07 November 2006

MUSIC: Hidden gems

I never quite understand the reason for it. But sometimes when an artist or a band record an album, they will throw in one or two hidden tracks in the album. Maybe because they wanted to suprise the listeners. Maybe the hidden track doesn't fit with the album concept. Maybe it's cool to do so.

There are many methods of hiding a track. Some artistes placed the song after another track (usually the last track on the album), some placed the song in the pregap of the first indexed track (the CD must first be cued to the track, and then manually rewound). Sometimes the track is placed in between two tracks, using negative time and sometimes many short tracks of silence are used before the hidden track.

Whatever the reasons are, discovering a hidden track in an album, especially if you didn't know anything about it, can be quite exciting. Some hidden tracks have become quite popular and received heavy radio airplay, such as Lauryn Hill's hidden cover of 'Can't Take My Eyes Of You' or Counting Crows' hidden cover of 'Big Yellow Taxi'. Hidden tracks can sometimes be hidden gems.

Here's a list of my favourite hidden tracks :

  • Alanis Morissette
Album: Jagged Little Pill
Track : Track 13 contains an alternate take of "You Oughta Know" and, following silence, at 5:12 the acapella version of "Your House".

  • Alice In Chains
Album : Dirt
Track : "Iron Gland" is sandwiched in between "God Smack" and "Hate To Feel", being track 9 or track 10 (depending on the version) on the disc itself.

  • The Beatles
Album : Abbey Road
Track : "Her Majesty" follows a short silence at the end of the album.

  • Beck
Album : Mellow Gold
Track : "Analog Odyssey" appears a couple minutes after "Blackhole."

  • Bloc Party
Album :Silent Alarm
Track : "Every Time Is The Last Time" is hidden in the album's pregap.

  • Green Day
Album : Dookie
Track : "All By Myself" follows on from final track "F.O.D.".

  • Guns N' Roses
Album : The Spaghetti Incident?
Track : "Look At Your Game Girl," originally performed by Charles Manson, at the end of the album.

  • Korn
Album : Take a Look in the Mirror
Track : A live cover version of Metallica's "One" after the final track.

  • Live
Album : Throwing Copper
Track : "Horse" appears on track 14.

  • Nirvana
Album : In Utero
Track : "Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through The Strip" starts about 20 minutes after the end of "All Apologies" on non-U.S. pressings. The song is listed on the back cover of the album, but is not a separate track.

Album : Nevermind:
Track : "Endless, Nameless" appears 10 minutes after "Something In The Way," but is not included on first pressings on the album and all pressings of the album after 1994.

  • Offspring
Album : Smash
Track : "Come Out and Play Solo" at 9:10 of "Smash".

  • Pearl Jam
Album : Binaural
Track : "Writer's Block" after the final track "Parting Ways".

Album : Pearl Jam
Track : Brief hidden track after the final track "Inside Job".

Album : Ten
Track : "Master/Slave" at the end of the album, but also opens the album when played on repeat.

Album : Yield
Track : "Hummus" after final track "All Those Yesterdays".

  • Radiohead
Album : Pablo Honey
Track : A clean version of track 2, "Creep", plays as track 13.

  • The Smashing Pumpkins
Album : Gish
Track : "I'm Going Crazy" appears shortly after "Daydream".

  • Stone Temple Pilots
Album : Purple
Track : "Twelve Gracious Melodies", a song sung by Richard Petersen, shortly after "Kitchenware & Candybars".

  • System Of A Down
Album : Toxicity
Track : "Arto" begins at 3:58, just after last track "Aerials". It is an Armenia folk song, as the band is of Armenian heritage.


And my favourite hidden track of all time :

  • Nirvana
Album : No Alternative (compilation album)
Track : "Sappy" at the end of the album. When I first listened to the album, I had no idea there was a hidden track. I was lying on my bed, trying to sleep when suddenly Kurt Cobain's voice started to attack my brain cells. And when the drums kicks in, you know I couldn't sleep no more. I immediately pick up my guitar and learn the song. The next morning I called all my friends telling all about it. And the day after that we were playing the song in the studio. It became our favourite song to play (until now). One of the best Nirvana song (..and the best Nirvana guitar solo) ever. Hidden gems indeed..

15 comments:

Lord Vorphalack said...

aku pun notice this hidden tracks but nobody bring this subject so i just keep to myself. Aku ni bknlah Audio CD collector sgt, tapi mmg aku ada own Alanis Morisette (Jagged) dan Nirvana (Nevermind).
Lagu Endless Nameless tu punyalah lama kau nak tunggu sampai naik boring.Tapi Alanis's different version of "You Oughta Know" to is actually radio edit or something la. CD album Iron Maiden pun bnyk hidden track, tp I guess kau tak minat kot.

