Albums improved by bonus tracks

also quebec by Ween which ends with "Ooh La Va" on the JP version, despite the big blowout "real" ending I think finishing with some weirdass & extremely catchy shit is actually much better

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

Yeah, definitely- forgot about that one! I wish Omnivore would reissue the master takes on a single CD, but they did put them out as a double LP and the last CD of their 3-CD deluxe set. That deluxe set's last disc (and the double LP for that matter) is basically everything on the Rykodisc release with better mastering and one additional track.

I'm guessing that if you like the big star "third" album, chances are you probably own a number of 'imaginings' of the album.

Me? I'm fortunate in that I own that 3cd deluxe set, off an Amazon special offer.

I have a weird Record Store Day version of Third that I cannot find on the internet, discogs doesn't have it. it's on Omnivore and was from the same reissue project

but it's different than the Third: Complete Masters, it is packaged like reel to reel tape, and iirc the deal was that this is supposed to be the version submitted for test pressing and was the intended running order, has fewer songs (only a single album)

tracklist:
side 1 -
Stroke it Noel
Downs
Femme Fatal
Thank You Friends
Holocaust
Jesus Christ
Blue Moon

side 2 -
Kissa Me
For You
Oh Dana
Nightime
Whole Lotta Shakin'
Kanga Roo
Take Care

W.A.S.P.'s "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", since it was not allowed on the album by the label and really is a better start to the album than "I wanna Be Somebody"

xp

https://www.discogs.com/release/2831232-Big-Star-Third-Test-Pressing-Edition

assuming it's this one yr referring to? It's the edition I have also.

I believe it was promoted by having some of them being the real original test pressings.

I can't imagine a version of Sister Lovers made better by omitting "Big Black Car". I have the 80s PVC edition on vinyl.

I was surprised to learn that the first four tracks on my CD of the Fall’s Perverted by Language were singles that were not part of the original LP (and it ended with one more). The expanded tracklist is definitely an improvement on an already great album

Re: Live at Leeds et al, with few exceptions, I usually prefer live albums with bonus tracks, anything that brings them closer to a full show rather than a 40 minute excerpt.

In terms of other studio albums, the bonus tracks on the Byrds albums are very helpful. Except for their debut, their second, third and fourth albums can feel uneven to me, a problem that is easily rectified with their accompanying bonus tracks. They had the material to release six rock-solid masterpieces in a row, though I guess as-is those first six are all still great albums, just flawed in some cases.

I really love hearing the UK sequence of Are You Experienced? with the singles as bonus tracks. I'm glad that album's always had them since the '90s (though the U.S. sequence was favored for American CD's once the Hendrix family got back the rights).

The Kinks deluxe editions are mostly great, I wish the Beatles and the Stones followed the same model for packaging together the mono and stereo mixes with appropriate bonuses like the singles.

Al Green's Greatest Hits definitely benefits from having more hits.

One practice I miss is how a lot of indie and punk CD reissues added an EP or singles that immediately followed or preceded the album in question. Gang of Four, the Mekons, Wire's debut, etc...it was a nice handy way of keeping those EP's available. Sensible aesthetically and economical as well.

One exception: XTC. Inserting bonus tracks in the middle of an LP's original sequence just blows.

xxp do you think those added singles would've been better at the end, or do you like having them open the CD, right before the album? I usually prefer the end, but there are rare cases where I enjoy hearing the singles first. (The 1993 reissue of Hendrix's Are You Experienced? comes to mind.)

I do like having them open the CD… but that’s also how I first experienced it, so there may be some bias there (I guess the logic is – they were released before the album, so that’s how a fan would’ve encountered the songs).

As a random postscript… I just fired up the first Dinosaur Jr. album on streaming, and it starts with “Bulbs of Passion”! I only know it as a final / bonus track.

Wikipedia sez:

"Bulbs of Passion" was not featured on the original vinyl LP; it was a b-side to the "Repulsion" single. Subsequent reissues on cassette and compact disc featured it as the last song. The 2005 reissue on Merge Records placed "Bulbs of Passion" as the first track at J Mascis' request. "Yeah, I asked for that," J recalls, "because [that song] gave our new direction - it felt like we were our own sound."

The Raincoats themselves admitted that it was a mistake to leave "Fairytale In The Supermarket" off of their first album, so all the current editions of the album lead off with it.

Second for the guy who mentioned "Mutations" by Beck 15 years ago on this thread.

