Bonus tracks/B-Sides replacing actual album tracks

richardh wrote: ^ just need something to replace Battle Of Epping Forest

I personally don't have a problem with "The Battle of Epping Forest" in spite of its silly middle section. Yet there was almost an option for a replacement song from this album's sessions. Steve Hackett resurrected a song called "Deja Vu" for his Genesis Revisited album in 1996. He said he wrote it with Peter Gabriel, but that it was never finished because "More Fool Me" was included to give Phil Collins a vocal number. "Deja Vu" was also performed on Hackett's 2019 tour.

richardh wrote: ^ just need something to replace Battle Of Epping Forest

Or all of the shorter songs (minus "Aisle of Plenty"), although "I Know What I Like" and "After the Ordeal" would have been missed.

I feel if these bonus tracks really had replaced actual album tracks, we'd be complaining about the actual album tracks being left out if said tracks were still released in some form.

Sean Trane wrote: richardh wrote: ^ just need something to replace Battle Of Epping Forest Epping Forest & Ordeal are the best thing on SEBTP

Saperlipopette! wrote: ^I have a stronger dislike of Epping Forest than More Fool Me. It grates my ears. It's a complete mystery to me how an album containg those two mentioned songs is considered one of the greatest Prog albums of all time.

Agreed, and with "Epping Forest" in particular. Like a bad guest, it wears out it's welcome after 3 or 4 minutes, but stays long after everyone else has gone home and you want to go to bed.

I have previously reviewed Wishbone Ash's No Smoke Without Fire on this site and commented that the CD had two bonus tracks which are really good and could have been on the main album if not for the constraints of vinyl.

The main album has one track which I don't much care for (Ships In The Sky) and another (Stand and Deliver) which is good musically but has dodgy lyrics. So I would replace those two songs with Time and Space and Firesign.

Another Wishbone Ash album that I feel could be improved is Pilgrimage. The 10 minute live track brings the album down for me, given that it's 25% of the running time. Also the song "Alone" was originally recorded as a longer song with vocals and the producer turned it into a short instrumental because of the running time constraints. Finally, the band had a really good song which later surfaced on the First Light album which was never used on any of their albums (Roads of Day To Day). So my alternative Pilgrimage would be

Side 1

Vas Dis
Alone (with vocals)
Jail Bait
Lullaby

Side 2

The Pilgrim
Valediction
Roads of Day to Day

My god we could be here all day. I'm sure there's something on time and a word that can be replaced with "dear father." Also, what about Jethro Tull? I think they have quite a few of these. Then again most prog bands do.