Bonus Tracks. What do you think?

TGM: Orb wrote: 1800iareyay wrote: WalterDigsTunes wrote: Henry Plainview wrote: TGM: Orb wrote: Some do wreck an album's feel. People keep saying this. How is this even possible? Demos, live tracks, alternate versions and stuff with a different vibe would spoil the feel of the original album. But then, if those extras are so bothersome, while not just hit the stop button before they come on? EXACTLY. There is no problem! The only time tracks are added not at the end is when a live album is bolstered by the complete performance. And when that happens, why on Earth would you complain; you finally get a non-spliced and edited show. *sigh*If I have to run to the CD player and hammer the stop button before a piece comes on, it does damage my immersion. Additionally, if I'm thinking, 'OK, ten seconds to go before I press the stop button', I can't concentrate on the atmospheres and the music exclusively.Occasionally, at the end of an album, I just want to wait there and lethargically sit and contemplate it, which I can't do if I'm forced to press the stop button.As someone who listens to music as much for the atmospheres and lyrical ideas as anything else, I don't especially appreciate having my atmosphere damaged by a sub-par single version of one of the pieces already on the album. Additionally, because I tend to listen to albums as a whole, rather than simply random songs from them, I do place great value in proper foreshadowing, story development and Let us assume that I am listening to Selling England By The Pound. The Cinema Show leads up to Aisle Of Plenty, which is partly a reprise of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight. Hence, it is established that Aisle Of Plenty is more than just 1.49 of music that happens to be put in a final track, it's a conclusion/culmination that has been carefully foreshadowed by previous parts of the album and rounds up the piece. Now, if, at the very moment the fade on Aisle Of Plenty stopped, I were to be accosted by an imperceptibly altered mix/rehearsal of the upbeat, cheery I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), all of that build-up would be lost, as would the poignant and dark feeling of the album's conclusion. Essentially, it would be a completely different and far less impressive album. To avoid that, I'd have to get up and damage my immersion with the actual content for some sort of meta-game strategy to stop the music on the last note of Aisle Of Plenty. Some albums are a definite cohesive whole, rather than just a collection of songs, with themes running throughout and conclusions highly emphasised. Those with a strong closer that leave the listener with a very bleak or dark feel can usually do without bonuses (unless they fit the feel of the album).Basically, some albums are a very compact entity of their own (Selling England By The Pound), some are just a collection of songs (Camel), some are in between (Crime Of The Century). If bonus tracks don't fit the style and feel of a very compact album, they may damage the experience for me.Apologies for red and bolding.

WOW! I think you said it better than me, thx!
GREAT explanation! Thx very much, I hope people understand it.

1800iareyay wrote: WalterDigsTunes wrote: Henry Plainview wrote: TGM: Orb wrote: Some do wreck an album's feel. People keep saying this. How is this even possible? Demos, live tracks, alternate versions and stuff with a different vibe would spoil the feel of the original album. But then, if those extras are so bothersome, while not just hit the stop button before they come on? EXACTLY. There is no problem! The only time tracks are added not at the end is when a live album is bolstered by the complete performance. And when that happens, why on Earth would you complain; you finally get a non-spliced and edited show.

*sigh*

If I have to run to the CD player and hammer the stop button before a piece comes on, it does damage my immersion. Additionally, if I'm thinking, 'OK, ten seconds to go before I press the stop button', I can't concentrate on the atmospheres and the music exclusively.

Occasionally, at the end of an album, I just want to wait there and lethargically sit and contemplate it, which I can't do if I'm forced to press the stop button.

