What do you think of them? Any that are worthwhile? Do they still serve a purpose (if they ever did)? Do you spend more to get them?
Always thought they were shite - especially if they came with 10-30 minutes of silence before them. There’s definitely some good ones kicking about though.
Paul is dead
Like 1 in 100 is good but would still rather they werent there. As least 20 mins of silence gave you a buffer to turn it off before they kick into some shite cover or something.
I remember my school chums being terrified being woken up by the Verve’s crying baby and Ash’s sick party. Those stories always amused me, but it never convinced me it wasn’t anything other than wasted space on a CD.
Mansun had a good one!
Only good one was probably the 5ive cover of Inspector Gadget which was like track 50 after about forty 5 second long tracks of silence IIRC.
Me White Noice before Think Tank was the best thing on the album, but rewinding from the start was a pain in the car.
Works in vinyl, works on a cd if you are using a cd player, does not work in digital releases, has always been annoying when hidden by silence in the last track. Particularly if its good.
Does anyone do them anymore? Last one i can think of is from about 10 years ago.
This is “hidden” at the end of Heartworm, and is fantastic, particularly when the guitars kick in at around 2.30.
Mr E’s Beautiful Blues is good.
I’ve bought one or two CDs where there were “bonus tracks” that were worth having. I put “bonus” because very often they are not really, in the sense that there was no earlier release that did not have them. I am not sure in what sense an album like Coldplay’s “X&Y”, recorded and released in the 21st century, can be said to have “extra” or “bonus” tracks. Having said that, the “bonus track” at the end of that album is probably a better song than many of the non-bonus songs on the album.
When it’s a case of extra tracks on a CD that were not on the earlier CD or vinyl release, I guess “bonus” is correct. Often I admit that I groan when finding they are there. Very often there is a reason they were left off the original, and it’s not to do with disc space, but rather that it simply wasn’t considered good enough for the release at the time. Now that CD capacity is greater, there is an expectation from the customers that a reissue will contain something extra, therefore the band or their label finds something in the vault, even if it’s a live recording in a railway station men’s room of a song where the studio version is already on the album. It’s especially annoying when you have a concept album or themed album with what feels like closure at the end, only to then get something that totally destroys the mood.
I appreciate the short period of silence before bonus tracks as it gives you plenty of time to hit the Stop button or lift the needle or whatever. I’d prefer, though, for any bonus tracks to be at the beginning, making it easy to skip if you wished. Alternatively, if there is bonus material that does not really go with the rest of the album, but you really think the fans should hear it, include a separate EP-style disc.
Remember being really pissed off that this track wasn’t on the LP.
Yeah, I have the cassette and CD, but not the Vinyl - I think it’s on the CD but not the cassette.
Citizens Band before the first song on SFA’ Guerrilla is one that comes to mind:
I remember one of my mates flipping out when he discovered the one on Nevermind.
“Do you reckon it’s worth extra money?!”
Dogs Howl by I Am Kloot, on the B-sides compilation (cunningly titles B), turns into Salomey Maloney by John Cooper Clarke. According to Wikipedia it’s recited by someone called Neil Bell. But whoever, it’s great.
The one on In Utero is good but then again haven’t heard it in maybe 20 years.
Represent on Travistan is the most glaring hidden track I can think of, where it was better than any other song on the album. For the most part the rigmarole of fast-forwarding and listening out for sound and then possibly having to rewind again makes hidden songs inherently disappointing for me. They’re almost never worth it.
There’s a good one on Disco Volante by Mr Bungle. On the CD it’s just at the end of track 3, but on vinyl you have to put the needle ‘between’ the normal track. Proper hidden track.