# Fallen through the cracks: great songs not on an artists' CDs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558 "2008-05-16T15:46:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/1 "2008-05-16T15:46:25Z")
The iPod churned up The Clash’s “Gates of the West” last night, and I couldn’t help thinking that I’d have listened to it a lot more over the last 28-odd years if it had ended up on _London Calling_ where it kind of belongs, sonically anyway. It did end up on the expanded CD version of _Black Market Clash,_ but back in the day it was just a B-side of a 45 (I think) and I didn’t heard it until years later. It got me to thinking how the whole single-song mp3 golden age in which we are living, while making it less likely that an album will be listened to all the way through, has the side effect of rescuing some great songs from oblivion that would otherwise be languishing in a cutout bin or hidden away under Various Artists. Some other examples: The Hold Steady, “Girls Like Status,” would be one of my favorite songs on _Boys and Girls in America,_ except that it appears only on the soundtrack to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie, which in the pre-download era I never would have bought, or noticed. Maybe my favorite New Pornographers song is “Graceland,” which seems to only have been released on a compilation of co-labellists. Ditto the Whiskeytown song “Choked Up.” The king of this is probably Bob Dylan, as the _Bootleg Series Vol 1-3_ revealed his propensity for leaving off the best song from each of his albums from the late 70s on (example: “Blind Willie McTell” would have been the best song on _Infidels_ by a wide margin in my opinion). I know the Beatles and the Stones had a raft of great songs released only on 45s and then on CD compilations, but that seems like low-hanging fruit. I’d like to hear about some more of these great songs that have fallen through the cracks CD-wise. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/2 "2008-05-16T16:56:24Z")
David Bowie: “Holy Holy” (two versions were released on 45…the second briefly appeared as a bonus track on the Ryko version of _The Man Who Sold the World_, incorrectly identified as the original, which has never been reissued and which I have not heard to this day) Procol Harum: “Drunk Again,” “Blue Danube” Jethro Tull: “A Stitch in Time” Yes: “Something’s Coming” (from _West Side Story_) (I think the above are all currently available as bonus tracks on the chronologically appropriate CDs) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/3 "2008-05-16T17:13:59Z")
Tom Waits’ song “Diamond In Your Mind” hasn’t been officially recorded or released by him but a live version is available. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/4 "2008-05-16T18:07:05Z")
“Hey Hey What Can I Do” by Led Zeppelin comes to mind. It was released as the **B** side of “The Immigrant Song” and although it was released on the various artist-LP _The New Age of Atlantic_ in 1972, it wasn’t officially released on album by Zeppelin until their first box set in 1990, and again as a bonus track on _Coda_ in their _Complete Studio Recordings_ set. “Pink Cadillac” was recorded by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band during the recording sessions of _Born in the U.S.A._ It was bumped in favor of the song “I’m Goin’ Down” and released as the **B** side of the “Dancing in the Dark” single. It finally appeared in the box set _Tracks_ in 1998. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/5 "2008-05-16T18:16:11Z")
The Grateful Dead had the makings of a terrific follow-up to American Beauty but could never quite get it together enough to record it. Among the songs were Wharf Rat, Tennessee Jed, Ramble on Rose, Jack Straw, and Mr. Charlie. Instead of appearing on a studio album, the songs became concert staples. Most turned up on official releases, but only as live cuts. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/6 "2008-05-16T19:07:40Z")
“Gloria” by U2, didn’t make their greatest hits of the 80’s CD, apparently because Bono and some other members thought that an uplifting and powerful song sounded “dated” (whatever that means). ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/7 "2008-05-16T19:28:15Z")
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s live version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” has appeared on various Christmas compilations, and finally in 1985 it was released as the B-side to “My Hometown”, but as far as I know, it has never appeared on a Springsteen album or box set. In the mid 70s, my friend had a 45 of David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” that was radically different from the album version and what we usually heard on the radio. I mainly remembered the chanting. I never was able to convince anyone this actually existed until it popped up on the “Sound+Vision” box set in the early 90s. Nirvana’s “Verse Chorus Verse” originally only appeared on a charity compilation. 10 years later it made it into the big-ass “With The Lights Out” box set. One of my favorite Frank Black songs is “Pray For The Girls”, which can only be found in the children’s section on the album “The Powerpuff Girls:Heroes & Villians” ---