My CD finished with "Runners Dialled Zero" and "Diamond Bollocks", although the album apparently finishes with "Static".

Great album.

One of the CD editions of Elvis's first album opened with "Heartbreak Hotel", his first RCA single, instead of "Blue Suede Shoes".

The problem with the Raincoats is that some of their other CDs removed tracks from the original LPs, which I don't believe they have ever explained. In fact, this would be a more challenging thread: records that were improved when tracks were officially removed (see also Bowie's "Too Dizzy").

I can think of many albums that would be improved by the deletion of one or two tracks, but at the moment, I can think of only one (Ice Cube's Death Certificate) that was actually issued in such a manner.

come to think of it, the real gold standard is "Rumors" with the "Silver Springs" addition

A few more with singles added as track 1 in most/all subsequent editions:
Birthday Party, Junk Yard (adding b-side Blast Off as track 1, and the a-side Release the Bats after the lp tracks)
Split Enz, Frenzy (adding I See Red, stand alone single from followup sessions)
Thomas Dolby's Golden Age of Wireless had Blinded me with Science as track 1 for most of its run on vinyl and cd, but this was reverted in 2009 with a deluxe set restoring the original order.

I'm sure there are many others especially in the 60s/70s when standalone singles were routine but this is a hard topic to google. If someone has tried to make a list of these I can't find it.

I actually prefer Rumours without "Silver Springs." (I have that track on a separate CD-R. IIRC every A-side + "Silver Springs" from the 1975-1987 Buckingham-Nicks era fills up exactly one CD.) Rumours has a perfect but delicate balance of pop and rock elements where they either pair up or fuse the glossier pop elements to edgier, more daring ideas. I tried the reissue with "Silver Springs" and it felt like it tipped the balance a little too much into schmaltz. Somehow it plays better for me with the hits, maybe because expectations are different like when you're listening to top 40 (or classic rock) radio and you kind of expect the occasional schmaltz.

lots of (some) talk about the second galaxie 500 lp upthread, but no mention of the first, the cd of which gains

King Of Spain
Crazy

the first of which is one of my absolute faves.

also

the cassette (and later the cd) of Kilimanjaro had Reward, added as penultimate track on side 1 (which means that 6 of the 12 tracks were also singles, based on a quick glance at discogs)

It hasn’t been mentioned - which surprises me, or I completely didn’t understand the rules of the thread - but Magical Mystery Tour is massively improved when turned into an LP with the Side 2 bonus tracks (although they did add “all you need is love” which is the worst song there). You get possibly their most iconic songs of the era with Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane, and “Baby you’re a rich man” which is possibly my favorite song in there and a top 10 Beatles song.

The bonus tracks make a better EP than the original (double) EP itself! It makes the CD an essential buy though it still feels very lopsided. On iTunes, I separated out Magical Mystery Tour and put all the singles in with Past Masters (except for "I Am the Walrus" which I just duplicated and included in both). MMT is just a strange oddity that plays better on its own, IMHO, and Past Masters feels like it has a gaping hole without the psychedelic singles from 1967.

Two came to mind:

When The Wedding Present's Seamonsters was released in the US, they tacked on Niagara, Dan Dare, and Fleshworld from the contemporaneous singles' b-sides. I see how Octopussy would end out the album on a slower closing note, but I think it really benefits from this last burst of energy from those three.

The Cure's Concert and Curiosity cassette. Not sure if this counts, but I wouldn't have been as obsessed with it if it was just the Concert side.

I had the longer cassette of Songs From The Big Chair so it always had The Big Chair, Empire Building, The Marauders, Broken Revisited, The Conflict and The Working Hour (Piano Version) on the other side. They're definitely worthwhile but in the spirit of the thread it's arguable if all that extra stuff necessarily make the album better as an album.

hermeto pascoal's "slaves mass" on the warners 2000s reissue adds 35 mins of noodling brazilian funk jamz

I always loved that the CD version of Feel The Fire by Overkill included their version of the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer."

I actually prefer Rumours without "Silver Springs." (I have that track on a separate CD-R. IIRC every A-side + "Silver Springs" from the 1975-1987 Buckingham-Nicks era fills up exactly one CD.) Rumours has a perfect but delicate balance of pop and rock elements where they either pair up or fuse the glossier pop elements to edgier, more daring ideas. I tried the reissue with "Silver Springs" and it felt like it tipped the balance a little too much into schmaltz. Somehow it plays better for me with the hits, maybe because expectations are different like when you're listening to top 40 (or classic rock) radio and you kind of expect the occasional schmaltz.

