Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
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Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
Inspired by a recent purchase…
Time was reissues would come with a couple of bonus tracks added to the end of the CD, nowadays it’s normal for anniversary editions etc to come with at least one whole extra disc of outtakes, alternate versions, b-sides and demos.
While these can be great, I tend to listen to everything once and then just return to the particularly good/interesting bits going forward. That said, the bonus disc with Paul McCartney’s RAM archive edition is so strong I can happily sit down and listen to it end to end and have bought it on vinyl for that very purpose.
Of course something like Glyn John’s version of Get Back on the new Let It Be box is fantastic but that was intended as an album to begin with. I’m thinking of discs that are more of a hodgepodge of stuff but are especially strong.
What are the best or strongest bonus discs you’ve come across?
Time was reissues would come with a couple of bonus tracks added to the end of the CD, nowadays it’s normal for anniversary editions etc to come with at least one whole extra disc of outtakes, alternate versions, b-sides and demos.
While these can be great, I tend to listen to everything once and then just return to the particularly good/interesting bits going forward. That said, the bonus disc with Paul McCartney’s RAM archive edition is so strong I can happily sit down and listen to it end to end and have bought it on vinyl for that very purpose.
Of course something like Glyn John’s version of Get Back on the new Let It Be box is fantastic but that was intended as an album to begin with. I’m thinking of discs that are more of a hodgepodge of stuff but are especially strong.
What are the best or strongest bonus discs you’ve come across?
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
The extra discs for Exile and Some girls are really very decent.
The extra disc on Fearless (Taylor's version) is excellent, though 5 or 6 of the tracks (out of 13) were previously released on the "platinum" edition of Fearless.
Dexy's have done some good reissues - I have some reissue of Searching For The Youngy Soul Rebels from 2010 which has some great tracks performed live in radio sessions on it, and a 1996 reissue of too-rye-ay which has 8 excellent extra tracks on it.
The extra disc on Fearless (Taylor's version) is excellent, though 5 or 6 of the tracks (out of 13) were previously released on the "platinum" edition of Fearless.
Dexy's have done some good reissues - I have some reissue of Searching For The Youngy Soul Rebels from 2010 which has some great tracks performed live in radio sessions on it, and a 1996 reissue of too-rye-ay which has 8 excellent extra tracks on it.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
Positive Passion wrote:The extra discs for Exile and Some girls are really very decent.
I'd go a step farther than that with Some Girls. The extra disc is better than the main disc.
Stones by numbers shit like "Lies" and fake Americana like "Far Away Eyes" passes muster, but "We Had it All" doesn't?
I may even prefer "Tallahassee Lassie" over the rather wet "Imagination," for that matter.
I was pretty blown away when I heard it the first time.
I guess I wouldn't want to be without "Beast of Burden," "Shattered," and a scant few others, but I really think they had a better album in them. With the right tracks we'd be making 'best since Exile ' noises.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
toomanyhatz wrote:Positive Passion wrote:The extra discs for Exile and Some girls are really very decent.
I'd go a step farther than that with Some Girls. The extra disc is better than the main disc.
Stones by numbers shit like "Lies" and fake Americana like "Far Away Eyes" passes muster, but "We Had it All" doesn't?
I may even prefer "Tallahassee Lassie" over the rather wet "Imagination," for that matter.
I was pretty blown away when I heard it the first time.
I guess I wouldn't want to be without "Beast of Burden," "Shattered," and a scant few others, but I really think they had a better album in them. With the right tracks we'd be making 'best since Exile ' noises.
Tallahassee Lassie is indeed ace.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
The bonus disc on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" box from the early 90s was a pretty big deal when it was released. First time we had so much "SMiLE" material gathered on one disc.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
I'd say the ones that are mainly outtakes are generally the ones least interesting to me. I do love good outtakes and demos, but 5 or 6 at most at the end of a single disc reissue were usually enough for me, like those Byrds and Who reissues in the 90's. For an entire separate disc, I like a good concert disc (often something previously only available as a bootleg), like in some fairly recent Led Zep and Pink Floyd reissues. Some non-live bonus discs I'm happy to have include the one that came with the deluxe Purple Rain (for the extended "Computer Blue" especially) the extra disc on the deluxe Black Sabbath reissue (for "Evil Woman"), and the bonus disc on the deluxe Angel Witch debut. Also the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society set I have has a bunch of great songs -- singles, outtakes, BBC sessions etc -- spread out over two bonus discs. Alternate mixes generally don't interest me much unless there are significant differences to the better known versions.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
Steve Mason's Ghosts Outside has a dub disc with Dennis Bovell.
Grace Jones' Hurricane also has an extra dub disc.
Both the dubs are stronger than their parent albums.
Grace Jones' Hurricane also has an extra dub disc.
