10 Best Hidden Tracks On Rock Music Albums
You won't find the names of these great songs on the tracklist, but they are there.
Back in the days before streaming sites ruined everything with their "data", it was much easier to sneak a hidden track onto an album.
The best and most popular method was to hide a song right at the end of the album, usually a couple of minutes after the supposed "final track" had ended. Anyone who left their record or CD playing for long enough will have been treated to a track that, according to the back of the box, didn't exist.
Some of these songs are tiny tidbits, clocking in at no more than ten seconds long, whilst others are full-blown tracjs that could have easily been included as part of the main album. This list will be exploring the great and good of this phenomenon, celebrating a time where even the biggest albums could surprise you.
A "hidden track", in the case of this list, is any song that did not get named on the tracklist of the original album. Some have been added in later years, but at the time of their release, they were all kept in the dark for adventurous listeners to dig up.
10. Slowdown - Unknown Road (Pennywise)
Forming in 1988, Pennywise are easily the world's favourite punk rock band named after a villainous clown from a Stephen King novel. It's a shallow pool, granted, but still...
The group released their self-titled debut album in 1991 and followed it up with 1993's Unknown Road. They would have their first taste of success with third album About Time, presumably because they threatened to pull everyone's brother down a storm drain if they didn't buy it.
Back to Unknown Road, the album considered by many to be Pennywise's real jumping-off point. In true punk fashion, it crams 13 songs into just 33 minutes, but the real number is actually one higher.
On the original tracklist, the album ends with Clear Your Head, but in reality there's another song straight after it. Slowdown, a rapid-fire three-minute jam, acts as the encore for this album, giving fans one last taste of Pennywise goodness.
When Unknown Road was remastered in 2005, Slowdown was officially recognised as being on the album. Although, if you check it out on Spotify, the song is still missing. If you want to hear it, you'll have to buy an actual physical CD.