― birdistheword

otm

xp

https://www.discogs.com/release/2831232-Big-Star-Third-Test-Pressing-Edition

assuming it's this one yr referring to? It's the edition I have also.

― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Monday, January 17, 2022 6:17 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

cool thanks! was having trouble finding it

London Calling

does that one count? I thought Train in Vain was on all versions of the album, just unlisted

Yeah London Calling is what I'd call a hidden track (always on the original pressing) not a bonus track (added later to sweeten a reissue or just seamlessly improve the album).

Side topic, but I gotta say, Magical Mystery Tour not being available streaming/cd/vinyl reissue in its correct track list order is pretty unfortunate if you believe in the intentions of the artist over the producer. If the Beatles were displeased with the US LP, at some point someone should have done something to reissue it properly. The way to go would be to combine the 6 tracks in the original EP order (Magical / Mother / Walrus / Fool / Flying / Blue Jay) with the 1967-68 projected EP of Yellow Submarine tracks (Northern Song / Bulldog / Across the Universe '68 / All Together Now / It's All Too Much) that is superior to allowing George Martin's annoying orchestrations take up half of a Beatles lp. Tough question whether to include Across the Universe on such a reissue, to retain the original idea of that EP, or omit it as that would be somewhat redundant with the version on Let It Be... but then if i'm giving myself free reign here i'd leave Across the Universe on this "Magical Submarine" quadruple EP album, and make the Glyn Johns Get Back the canonical lp and call the McCartney/Spector Let It Be an alternate version.

Then you can rejigger Past Masters to make them flow better: Vol 1 could omit the german tracks (they belong on Anthology/Rarities vol whatever) and add Ain't She Sweet / Cry For A Shadow which should have been on there as they were nonlp songs that were previously released, and Vol 2 could gain the 5 1967 songs from side 2 of the MMT LP, and lose the alternate versions of LP tracks Universe, Let It Be, Revolution, Get Back, and Don't Let Me Down. And then balance the compilations by also moving Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out to disc 1, maybe reversing the order of those two to follow their actual labeling on the 7".

Whew ok, back to discussion of bonus tracks intruding on canonical LPs. I love how Tony The Pony totally upends the piteous wallowing of the last few Kill Uncle songs with a still mournful, yet far more sardonic and upbeat feeling. Typically, Morrissey's reissue ruined this. Also, in another example of Who Sell Out's "Bonus tracks from the session flow really well as a 3rd lp side", XTC's Mummer really benefits from the 6 bonus tracks, even the instrumentals, which seem to capture a sort of schizophrenic nature vs. technology feeling that swirls underneath most of the album thematically and musically.

Yeah, it was a hidden track. I was never quite sure why they hid it, other than it does not really fit with the overall spirit and feel of the album (except maybe Lost in the Supermarket).

I can think of at least one album that was worsened by a bonus track: Crowded House's debut. Can't Carry On does not fit with, and is nowhere as good as, the rest of the album.

Also, changing the order of the tracks was a travesty.

Finally, get off my lawn.

Rhythm of the Saints

most of the Elvis Costello Rykodisc versions had completely awesome shit on the bonus disc. b-sides, demos, live stuff, unreleased alternate versions

Side topic, but I gotta say, Magical Mystery Tour not being available streaming/cd/vinyl reissue in its correct track list order is pretty unfortunate if you believe in the intentions of the artist over the producer....

The Beatles/Apple released this in the '90s: https://www.discogs.com/release/1852292-The-Beatles-Compact-Disc-EP-Collection

Supposedly mastered from the original EP master tapes, which in most cases were essentially production copies where they dubbed the individual tracks from the first-generation LP or 45 masters. However the EP only releases like Long Tall Sally and both the stereo AND mono versions of the MMT double EP are first-generation. Kind of an expensive way to get the original MMT on CD, but at least they did it!

Re: Let It Be/Get Back, there's waaaay too many versions of that music, ugh. I just need one, but I had to edit it together from various releases. The stuff I bypassed altogether were the super deluxe set from last year, the bootlegs (Anthology covered me with what I needed) and almost all of Let It Be...Naked (I only needed Preston's solo from "The Long and Winding Road," the only place to get it without McCartney vocalizing over it).

xps "Train in Vain" was added to the album at the last minute, after the artwork had been printed.

not that anyone needs this opinion but the deluxe edition of blink-182's neighborhoods feels like a much more complete album than the standard

xp I did not know that, and I have been listening to that album since it came out. Our ignorance pre-Internet is almost shocking in hindsight.

