Hidden Treasures

Posted on 26th Feb 07 by Contributor | 0

Artist: The great lost tracks….
Author: Kipto

The great lost tracks….

Last month Q magazine ran an article detailing 500 of the "best songs you never heard". The list contained tracks by Robbie Williams" Beyonce" Madonna and Britney Spears" so obviously wasn"t worth the paper it was printed on. It did however give me the idea to totally rip off the format for my next article""" So below are some of the best "lost" tracks. These are tracks which were hidden away on b"sides or left to wallow on sub"par albums which no one listens to anymore" with the odd great track by a shite band. I"ve done my best to avoid tracks" which have popped up on "Best of" or "Greatest Hits" compilations.

"Oily Water" By Blur.
Can be found on: Modern Life Is Rubbish " Album "
An excellent track on a very average album" only notable for giving me a title for one of my rants. It has cool distorted guitar and slide bass intro" with a very good key change for the chorus. Strange that is didn"t get a single release" or that it"s absent from the recent best of Blur compilation"particularly given the inclusion of the piss poor "For Tomorrow" from the same album.

"Cloudburst" By Oasis
Can be found on: Live Forever " Single "
How Noel Gallagher much wish he held back some b"sides from the Definitely Maybe/What"s The Story Morning Glory period. As the release of "The Masterplan" proved" the b"sides from that era are better than anything he"s released since "with the possible exception of "Don"t Believe the Truth"". This track is full of the swagger that the Gallaghers seem to have lost as they move into middle age" complete with a bombastic vocal delivery from Liam "Wake up" coz the sunnnn is shinnninggggah"" The fact that this couldn"t even make it onto "The Masterplan" collection shows that" for a short period at least" Oasis were a band to be reckoned with.

"Zeroes" By David Bowie
Can be found on: Never Let Me Down " Album "
Even the most ardent Bowie fan "such as your humble author" would have trouble defending Bowie"s 1987 album. Saying it was "patchy" would be very kind. There is however one diamond in the rough halfway through the album" "Zeroes". An upbeat and poppy tune with a slight hint of psychedelica and soaring chorus. Despite similarity in name to his earlier classic there seems to be no obvious link between to two. It gives the listener some hope that the album may not be a dud after all"until Mickey Rourke and Bowie rap later on in the album"oh dear.

"Heart of Mine" By Bob Dylan
Can be found on: Shot of Love " Album "
Coming at the tail end of Bob"s "Jesus Phase" this is an criminally under looked album" although it is not helped by having the worst opening track "the title track" on any of Dylan"s albums. But soon that gives way to "Heart of Mine"" which builds from a simple piano opening and builds to an up"tempo sing along during which Bob seems to be actually enjoying himself. It"s rare enough to find some light hearted Dylan" but this track with its bouncing drums and keyboards is well worth checking out.

"Pets" By Porno For Pyros
Can be found on: Porno For Pyros "Album"..i think"" ".
Perry Farrell is a strange fella" likes dressing up in drag" has bizarre stage shows" thinks he"s Jesus "probably". He scored a huge hit with "Been Caught Stealing" with Jane"s Addiction" but it"s this track with follow up band Porno For Pyros "who were shite" which may be his best moment on CD. It"s real slow burning blissed out tune built over a simple baseline and some nice treated guitars. The lyrics themselves seem to deal with the prospect of an alien invasion and how we will "make great pets" for out new masters. Perry"s a nutter" but it"s a great track nonetheless.

"From the Bench At Belvedere" By The Boo Radleys
Can be found on: I think this may have been released as a single.
Most be people know the Boo Radleys from the annoying upbeat "Wake up Boo""you know the one "wake up it"s a beautiful morning"" Anyway somewhere in between writing theme tunes for breakfast TV and doing piss poor Who impressions they come up with this song. This may be the definition of "Every dog has its day"" the Radleys were average at best" but this is an excellent song" which reminds of the Beatles "Don"t Let Me Down" for some reason" but in a good way. I picked it up on one of the indie "Shine" compilations in the 90"s. It maybe the only place you can get your hands on it now.

"She Was Hot" By The Rolling Stones
Can be found on: Undercover " Album ".
Another example of a great track from a rubbish album. By the time "Undercover" was released "1983""" the Stones were fast running out of ideas "and out of patience with each other"" so this album can really be filed under the "contractual obligation" category. The standout track however can be seen as a companion piece to "She"s So Cold" from the "Emotional Rescue" album. The themes of the lyrics are quiet similar" but this is a more up"tempo song less reliant on the 12 bar blues format. Also included on this album is "Too Much Blood" which has Mick doing a monologue about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the middle of it"every bit as bad as it sounds.

"Beautiful Night" By Paul McCartney.
Can be found on: Flaming Pie "Album".
Release in 1997" Flaming Pie was a real comeback from Macca was his best album in nearly twenty years. Tracks such as "Young Boy"" "The World Tonight" and "Calico Skies" have made the way into Macca"s live sets since. The real gem though is "Beautiful Night"" for the first 3 mins it seems to be a run of the mill Macca ballad complete with string section. However just when you think it"s tailing off" it kicks back into to life for a gloriously upbeat finale featuring a horn section and the legend that is Mr. Ringo Starr pitching up on vocals". an essential listen if you haven"t heard it before.

"Woman Don"t You Cry For Me" By George Harrison.
Can be found on: 33 and a third "Album"
Aka "George gets funky"" the opening track on his 1976 album features a funky bass into and some soulful lyrics from the "quiet one". It has the bluesy theme of leaving your woman "I"m gonna leave you here" I"m gonna leave you at the station" I"ve got a long way to go baby" Woman don"t you cry for me". Was written while on tour with Eric Clapton and was initially slated for the "All things must pass" album" but sounds better as the lead"off track for this later album.

"Memories" By Leonard Cohen
Can be found on: Death of a Ladies Man "Album"
A rare upbeat song from the arch"miserabalist. Written while on drug and alcohol fuelled sessions with Bob Dylan and poet Allen Ginsberg. The product is gloriously overblown" as you would expect from Phil Spector" who once pleaded with Cohen to stop "mumbling" during a recording session" if this is the result then maybe Cohen should have taken the lunatic"s advice more often""

"The Rock" by Delakota
Can be found on: One Love " Album " / The Rock " Single "
When they emerge in the late nineties. Delakota"s fusion of rock and dance music saw them labelled "quite rightly as it turns out" as a poor man"s Primal Scream. On this single however they showed that they at least had potential. A looping guitar riff continues throughout the song as the lyrics talk about looking for UFOs "I stood on the rock. Pointed my flashlight to the sky"no one was there." It really was there one moment in the sun as the rest of the album was lazy crap.

Well" those are the songs that spring to mind". no doubt more will come to me later.
I"ll be back soon with a hate filled bile rant as soon as Robbie gets out of rehab.

Kipto.
Kiptosrants"yahoo.co.uk