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Who doesn’t like stumbling on a bonus tune, hidden away at the end of an album? Often they’re preceded by long stretches of silence, the musical fake-out equivalent of extra film footage that runs after the final credits. I remember 1994 being a particularly good year for hidden tracks. We got NIN’s track 98 on Broken, AND that amazing 12th cut off the Stone Temple Pilots second album.
From The Clash to Alanis, from Dave Matthews to R.E.M, lots of artists have used the hidden track to their advantage. But where did the trend start? Who put the first down on vinyl? Here are a couple pioneering examples that might just well serve as the offcial beginning of it all:
1. Just as 1994 was a good year for the hidden track, so was 1967. That’s when The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Though not really a song, there was a hidden cut designed to surprise people who think the record is finished: “Inner Groove.” After that really long piano chord at the end of “A Day in the Life,” lucky owners of some early European pressings are treated to some very loud babbling as the record runs off the final groove.
2. Also in 1967, The Rolling Stones put out Their Satanic Majesties Request, featuring a slowed down version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” buried at the end of side one. Topical, no?
“Cosmic Christmas”
For those who remember our piece on 5 Legendary Keyboards, that rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” was played on a Mellotron.
What are some of your favorite hidden tracks?
Check out past On Music posts here >>
Comments (38)
Comment
From the 1994 era, On Cracker’s album Kerosene somthing or other “Eurotrash Girl.”
It’s a good one.
posted by holl on 12-23-2008 at 11:45 am
STP’s second album was called Purple.
and yes..the ending to kitchenware and candybars is quite awesome :)
posted by Jill..NOT Jillian on 12-23-2008 at 11:53 am
I hate (make that HATE!), the hidden track, yeah sure the first time you hear it you say “cool, I wasn’t expecting that” but after you get stuck listening to dead air in your car while trying to hear this “special” track.
Not to mention killing the music at a party if you have a bunch of CD’s on random.
Its enough for me not to listen to a CD as often as I usually would.
The secret track needs to go the way of the Dodo, its no longer original, if anything it makes a band seem like a bunch of posers.
posted by Mick on 12-23-2008 at 11:55 am
STP’s second album was called Purple.
and yes..the ending to kitchenware and candybars is quite awesome. Thanks for including Sgt. Peppers….i have the japanese version of the record myself and the ending to a day in the life is crazy!
posted by Jill..NOT Jillian on 12-23-2008 at 11:57 am
The best hidden track was on the album “Songs in the Key of X”, a compilation of songs inspired by The X-Files. To access the track, you had to start playing the first song on the cd, then rewind the track into a negative time count. It’s the only place I’ve ever seen it used since.
posted by Jake B on 12-23-2008 at 12:14 pm
The hidden track on Green Day’s “Dookie” was always one of my favorites because it’s one of the first one i remeber hearing. that song was hilarious when it came out. Plus it came out in 1994!!!
But off the top of my head, my favorite is probably “2113″ off of Coheed and Cambria’s In keeping secrets of silent earth….that song is bad ass. and it’s also a little homage to Rush’s “2112″
posted by Andy on 12-23-2008 at 12:14 pm
The first hidden track I ran across in my cd collection was on “Hi(tm), How Are You Today” by Ashley MacIsaac at the end of the track “Brenda Stubbert”. It’s apparently not on current printings of the cd.
I’m still trying to figure out how I missed the very enjoyable “Apples, sweets and chocolate” hidden at the end of the Saw Doctors’ “Songs From Sun Street”. Just found that when I was re-uploading cds to my ipod. (My old pc fried, and I, managed to erase my ipod. I had uploaded the cd before, but I just noticed a rather long track time last month. Really observant of me…)
posted by steph on 12-23-2008 at 12:27 pm
Andy,beat me to it! I love the Green Day hidden track. I also love the track on Goldfinger’s Hangups, It Isn’t Just Me. Really pretty and haunting, with creepy carnival music at the end…
posted by Brooke on 12-23-2008 at 12:45 pm
The Cracker album is called Kerosene Hat. Great song…great album
posted by Mike on 12-23-2008 at 12:49 pm
The first hidden track I was aware of, was on “Nevermind”. Except, my copy did not have it. My friends kept asking me if I found the track. But apparently the first pressing on the CD did not include it.
posted by Stuart on 12-23-2008 at 1:12 pm
Well, I’m not sure if it’s a hidden track or not, but I always liked how the last song of NIN’s “Further down the spiral” has gibberish vocals unless you ‘fast-forward’ through the track.