Both the dubs are stronger than their parent albums.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
The extra disc on Freak Power's Drive Through Booty is eclipsing the original disc for mine.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
The 2018 Beatles White album box has some amazing stuff on there. Of course you get the Escher Demos and the second disc of those in particular is worthwhile but the standout for me is the take of Revolution that became the basis for Revolution No. 9. It’s a shockingly good listen and I’d take it over both versions of Revolution on the album.
Also, I recently discovered Demodelica, Primal Scream’s demos for Screamadelica. It’s issued as a separate album but it’s essentially what this thread is all about: demos and outtakes.
It’s shows the gap between what the band had and what Andrew Weatherall, in particular, added but also dispels the myth that Screamadelica is a Weatherall album in all but name.
It’s not just historically interesting though, it’s a genuinely fun listen. You get the original indie swoon of Coke Together before it became a dance monster, the ringing guitar tone on the demo of damaged is gorgeous, the accapella version of Inner Flight reveals how much they were aping Brian Wilson and I think I prefer the funky shuffle of Shine Like Stars to the mix that ended up on the album.
Also, I recently discovered Demodelica, Primal Scream’s demos for Screamadelica. It’s issued as a separate album but it’s essentially what this thread is all about: demos and outtakes.
It’s shows the gap between what the band had and what Andrew Weatherall, in particular, added but also dispels the myth that Screamadelica is a Weatherall album in all but name.
It’s not just historically interesting though, it’s a genuinely fun listen. You get the original indie swoon of Coke Together before it became a dance monster, the ringing guitar tone on the demo of damaged is gorgeous, the accapella version of Inner Flight reveals how much they were aping Brian Wilson and I think I prefer the funky shuffle of Shine Like Stars to the mix that ended up on the album.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
GoogaMooga wrote:The bonus disc on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" box from the early 90s was a pretty big deal when it was released. First time we had so much "SMiLE" material gathered on one disc.
Your memory is playing tricks on you - the SMiLE material was mostly on Disc 2!
That said, the bonus disc of sessions, stack-o-tracks, live numbers, etc. was indeed pretty thrilling.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
The bonus discs on all the Mike Oldfield reissues from TB to Discovery are all pretty good with non-album cuts, original mixes, terrific demos that are actually worth more than one listen and great live material previously unavailable.
The Nazareth album Expect No Mercy came with an entire second album that was originally rejected by the record company. It's pretty good and makes you wonder what the record company's problem was but makes a great bonus.
Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree have a habit of putting the best material on bonus discs then charging a silly amount of money for the deluxe edition in order to get it. It's a bit of a scam really but the bonus discs are usually well worth having.
The Nazareth album Expect No Mercy came with an entire second album that was originally rejected by the record company. It's pretty good and makes you wonder what the record company's problem was but makes a great bonus.
Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree have a habit of putting the best material on bonus discs then charging a silly amount of money for the deluxe edition in order to get it. It's a bit of a scam really but the bonus discs are usually well worth having.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
Walk In My Shadow wrote:
Grace Jones' Hurricane also has an extra dub disc.
both Warm Leatherette and Nightclubbing have good bonus discs too
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
trans-chigley express wrote:The bonus discs on all the Mike Oldfield reissues from TB to Discovery are all pretty good with non-album cuts, original mixes, terrific demos that are actually worth more than one listen and great live material previously unavailable.
The Nazareth album Expect No Mercy came with an entire second album that was originally rejected by the record company. It's pretty good and makes you wonder what the record company's problem was but makes a great bonus.
Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree have a habit of putting the best material on bonus discs then charging a silly amount of money for the deluxe edition in order to get it. It's a bit of a scam really but the bonus discs are usually well worth having.
Yes the track A Door Like Summer on the deluxe edition of To The Bone by Steven Wilson is probably my favourite track of everything he’s done! Madness!
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
The bonus disc on In Through the Out Door features much improved mixes of most of the tracks on the album proper
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
The Slider wrote:The bonus disc on In Through the Out Door features much improved mixes of most of the tracks on the album proper
That's the one with the rough work in progress mixes of each track? That makes for a good alternative version of the album and the main reason I bought that edition.
Similarly Quo's Rockin' All Over The World has a remix of the whole album which sounds less polished and better than the original.
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Re: Best “bonus” disc on remastered/expanded/super deluxe albums?
My personal fave would be Current 93's Thunder Perfect Mind, it's kind of ridiculous the quality of the material on the bonus disc. The original album is an all-time top 5 for me, and the bonus disc is very nearly of the same quality.
If I'm nominating something more familiar to everyone, it'd be New Order's "Collector's Edition" of Movement. Far better than the album, and you get Ceremony and Temptation twice, which would seem like a rip-off, but I think I'd rather listen to those tracks twice than the album tracks once.
If I'm nominating something more familiar to everyone, it'd be New Order's "Collector's Edition" of Movement. Far better than the album, and you get Ceremony and Temptation twice, which would seem like a rip-off, but I think I'd rather listen to those tracks twice than the album tracks once.
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