**Author:** ![Waldo\_Jeffers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Waldo\_Jeffers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waldo_Jeffers)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/8 "2008-05-16T21:13:44Z")
A couple come to mind: Silver Springs was left off of Rumours by **Fleetwood Mac** for either being too long or for making the album too depressing. I think it’s better than at least half the songs that made the cut. **The Velvet Underground** had more than an album’s worth of solid material that didn’t get onto a proper album. I would say songs like Stephanie Says, Ocean, Foggy Notion, and We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together could go up against some of they’re best material. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/9 "2008-05-16T23:03:05Z")
The Who has “Join Together” and “The Relay,” both fine song, but which were not put on an album for years after their releases. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/10 "2008-05-17T01:04:26Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] “Hey Hey What Can I Do” by Led Zeppelin comes to mind. [/QUOTE] That’s the perfect example, actually, because I remember hearing this song on the radio all the time in the 70s but nobody owned it. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/11 "2008-05-17T01:55:30Z")
Nirvana: released “Spank Thru” (on a Sub Pop comp), “Even In His Youth” (B-side to “Teen Spirit”), “Oh The Guilt” (split single in '93), and “I Hate Myself and Want to Die” (Beavis and Butthead comp). Fortunately they all made it to the box set. Pearl Jam: “Yellow Ledbetter” (B-Side to “Jeremy”), “Leaving Here” (great Marvin Gaye cover on charity comp), “I Got Id” (single only release). Smashing Pumpkins: “Said Sadly” was a great acoustic duet ballad that was only available on the “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” single. Not only is it the rare SP song with James Iha singing lead, but it’s got one of Veruca Salt’s members as his partner. One older release that’s apparently gone was “Snow Queen”, a folky Elton John song with one of Taupin’s best lyrics. I’ve only seen it as the B-side to “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”. Neither John’s box set nor remastered CD’s seem to include it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/12 "2008-05-17T02:07:23Z")
Just remembered: Procol Harum’s “Homburg,” which didn’t seem to be released in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/13 "2008-05-19T22:56:44Z")
U2’s The Ground Beneath Her Feet was tucked away on the soundtrack of The Million Dollar Hotel, a film no one ever saw. ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/14 "2008-05-19T23:35:49Z")
Slightly embarrassed, but it’s a great song… The b-side of Yes’ earnest ‘Don’t Kill The Whale’ is the fantastic ‘Abilene’ which i think is spelled differently on the label to the cover. I think it’s my favourite Yes song and I’ve yet to see it on CD MiM ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/15 "2008-05-19T23:39:46Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Just remembered: Procol Harum’s “Homburg,” which didn’t seem to be released in the US. [/QUOTE] It was released as a single (their first for A&M, backed with “Good Captain Clack”), but it sank like a stone. I never heard of it until I found a cutout copy of the single in the 10-cent bin at the Thrifty drug store in 1970. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/16 "2008-05-19T23:41:16Z")
[QUOTE=Made in Macau] I think it’s my favourite Yes song and I’ve yet to see it on CD [/QUOTE] It’s a bonus track on the current edition of _Tormato_. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/17 "2008-05-20T02:12:27Z")
There’s Blossom Dearie and Lyle Lovett’s duet on Dave Frishberg’s “Peel Me a Grape” that AFAIK was only ever released on a Banana Republic in-store giveaway – it’s never been on a release by either of them that I can find. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/18 "2008-05-20T07:32:06Z")
Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian made a demo called “Rhoda” that was never officially released, but it’s my favorite B&S song. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/19 "2008-05-20T10:14:17Z")
Pink Floyd’s “Embryo” is a quite good track that never got included in a mainstream album. It’s on _Total Eclipse_, an off-label compilation of PF oddities & rarities. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558/20 "2008-05-20T14:50:39Z")
One of my favorites by them _World Without Mercy_ was the last song on the **Viloent Femmes** cassette release _Blind Leading The Naked_. For whatever reason they left it off the CD release. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallen-through-the-cracks-great-songs-not-on-an-artists-cds/449558.md?page=2)