As someone who listens to music as much for the atmospheres and lyrical ideas as anything else, I don't especially appreciate having my atmosphere damaged by a sub-par single version of one of the pieces already on the album. Additionally, because I tend to listen to albums as a whole, rather than simply random songs from them, I do place great value in proper foreshadowing, story development and

Let us assume that I am listening to Selling England By The Pound. The Cinema Show leads up to Aisle Of Plenty, which is partly a reprise of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight. Hence, it is established that Aisle Of Plenty is more than just 1.49 of music that happens to be put in a final track, it's a conclusion/culmination that has been carefully foreshadowed by previous parts of the album and rounds up the piece. Now, if, at the very moment the fade on Aisle Of Plenty stopped, I were to be accosted by an imperceptibly altered mix/rehearsal of the upbeat, cheery I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), all of that build-up would be lost, as would the poignant and dark feeling of the album's conclusion. Essentially, it would be a completely different and far less impressive album. To avoid that, I'd have to get up and damage my immersion with the actual content for some sort of meta-game strategy to stop the music on the last note of Aisle Of Plenty.

Some albums are a definite cohesive whole, rather than just a collection of songs, with themes running throughout and conclusions highly emphasised. Those with a strong closer that leave the listener with a very bleak or dark feel can usually do without bonuses (unless they fit the feel of the album).

Basically, some albums are a very compact entity of their own (Selling England By The Pound), some are just a collection of songs (Camel), some are in between (Crime Of The Century). If bonus tracks don't fit the style and feel of a very compact album, they may damage the experience for me.

Apologies for red and bolding.

I agree, they are worthless. For example, the Aqualung's bonus tracks are really crappy.

Generally I'm not into bonus tracks and when I'm converting albums to my Walkman I don't do them. I may one day do a playlist of just bonus tracks but it'll have to be raining before I start

BaldJean wrote: Chameleon wrote: TGM: Orb wrote: Duulirium (Amon Duul II)   I agree with this one, although I wouldn't limit it to just that; both 'Kindermörderlied' and 'Mystic Blutsturz' are also great additions to an already excellent album. I've always loved that about Wolf City. I haven't heard "Kindermörderlied", since we don't have "Wolf City" with bonus tracks. the title however, which means "song of the murderer of children", suggests it is the same as "Dem Guten, Schönen, Wahren" from "Phallus Dei", at least lyrically

"Mystic Blutsturz" might also be "Henriette Krötenschwanz", at least lyrically.

Chameleon wrote: TGM: Orb wrote: Duulirium (Amon Duul II)   I agree with this one, although I wouldn't limit it to just that; both 'Kindermörderlied' and 'Mystic Blutsturz' are also great additions to an already excellent album. I've always loved that about Wolf City.

I haven't heard "Kindermörderlied", since we don't have "Wolf City" with bonus tracks. the title however, which means "song of the murderer of children", suggests it is the same as "Dem Guten, Schönen, Wahren" from "Phallus Dei", at least lyrically

WalterDigsTunes wrote: Henry Plainview wrote: TGM: Orb wrote: Some do wreck an album's feel. People keep saying this. How is this even possible? Demos, live tracks, alternate versions and stuff with a different vibe would spoil the feel of the original album. But then, if those extras are so bothersome, while not just hit the stop button before they come on?

EXACTLY. There is no problem! The only time tracks are added not at the end is when a live album is bolstered by the complete performance. And when that happens, why on Earth would you complain; you finally get a non-spliced and edited show.

TGM: Orb wrote: Some do wreck an album's feel.

People keep saying this. How is this even possible?

BaldJean wrote: the bonus tracks on "Pawn Hearts" and "The Quiet Zone / The Pleasure Dome" don't have bad sound quality

Agreed. They sound as pristine as anything else on the original album. Granted, "Ponker's Theme" doesn't exactly have the same vibe as "Man-Erg," but in terms of audio quality, they're both on the same plane.

King By-Tor wrote: Can't say I really play them all that often. I usually like the album to end when it was supposed to end. I find demos and single versions of song be be a little useless sometimes. Live tracks are good when the quality is decent (I've never made it through Gog on VdGG's Still Life) but unreleased studios and b-sides are alright a lot of the time. It's hard to listen to them in context a lot of the time, usually if bsides are used as bonuses I try to reconstruct the ep from whence they came and listen to it like that. Bonus tracks... I'm indifferent really, they've never changed the way I've thought about an album, and some of them are good - while some of them I've never listened to and maybe never will.

A WELL reply! With good back-up suplying what you meant.