from Bruce's working on a dream.
not saying it's the best, but it's good.
Lyle Lovett
The Girl In The Corner. I wish I had such a girl.
Good call!
Do you really want her??
Are hidden tracks the same as bonus tracks?
.......anyway, it's better than any of the ones posted before.
The Feeling - Miss You
No, honestly. Brave choice, I know, in this company, but give it a try.
In my imagination, I can hear it being covered by a really good (LGBT?) choir - not a dry eye in the house after that one.
I'll second that...
I'll second the Feeling - still think it's the best thing they've ever done.
A welcome twist...
...to the bonus/hidden track is on the 2 Many DJs 'As Heard on Radio Soulwax Vol.2' compilation. If you 'rewind' from track 1, the CD goes into 'negative' time to approximately -4.00 minutes, and there's a remix of Kylie's once-ubiquitous 'Can't Get You Outta My Head'.
Not my favourite, but deserves a mention for sheer ingenuity. If I remember correctly, there's a similar device on Bloc Party's first album too.
Blur and Super Furry Animals
have also done this - on Think Tank and (I think) Guerilla respectively.
Also on Luke Haines' "Das Capital"
Track minus 1 is a rather nice orchestral overture/medley of Auteurs songs. The first one I remember hearing about was a "Songs Inspired by The X-Files" compilation.
Ash 1977
Some copies, including mine, feature the single version of "Jack Names The Planets" plus it's b-side, "Don't Know", at the start via the rewind function. Both excellent songs.
The hidden track at the end of the album however, is of the band being sick. You can't have it all, indeed.
EDIT- Sorry, if you read further down someone else already mentioned the one at the end.
Hot Clud De Paris had it for
Hot Clud De Paris had it for their first album too- I didn't realise until a year later.
Mos Def....
Sorry for banging on about the slurring Brooklynite, but I think that his music is amazing.
Consequently, I am a great fan of "The Jump Off", a track he did with Ludacris as a bonus track for "The New Danger" album.
And I think that "Time Travel", the hidden track off the first Coral album is superb too. A shame you have to fast forward to get it.
Ash in the boy's room
Is there a worse bonus track than that 'hidden' at the end of Ash's '1977' CD where we are subjected to approximately 10 minutes of one band member puking into a toilet proudly whilst the rest of the (admittedly literally )juveniles laughed enthusiastically and urged him to even greater feats of the vomitous arts...?
The Clash
Train in Vain - uncredited on London Calling...
The winner!
Certainly a contender
... as it is perhaps the best thing on a very good album.
Fleetwood Mac
Probably won't interest anyone, but... the version of SONGBIRD on the Rumours bonus disc is better than the one they used on the original LP. Has a nice sprinkling of acoustic guitar on it, so it does. Also the version of HONEY HI on the Tusk bonus disc has a better drum sound than the one they went for.
The Tusk bonus disc
That bonus disc is excellent, it's like a parallel Tusk where Lindsey's songs are smoother and the songs by the ladies are a little rougher. Thumbs up for that.
I´m surprised no one´s mentioned
Her Majesty. Was it the first ever hidden/bonus track? The line "but she doesn´t have a lot to say" I think is agreed upon by anyone who lives in a monarchy.
Stone Roses hoe-down
The coughing, spluttering, tweedle-dee hoe-down at the end of "Second Coming" is surely the fifth and final good thing on that album.