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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cd Surprises Music Artists Tuck Away In Their Recordings Bonus Songs And Chatter For Unsuspecting Fans

David Okamoto Dallas Morning News

The popularity of Todd Snider’s “Talkin’ Seattle Blues,” an unlisted song tacked onto his debut album “Songs For the Daily Planet,” has reignited interest in one of the forgotten quirks of the compact disc era: the hidden bonus track.

The CD has changed our listening habits: We can skip from track to track at the touch of a button, fast-forward past boring moments, and even program our players to play songs in any order. So many fans never make it to the very end of an album in one sitting, if at all.

But that’s where all the fun is. You may not know it, but some of your favorite artists have sprinkled sonic surprises - songs, studio chatter and other high-tech high jinks - onto their CDs.

Some are just extra tracks that are easy to detect by comparing the number of songs listed on the sleeve with the number displayed by your CD player. Others are secretly attached to the last track and are sometimes preceded with extended silences so the listener will be lulled into thinking the album has ended. To access them, you can use your “skip” button to fast-forward past the gaps, or just listen to the album all the way through for a change.

Here are some cool hidden bonus tracks that you might have overlooked (all are attached to the last song on the CD unless otherwise noted):

Janet Jackson, “janet” (Virgin) - After more than an hour of sexually provocative dance tunes and breathy ballads that make Madonna’s “Erotica” sound like an Amy Grant album, Jackson throws in “Whoops!” - a giddy, Motowninspired ditty about how work gets in the way of fun.

Offspring, “Smash” (Epitaph) - After five minutes of silence, a short, instrumental acoustic version of “Come Out and Play” pops up.

Tom Petty, “Full Moon Fever” (MCA; encrypted onto the beginning of track 6) - To give fans listening on cassette or LP time to turn over to side 2, Petty inserts a funny 29-second message to CD listeners complete with Jeff Lynne and the late Del Shannon making barnyard noises in the background - in front of his version of the Byrds’ “Feel a Whole Lot Better.”

Green Day, “Dookie” (Warner Bros.) - Billie Jo and the Berkeley boys borrow a guitar riff from the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” for a short acoustic song apparently called “All By Myself.”

American Music Club, “San Francisco” (Sire; unlisted tracks 15 and 16) - Not one, but two bonus cuts are on this alt-rock band’s second major-label offering: a noodling instrumental and a killer cover of the Mamas and Papas’ “California Dreaming.”

Guns N’ Roses, “The Spaghetti Incident?” (Geffen) - The most controversial bonus track of all time: Axl Rose croons “Look at Your Game, Girl,” a song originally recorded by Charles Manson.

Course of Empire, “Initiation” (Zoo) - A rarity: a bonus track at the beginning of the album. To hear the gloomy seven-minute instrumental “Running Man,” you must start the CD on track 1 and then use your “skip” button to rewind secondby-second to the beginning of the bonus song.

Sara Hickman, “Shortstop” (Elektra; unlisted track 12) - After the powerful “Take It Like a Man,” you hear the home-recorded sounds of a younger Hickman romping through a cute song about a “little blue man,” complete with scratchy-record sound effects.

Sarah McLachlan, “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy” (Arista) - Canadian chanteuse reprises track 1, “Possession,” as a solo-piano ballad.

The BoDeans, “Go Down Slow” (Warner Bros./Reprise, unlisted track 12) - Reportedly designed to show that critics don’t listen to albums all the way through, this Milwaukee band hid one of its best songs, an acoustic ballad called “She’s So Fine,” at the end of the CD.

Gear Daddies, “Billy’s Live Bait” (Polygram) - This now-defunct Minneapolis band offers fans one of its most beloved concert staples, a twangy ode to the joys of driving a Zamboni machine across an ice rink.

Crowded House, “Woodface” (Capitol) - After the final track fades out, there is silence, followed by a cacophony of guitars and the band screaming, “I’m still here!”

Tish Hinojosa, “Destiny’s Gate” (Warner Bros.; unlisted track 12) - A Spanish-language version of the charming title song.

Urge Overkill, “Saturation” (Geffen) - Track 12 clocks in at 28 minutes, which is a dead giveaway that something goofy is about to happen. After “Heaven 90210” comes 20 minutes (!) of silence before a hard-rocking tune, introduced as “Dumb song, Take 9,” kicks off.

Stone Temple Pilots, “Purple” (Atlantic) - A tongue-in-cheek Las Vegas swing tune touting the album. The chorus, “12 gracious melodies,” is printed on the back cover as a subtle clue.

Tripping Daisy, “Bill” (Island Red) - After five minutes of silence, an offbeat-poetry reading apparently titled “Pink Jelly” appears.

Lemonheads, “Come on Feel the Lemonheads” (Atlantic) - An 11-minute collage of music, guitar noise and conversation is tacked onto an otherwise disposable piano instrumental called “Jello Fund.”

Live, “Throwing Copper” (Radioactive/ MCA; unlisted track 14) - Jerry Harrisonproduced band, best known for MTV favorite “Selling the Drama,” caps its second album with a twangy ballad apparently titled “She Rode a Horse Into My Head.”

Material Issue, “Goin’ Through Your Purse: Live in Chicago” CD single (Mercury; attached to track 4) - The bargain of the decade, if you’re a fan of this Chicago power-pop band. Although priced as a CD single (less than $7), this six-song disc actually features 10 songs: Attached to track 4 are four other performances, making this a 41-minute live album.