Bonus Tracks: Buried Treasures or Trash?

Anyone still purchasing physical product like CDs and LPs will be quite familiar with the myriad of bonus tracks that are outtakes, alternate versions, demos and remixes. I have found some of it to be enlightening on pre digital age reissued LP's as there was not enough room to fit some excellent tracks on the records due to running time constraints. The others I have found to be gimmicky and of no particular use, except to show an artist having a bad idea for an arrangement or just having an off day at the studio.

Edited by SteveG - November 24 2014 at 15:16

I quite like them. If the group is interesting enough to me, they are a fascinating window into the band that I am usually very greatful to have. Especially totally unreleased tracks and rare singles are a delight!

I think I have to agree with that last comment. On TFTO you now have the first three pieces on one disc and Ritual + Bonus tracks on Disc Two which just isn't right at all.

haven't heard many that I really dug- they're interesting - but not fun.

I can take them or leave them. I mean, think about it. There's usually good reason why they're bonus tracks in the first place. Most border on awful or being light-weight. One band that comes to mind is ELO. Outside of that medley they did with tracks from Eldorado, their bonus stuff is usually flat and uninteresting.

I'm an album guy so I like the reissues to be just the album as it was released.  I play the bonus stuff once if it looks interesting, but after that I eject the CD as soon as the regular album is over.  I think most of it is pretty tedious.

Some notable exceptions would be early Kate Bush demos which I love, the stuff that Gilmour heard her play and the outtakes from the first two albums.  There is a pretty sweet Heart version of Stairway that was added to Little Queen.  And on Rumours, they corrected the bonehead decision Lindsey and Mick made to pull Silver Springs off in favor of "I don't want to Know".  Stevie was horrified.  So Silver Springs is back on Rumours where it was supposed to be. 

Here is one of those early Kate songs that I love....don't be too hard on her, she was only 14.  Also includes a lovely photo montage of Kate as a child. 

I agree with the others. It's very hit or miss.

I don't care for the majority of Yes' bonus tracks, though that's the only way I was able to acquire the single "America" easily. But the studio run-throughs don't do much for me. Just more Yessongs on my computer.

I really enjoy Dream Theater and Transatlantic including cover songs as bonus tracks, as well as instrumental versions of DT's songs. I'm sure some people don't care for such things, but I'm happy to have them.

King Crimson is hit-or-miss. On the Steven Wilson remasters, I like having the original versions of a couple of the songs, but I'd prefer they were included in the original format of the album. The live tracks on SaBB are great. The alternate versions of Sleepless on ToaPP are good. But some of the other alternate versions, not so much. Speaking of Steven Wilson, I prefer the bonus disc of The Sky Moves Sideways over the main album. Combing the epic into one track and adding Moonloop. I love it.

As someone else said, Jethro Tull has some great stuff. Live version of Thick as a Brick, the extras on Songs from the Wood are prime examples.


So yeah, some are good, some aren't necessary in my eyes. In the end, I won't complain about free music though.

they are interesting in the way that deleted scenes from a movie are interesting.

Like others said: it depends...

It's always a ....bonus,  but it' s nice when they are unreleased tracks and not just demos or reworked songs that were on the albums before.