Also, everyone seems to know about Nirvana’s “Endless, Nameless” at the end of “Nevermind” but a lot of people don’t know that Weird Al parodied that as well on his “Off the Deep End” album… he just yells and screams and kicks over a drumset.
posted by CJ Casey on 12-23-2008 at 1:13 pm
Coheed and Cambria’s 2113 is amazing, but one I particularly cannot STAND is the New Found Glory track on the end of Sticks and Stones. The Story So Far is one of my favorite songs and every time I put it on a mix CD I totally forget about that stupid track until the song ends and I’m stuck with 20 minutes of silence followed by screaming.
posted by Bri on 12-23-2008 at 1:18 pm
I could just be imagining things, but I believe I read somewhere that on Abbey Road the last track, Her Majesty, wasn’t list, and therefore was a hidden track.
posted by Kali on 12-23-2008 at 1:22 pm
I know of at least one other CD that has the infamous “zero track”. On original pressings of Better Than Ezra’s “Friction, Baby”, rewinding past the beginning of the first track gives you a real treat – a French language song that is immediately catchy. Also, there is a nice visceral opening three-count that leads right to the opening of “King of New Orleans”. Awesome stuff.
posted by Firebrand on 12-23-2008 at 1:33 pm
Wow, thanks Jake B…I’ll have to dust off my Songs In the Key Of X & check it out.
I’ve always gotten a macabre thrill out of the hidden track on Tool’s Undertow. “It was morning when you woke up in your ditch…”
posted by Johnny Cat on 12-23-2008 at 1:56 pm
Aesop Rock’s None Shall Pass has the best secret track, “Pigs”
posted by Kristyn on 12-23-2008 at 2:07 pm
It’s true, Her Majesty wasn’t listed on Abbey Road. It occurs about 23 seconds after The End. On my first playing I thought the album was stuck and by the time I got to the turntable, it blasted out of the speakers. Scared the hell out of me.
posted by David on 12-23-2008 at 2:09 pm
Third Eye Blind’s “Another Life” on thier Out of the Vein Cd.
Best effort by them ever.
posted by Oz on 12-23-2008 at 2:18 pm
I liked “Mosquito Song” off QotSA’s Songs for the Deaf. It’s about being a mosquito.
posted by Isaac on 12-23-2008 at 2:39 pm
Andy and Brooke – I had no idea I was sitting on a hidden track this whole time – I’ve never known Dookie was hiding something from me all these years! I’ll have to check it out.
I also remember playing Robbie Williams’ “Swing when you’re winning” as I nodded off to sleep and then being suddenly awoken by some very loud screeching and laughing on the hidden track, and flipping out because I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. The hidden track was more a ‘blooper reel’ with mostly talking, but it scared the bejaysus out of me at 2am!
posted by dangermouse on 12-23-2008 at 2:57 pm
Less than Jake’s Losing Streak has a hidden track at the beginning of the cd. You play track 1 then rewind to hear about Howie J Reynolds. Very Funny!
Green Day – Dookie also had a great hidden track. All by myself.
posted by Rawb on 12-23-2008 at 5:11 pm
Less than Jake’s Losing Streak has a hidden track at the beginning of the cd. You play track 1 then rewind to hear about Howie J Reynolds. Very Funny!
posted by Rawb on 12-23-2008 at 5:14 pm
Marillion released a vinyl version of Brave that had 2 grooves on the last side. You either got the 2 last songs or the 2nd to last song and the sound of water under the bridge (the whole album is about someone about to jump). So you either get a happy or a sad ending to the story depending on which groove you drop the needle into.
posted by Ray on 12-23-2008 at 5:16 pm
There is a hidden negative track on BLIND MELON’s 2nd (and arguably best) album SOUP.