Edd Vedder said...

IB..
Iron Maiden aku tak minat?? Shit.. ko mmg ada psikik power, sbb headphone dlm telinga aku ni tgh main lagu Run to The Hills. Kebetulan aku baru aja abih download album 'Best of The Beast'. Tgh layan la ni..

Mmg banyak artis masukkan hidden songs dlm album, termasuk la Iron Maiden. Tapi aku tak sure artis M'sia pernah buat ke tak?

Anybody knows?

Zack said...

Waaayyyy too much time on your hands, Edd. ;)

Edd Vedder said...

zack..
Actually time is what I don't have. Tgh kejar deadline. Tapi this blog is the only place I go when I'm taking a break. Sad, I know.. But it feels good. :P

Zack said...

101% agree with ya, Edd. Aku tak keluar pun lunch hour dek kerja yang bertimbun, cuma lepak kat meja, join forum and blogging.

Lord Vorphalack said...

Bukan apa Edd, aku tgk list kau tu mention bnyk band2 grunge aje.
Actually aku tgh layan lagu2 Iron Maiden balik coz raya hari tu, diaorg tayang filem Mamat Khalid's Rock. Lagu The Trooper dlm filem tu terus buat aku nak download lagu2 Iron Maiden kat h/p aku.

Anonymous said...

"Come Out and Play Solo" at 9:10 of "Smash" <-- hmm, yg ni aku kena check balik, sbb cd aku ni made in m'sia, censored version, tak tahu pulak ada ni..

The Pilgrims ada hidden track, terkejut gak aku tengok cd tu ada 99 track!

Edd Vedder said...

khys..
Album Smash aku dlm bentuk cassette ada hidden track tu. Tapi pendek je.

The Pilgrims ada hidden track? Album apa..? Kena check balik ni.. Maybe they were the only local band that did it.

Anonymous said...

ok, ni details utk CD shj...

The Pilgrims, album Achtung! This Is Not A Metal Band: ada 96 track, 1-13 trek lagu, 14-95 trek kosong (max. 10 saat), trek # 96 ialah lagu Season Of Fall (drp trek 7) tapi dipendekkan intro/ending.

The Pilgrims, album The Wise Fisherman: trek # 12 lagu HallamanLeendah, lepas habis lagu ni tunggu 3 minit ada hidden track Red Cab Co. Ltd. (alternate version drp trek 10, aku dengar versi ni macam main backward je... sound dia pelik)

yg bawah ni boleh gak kot:

Amuk, album Interpretasi II: ada 16 trek lagu. lepas lagu last, ada extra track (tak mention pada cover), Bandi cakap-cakap pasal apa dia rakam album ni, ending trek 1 minit ni Bandi jerit "yeh yeaahhh!"

Anonymous said...

hmm. u surely have a variety of tastes.

Amiene Rev said...

Alanis Morrisette - Jagged Little Pill adalah album kaset pertama saya beli kira-kira... satu dekad lepas.

Saya amat rindu kaset itu, tapi sekarang sudah ada dalam bentuk MP3.

N a d i a said...

edd,
interesting gak ni. bleh gak la pakai utk kolum 'missing pieces' aku tu. hehe..the pilgrims tu mmg rasenye ada. koffin kanser pun ada kot? err..ntah. nanti aku cek balik.
iron maiden baru ko dah dengar ke?
smash? ahh..i love that album.

zan said...

tumpang lalu..
kalo korang penah dengar album afdlin shauki "fuyyoo" tu, ader gak track tersembunyi lepas lagu "Miasara" kena tunggu dalam seminit lebih pastu akan dengar afdlin tengah jamming "unplugged" dengan Pacai (pasal dia mention nama pacai) tengah menyanyi lagu merapu kording A minor sambil memaki hamun tokey-tokey major label..hahaha. kalo nak dengar lagu ni, email---> clasheadATgmailDOTcom

Edd Vedder said...

Khys..
Thanks 4 the info.

Cekmi..
Welkam.. thanks. :)

Amiene
Jagged Little Pill adalah one of the first CD yang aku beli..

Nadia..
Bleh aa guna post aku ni utk kolum ko. hehe. Iron Maiden baru? Tgh dengar la ni.. Aku download album baru diaorang dgn The Best of the Beast. Layang gila beb...

Zan,
Welkam. Yess, lupa dah aku pasal album Fuyoo tu. Cip kodok, Afdlin is probably the only local male artiste yg rakam hidden track kot.

Anonymous said...

fan of smashing pumpkins ek?

bley sajeskan their songs utk brainwashed my brain? br blaja ndak minat smashing pumpkins, hehe.