Hidden track
In recorded music, a hidden track is a song that is not listed as one that should appear on a compact disc, audio cassette, vinyl record or other medium containing an musical album.
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Methodology
On older unindexed media, hidden tracks are just additional tracks left off of the liner notes. On compact discs, there are additional methods of hiding tracks, such as:
- The hidden track is an ordinary indexed track, but omitted from the song listing. There can also be a few short tracks of a few seconds in length in between the last named song and the hidden song; hidden songs are often listed as 99, the last possible cd index.
- The hidden track is placed after another track (usually the last track on the album), after a long period of silence. For example, on Beck's Midnite Vultures, the last track, Debra, is padded by almost six minutes of silence and then an untitled hidden track of 1:04 in length. It was theorised in the early days of widespread CD usage that this was done to increase the CD length and make it more difficult to copy the CDs on CD-writers on domestic PCs (many early versions of which had a maximum read/write limit of 74 minutes).
- The hidden track is placed in the pregap of the first indexed track, so that the cd must first be cued to the track, and then manually rewound; these are usually referred to as "Track 0". For example, on Songs In The Key Of X: Music From And Inspired By The X-Files, there are two hidden tracks; to hear them you have to rewind the first track nine minutes. The downside of this method is that the CD player will not play these tracks without manual intervention.
- The hidden track is part of the data track portion of an Enhanced CD. If it is a compressed form such as MP3 or aacPlus, then more audio content can be potentially stored than if the track was a regular audio track. The downside of this method is that regular CD players cannot play these tracks, and the content is often locked to a particular operating system.
- The track may be several tracks with no silence inbetween, as to produce an uninterrupted song. An example of this is Frenzal Rhomb's "Not So Tough Now", although the majority (but not all) of the dozens of tracks making up the secret are listed on the liner notes by rediculous names such as "Son of Secret track" and "Theme from secret track: Part 2"
Titles
As these tracks are left off of the song list, they do not have formal song titles. When mentioned in music reviews, these tracks are usually referred to as "Track 0", "Untitled Track" or "Hidden Track". At other times, the name is inferred by external communication from the artist; for example, Alanis Morrisette's untitled track on Jagged Little Pill is referred to as "Your House" when she performs live.
Reasoning
Most artists decide to include a hidden track to simply surprise their fans. On specific occasions, the tracks are hidden for specific reasons:
- Songs In The Key of X uses the hidden tracks to keep in line with the mysterious, conspiracy theory nature of the tv series X-Files
- Follow the Leader has only twelve listed tracks because Korn thought that it would be unlucky to have thirteen tracks out of superstition
Notability
Many times, hidden tracks will be a cover version of a famous song by another artists. On several occasions, these hidden cover versions have become quite popular and received heavy radio airplay, such as Lauryn Hill's hidden cover of "Can't Take My Eyes off of You" on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill or Counting Crows' hidden cover of "Big Yellow Taxi" on Hard Candy.
Examples
- The Beatles were responsible for what may be the first "hidden track" (although it may not be considered a full track) on the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: sound inserted in the continuous groove at the end of an LP. After the final chord of "A Day In The Life" has died out follows an extremely high-pitched sound, apparently intended to annoy the listener's dog. This is followed by an odd collection of Beatle nonsense chatter, cut apart and pasted together randomly, on the continuous groove, which would go on infinitely if the album was left alone. This was recreated on the Sgt. Pepper CD version (which fades out after a few seconds) and is not a separate track but part of A Day In The Life.
- The Who lampooned the above concept: in the continuous loop of their album The Who Sell Out are The Who's voices repeating the words "Track Records, Track Records, Track Records..."
- The Beatles were also probably responsible for the first true "hidden track," appearing on their last studio album, Abbey Road. The conclusion of their climactic finale "The End" is followed by about seventeen seconds of silence, then an extremely loud chord, followed by a brief acoustic song performed by Paul McCartney, called "Her Majesty," which cuts off after the last note. This came about apparently because the song was part of the original medley on Side Two, but was edited out and, since producer George Martin instructed engineer Geoff Emerick never to get rid of anything The Beatles ever recorded, Emerick saved the track by splicing it onto the end of the master tape (the chord is apparently part of "Mean Mr. Mustard," another track on the LP). When the Beatles heard this, they considered it a happy accident and left it on the master. "Her Majesty" was not listed on the original LP release; it is listed and is a separate track on the CD version.
- The Clash on the 1979 LP London Calling got their first American hit with the hidden track "Train in Vain." The original vinyl version and the original CD back cover did not did list the song (though the song was listed on the original CD itself), however, all reissues afterwards have listed the song.
See also
External links
- Hidden Tracks: Gems or Duds? an editorial from July 5, 2000
Categories: Albums