Forgot two - Dylan's Shot of Love which added a much-needed "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar" and the US version of Band on the Run which added "Helen Wheels" (though I wished they dropped "No Words" in the process).

Preston's solo from TLAWR? gonna have to look that up...

Yeah, it's the same take seen in the original Let It Be film (and in the Anthology TV documentary). On the earlier take used by Johns and Spector, Preston has no solo - instead, we hear Paul recite the chorus like a lounge singer. (The whole take is best heard on Anthology 3, without Johns's buckets of echo and without Spector's overdubs.) I think Johns and Spector used a better take based on Paul's vocal alone, but I don't like that one part and prefer Preston's electric piano solo in its place.

*(The earlier take in its entirety is best heard on Anthology 3, without Johns's buckets of echo and without Spector's overdubs.)

The changing track listing on Third has always mystified me, seeing as I was introduced to it via the Ryko order and can't imagine a better opening run than the one it proposed:

"Kizza Me" – 2:44
"Thank You Friends" – 3:05
"Big Black Car" – 3:35
"Jesus Christ" – 2:37
"Femme Fatale" – 3:28 (Lou Reed)
"O, Dana" – 2:34

The only sequencing change I'd argue for on it would be to separate "Holocaust" and "Kanga Roo" but that might also be my own overexposure to those two songs in other contexts

"Stroke It, Noel" is such a moment of earnest respite in such an otherwise manic and bleak record, I can't imagine having it as the opening track

Yeah the other tracklistings for that album make no sense to me.

I can't imagine ending with anything other than "Thank You Friends". "Stroke It Noel" and "For You" are gentle songs to ease you into the record.

I love most of Bowie's Rykodisc releases. My two favourite Bowie albums are Diamond Dogs and Low. The Ryko extras include the Candidate demo (completely different song than Candidate on the album) and Dodo for Diamond Dogs - great songs both; Some Are and All Saints for Low - especially Some Are is an absolute masterpiece.
'Tonight' didn't get a Ryko reissue but Virgin added three bonus tracks: This Is Not America, As The World Falls Down, Absolute Beginners. Excellent stuff which I think also really improves the album.

However, I never liked the Ryko bonuses for Station To Station: it's live versions of two of the six album tracks, which I think is unnecessary repetition. If I want to hear those songs, I just listen to the entire album again instead of a repeat of selected content in somewhat different rendition. For this reason, I really dislike it in general when bonus tracks are live versions or remixes of tracks which are already on the album.
I also entirely disagree with the 16y old comment upthread about David Sylvian's Gone To Earth (one of my, if not my absolute, all-time favourite albums): I think those remixes on CD1 are completely unnecessary and only disrupt the album flow!

There are a lot of Jethro Tull albums with excellent bonus material. One major exception is a 14 minute interview excerpt on Aqualung. I put on the album because I want to listen to music, not interrupted by some old interview, which is also not something to warrant repeated listenings.
But as for other original Jethro Tull CD issues with bonus tracks - yes! Among many others, 'Christmas Song' on This Was; 'Living In The Past' on Stand Up; 'Broadford Bazaar' on Heavy Horses; 8 great tracks on Broadsword and the Beast; 'Part of the Machine' on Crest of a Knave.

someone mentioned expanded live albums above - I think the expanded/remixed version of Bowie's Stage is heaps better than the old 2LP (and IMO crucial document of one of the all-time great tours and one of the greatest bands ever assembled)

also not quite 'bonus tracks' but I've long held that the cassette release of Standing On A Beach with b-sides on the flip is the definitive version - conversely the 'bonus tracks' on the CD (Other Voices, Play For Today, A Night Like This) make it a weaker compilation

DEV-O Live (from the Freedom of Choice tour) is a pretty bizarre example. it was released as a 6-song EP (probably under contractual obligation), then later made it to CD in a vastly expanded version by Ryko, with 16 bonus tracks from a different date fleshing out more or less a full concert. except...all the original stuff is still there. all six of the original tracks are duplicated, and not really much different. idk why they didn't just do a full set, who cares if the "original" performances aren't there?