Rewind track one and listen!
posted by Will Zone on 12-23-2008 at 5:48 pm
“Train In Vain” from the Clash’s London Calling.
posted by pogopop77 on 12-23-2008 at 5:58 pm
Queen
Album: Made in Heaven
Track 13: Untitled (22+ minutes)
posted by Mikey on 12-23-2008 at 6:05 pm
My fave hidden track is/was on ‘Beyond Barbeque’,the 1st LP by Lawndale, an all-instrumental band ,released by SST records (Black Flag, etc) in 1986. Just before the record hits the inner groove, you hear a backwards phrase. As you spin the record in reverse, you realize the phrase says ‘Looking for satanic messages is bad for your needle’ !!!!
posted by Insect Surfer Dave on 12-23-2008 at 6:25 pm
Cracker’s Eurotrash Girl definitely my fav.
posted by Tofer on 12-23-2008 at 6:40 pm
Better Than Ezra’s album, Friction Baby, has the hidden track “Mejor de Ezra” contained in the negative space before track one, King Of New Orleans. Later copies of the album tack this secret track onto the end of the album. Some cd players are able to play it if you hold down the reverse button. You can hear it playing backwards then when you let go of the button it will start playing.
posted by Armando on 12-23-2008 at 7:33 pm
Monty Python tops them all with a “three-sided” LP. There were two sets of grooves on one side of the album with different sketches.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 12-23-2008 at 9:12 pm
I think my favorite was on Tool’s Undertow — once the tracks counted up to 69 and there are practically two secret tracks, one really noisy, the other really REALLY quiet. I also like that Trent did the same thing on NIN’s Broken.
DJ Shadow’s UNKLE “Psyence Fiction” album also (on some pressings) has a 0 track, which is a musical version inspired of events from “Event Horizon”.
But I have to admit I love Beck’s noise collage on Odelay — the last track, quiet, acoustic & serene, plays out and then your greeted with a harsh guitar-blip noise. It’s especially awesome if you play it in a jukebox ;)
posted by josch on 12-24-2008 at 10:55 am
Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill, the most wretchedly painful breakup record ever, has the most wretchedly painful hidden track at the end….”Would you forgive me love…..”
I cried a lot in ‘95, and she helped. things are better now.
posted by bettyandbean on 12-24-2008 at 12:26 pm
“Elwyn” is a hidden track on barenaked ladies live album “fin”…hilarious
posted by LearDawg on 12-24-2008 at 8:00 pm
Not exactly a hidden track but an unlisted song. The last track on Alice In Chains “SAP” is not listed but is known as “love Song.” I think somebody must have written it after having a nasty breakup. (haha) Some lyrics are, “My gums are bleeding” and “Kiss the midget” “Kill the midget”
There’s 13 minutes of silence at the end of track 11 of Filter’s “Title Of Record” then there is the singer ranting, complaining about “They want to make me a fuckin’ rock star.” and background voices that sound as if it’s a (fake) recording session ‘after party.’
recapt is “yesterday’s PUNCH” but I didn’t have any punch, yesterday.
posted by Tdave on 12-26-2008 at 4:16 am
Queen of the Stone Age’s “Songs for the Deaf” has a similar rewind hidden track. Rewind the first track just as it starts playing and you’ll be treated to “The Real Song for the Deaf”, a song they did by rubbing balloons against amps so that deaf folk could feel the vibrations.
Doesn’t work with mp3s of course…
posted by Ant2206 on 12-28-2008 at 1:56 am
Although I haven’t actually heard it, do to me only having my music in mp3 form, Autechre’s EP7 has a track 0 as well.
posted by StenL on 1-8-2009 at 1:12 am
There’s a surprise recording of “Fogtown” at the end of Michelle Shocked’s “Short Sharp Shocked.” It’s really jarring, and sounds nothing like anything else on the album. I don’t know what male singer did the lead on it.
posted by Randy Kindy on 1-16-2009 at 2:54 pm
cheap trick’s 1997 cd there is a hidden track at the begining of the cd
galactic cowboys second cd the label whanted 10 songs for it so they hid 2 songs
and how about hidden tracks becoming hits
john mellencamp and i think counting crows
posted by rich on 4-29-2009 at 10:03 am