Albums improved by bonus tracks

the title track on mya's moodring
'i can be that woman' AND 'hands on me' on christina milian's it's about time
'man up' on amerie's touch

originally a split lp on savoy, the 2001 atlantic cd reissue includes tons of unreleased dixon work. many, many brilliantly terrifying/terrifyingly brilliant solos.

Soft Cell- Non-stop erotic cabaret- I have an issue with 10! incredible bonus early singles & b-sides not on the album- it doesn't have all their great songs, but the 20 tracks make it a better collection than any other "best ofs".

And the expanded 2CD The Name Of This Band Is the Talking Heads is a revelation.

The vinyl version of American Music Club's SAN FRANCISCO tragically slashes the two best songs that're found on the complete (CD) version.

If this were fifteen years ago, I might have voted for the Cure's addition of Carnage Visors to the Faith CD, but now I'm too old to care. :-)

the new pornographers - challengers

Fragile and Close to the Edge are improved by versions of "America", I think Yes does a great job with those songs (I've never heard the original)

I like the bonus tracks on BOC's Secret Treaties as well. "Boorman the Chauffeur" should have made the original cut.

The Yes version of "America" is great although the original is great too and you should definitely hear it (and the entire "Bookends" for that matter).

To the original thread:
"Ringo" obviously doesn't suffer from having "It Don't Come Easy" added at the end.

Albums that would have been better had the following same-era tracks been added

destroyer - kaputt, for "the laziest river" - the european tracklist with it second last is the best sequence
kylie minogue - fever, for "tightrope"

rihanna anti

Geir OTM on "The Visitors".

the pet shop boys are the kings of the b sides and have a whole album of their early material called alternative but have had alot more since!

"Just Like Heaven" is a pretty much perfect added closer to 'You're Living All Over Me' by Dinosaur Jr.

I kinda think the b-side ballad "When A Blind Man Cries" really works at the end of Deep Purple's 'Machine Head' too.

The bonus tracks on the 90s CD reissue of Richard Hell’s Blank Generation make it flow much better as an album. His junkie crooner version of “All the Way” is a perfect album closer

otm YLAOM and Anti.

I was gonna say The Life of Pablo but now I can't find any proof that Fade and No More Parties in LA were bonus tracks.

I pity the fool who owns only the "Standard Edition" of either this or this

dua lipa : both albums are massively improved via their deluxe/extra tracks editions.
i listen to the 'club future nostalgia' version a lot more than the standard album.
same re the expanded ellie goulding/halcyon days album.

I listen to Wendy & Bonnie's acoustic demos of songs that were left off 'Genesis' probably more than the actual album. The 2CD version with the demos of the album tracks is more than i need.

I didn’t see Synchronicity mentioned upthread but that’s an obvious one for me. “Murder by Numbers” is comfortably better than 3-4 of the album tracks.

The Who Sell Out definitely. Exhibit A in terms of bonus tracks turning a near-great album into a fully-realized masterpiece IMHO. The 1995 remix of the later reissues with the vintage mixes both show this.

The Replacements' Don't Tell a Soul kind of counts...I wish you could take the 2008 reissue and replace the album proper with the new Dead Man's Pop mix released in 2019, that would be a CD worthy of sitting next to Let It Be et al. The mix is a big improvement, but the extra stuff like "Portland," "We Know the Night," "Wake Up" and even "Date to Church" makes up for the weaker and less fun material that originally made the cut.

It's great having the UK versions of My Aim Is True and Armed Forces ending with the bonus singles "Watching the Detectives" and "What's So Funny..." "Radio Radio" is a great single too but adding it to the end of This Year's Model undermines the great and abrupt ending to "Night Rally."

The three bonuses Rykodisc originally picked for Young Americans were perfect, partly because two originally made the cut and the third was definitely in the running (and released as an actual single anyway). I generally prefer Bowie albums as they originally were, but this is one big exception where the addition of these three make the album more worthwhile.

While I'm at it, a couple of Target exclusives of recent years have been worth getting for the bonus track bait: Prince's Originals (the "cinematic" mix of "Nothing Compares 2 U" is my favorite version of that song outside of Sinéad O'Connor's own version) and the new Raise the Roof album by Plant & Krauss (both bonus tracks are keepers, especially the second Lucinda Williams cover).

all of the gil scott-heron rumal-gia late 90s/early 2000s cd versions added a lot to those albums. i consider those the best versions.

and i mean . . . pretty much every blue note cd reissue with extra material is worth it.

The The - Infected CD with the 12" versions

Does Pixies - Surfer Rosa + Come on Pilgrim count?

Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion

Pulp - His 'N' Hers (the bonus tracks on the deluxe reissues are some of the best songs they ever did, especially B-sides such as Seconds and Her Sister's Clothes)

Jessie Ware - Her first three albums (Imagine It Was Us, Midnight Caller, Love To Love, Til' The End)

Haim - Women In Music III

Dexys Midnight Runners - Don't Stand Me Down: The Directors Cut (Kevin Rowland's 13th Time should have never been taken off the album)

Roxy Music - S/T (I couldn't imagine the album without Virginia Plain)

Beyonce - Four (mainly for Schoolin' Life)

Britney - Glory (If I'm Dancing should have been the lead single)

Suede - Deluxe Reissues (same as Pulp, those B-sides from the first three albums are career highs)

The Modern Lovers - S/T (especially for Dignified & Old)

'Architecture & Morality' is probably my favorite album of 1981--and yet, the b-sides "Romance of the Telescope," "Of All the Things We've Made" (and maybe "Sacred Heart") are maybe even better and make the album even better.

Not surprising they formed the emotional core of 'Dazzle Ships'.

Bad feels incomplete without "Leave Me Alone."

grew up on the Taang reissue of Spacemen 3's "The Perfect Prescription"

Returning to the first post, I don't see how "Wings Wild Life" is improved by adding "Give Ireland Back to the Irish".

Ok, it's now an archival set with lots of fine extras.

But the original cd, if you like the album or don't, isn't improved by the addition of one track that doesn't fit in with the rest.

The three bonuses Rykodisc originally picked for Young Americans were perfect

"Who Can I Be Now?" would have been the perfect closer to that album.

They’re not great albums but Drake’s hotline bling and Minaj’s superbass are the biggest hits of their respective albums and they’re bonus tracks

Also surprised it hasn’t been mentioned so far but “This Charming Man” and “how soon is now?” are two of the most iconic Smiths songs and they were also bonus tracks

The expanded CD of Skip Spence's Oar released by Sundazed in 199 is incredible. The recent 3xCD AndOarAgain might have been too inclusive - it's more an archive than an album - but the highlights are as good or even better than the album, farther 'out.'

*1999

The Modern Lovers - S/T (especially for Dignified & Old)

― kitchen person,

I have the 80's Rhino LP with Dignified & Old at the end of side A.

i never realized it had 3 songs that weren't on the album originally. that's so weird. especially in the middle of the running order, i get that it's for fidelity reasons but...

wow I had no idea those songs weren't part of the original, this is totally messing with my my head

also, the rykodisc release of Big Star's "Third" - that one's a little iffy since the tracklisting for that has always fluctuated.

For me, the definitive version of Duran Duran's Rio is still the third edition american Capitol Records LP that subbed out the UK mix of side A with the superior Kershenbaum Night mixes. The night mix of "Hold Back The Rain" is spectacular - there's an entire thread about it.

Live At Leeds and No Sleep Till Hammersmith also improved by including most/all of the original gig.

Will definitely third Anti. The standard album is still pretty great but Disturbia pushes it above and beyond