Reissues where the "bonus material" actually is

To get back to the topic: I don't like it if a concept album is saddled with a bonus track that is unrelated to the concept. Such tracks do not always suck, but they usually don't fit - the right thing in the wrong place. Sometimes, I take the trouble, in listening, to stand up and stop the CD player at the end of the last regular track.




Edited by WeepingElf - April 23 2016 at 06:54

Some tracks and non-album singles were omitted from the original vinyl albums through lack of space. The title track from ELP's Brain Salad Surgery springs to mind, and the Joybringer single by Manfred Mann's Earth Band around the time of the Solar Fire album. The BSS title track was released as a promotional acetate with NME, along with a sampler track. When both were added to BSS the album it was a double bonus for me. Solar Fire finally felt complete with the inclusion of Joybringer. 

On the subject of ELP, although perhaps not essential, I found the studio run-throughs (included as bonuses on several albums) interesting for showing the development of the tracks and as an insight to the band in the studio.

I only own three Strawbs CDs, but Antiques & Curios has great bonus tracks (3 for 20 mins), Witchwood and Grave New World have one each, and they could be part of the original albums


Don't know if the bonus tracks on their latter albums are good, though

WeepingElf wrote: To get back to the topic: I don't like it if a concept album is saddled with a bonus track that is unrelated to the concept. Such tracks do not always suck, but they usually don't fit - the right thing in the wrong place. Sometimes, I take the trouble, in listening, to stand up and stop the CD player at the end of the last regular track.

Yeah, hint to record companies: put the bonus tracks on a separate CD.  And not just with concept albums.

Marillion released some remasters at some point, with a second cd with songs that never made to the album or some demo versions, quite interesting. I bought CAS, Brave and AOS and it was worth it. Especially CAS second cd.

I do have found many good songs on the bonus tracks of albums... though hardly ever better than the best songs of the main album (perhaps never). One that might be found strange for some is that I liked better "Lady Fantasy" from "Mirage" better on the bonus alternate take of the song than the original... I don't even remember why, perhaps it was just me getting the idea into my head just because I read that the original song was sped up a fraction once already recorded and the bonus one was with the speed in which it was actually recorded, so I liked better the idea of the playing not being toyed with.