FEATURE:
Definitely/Maybe
IN THIS PHOTO: An outtake from the cover shoot of Oasis’ 1994 debut album, Definitely Maybe/PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Spencer Jones
Potentially Great ‘Lost’ Album Title Tracks
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I was recently thinking about…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: Mirrorpix
Kate Bush’s second studio album, Lionheart, and how there was a track recorded during the sessions that was called Never for Ever. Producer Andrew Powell confirmed that the track was recorded but never used, as Bush felt that her vocal was not great. This terrific and beautiful song that never made it onto the album of the same name – Never for Ever was released in 1980 and co-produced by Kate Bush -; I wonder why it was recorded for the session of Lionheart. Whether it was going to be a Lionheart song or Bush was already thinking to her third album and wanted this title track. In any case, the fact that Never for Ever is the only Kate Bush studio album without a title track seems like this gap. A great what-if regarding Never for Ever and what a title track would have sounded like. It got me thinking about other amazing albums that could have had potentially epic title tracks. It is good when an album has a title but no title track. It seems disconnected, though that sense of detachment is something I love. Even so, there are some classic albums that never had title tracks that I feel could have been something awesome. One turns thirty later this year. Oasis’ Definitely Maybe was a classic of 1994. Whereas future albums had title tracks, their genius debut album did not. I often think of that album title as a throwaway. Maybe a response to a question. It seems very Beatle-esque. More on that band later. Oasis, unashamedly indebted to The Beatles in a huge way could have penned something Beatles-like with a Definitely Maybe title track. A big anthem that could have opened the second side of the album – expand the album from eleven to twelve tracks and have Definitely Maybe nestled between Supersonic and Bring It on Down – and added yet another gem to one of the best albums of the 1990s.
In terms of women in music and female-fronted bands, there are some examples that spring to mind. Even though more quite a few Björk albums do not have title tracks, I feel that 2004’s Medúlla befitted one. That word is Latin for ‘marrow’. That may not seem like fertile ground for lyrical and musical inspiration, though Björk could have used that word to refer to the marrow of the planet. Of plants and living things. A sweeping and fascinating track that could have closed the album. I know that Medúlla is a long album as it stands. However, I often think of her album titles and the potential title cuts that could have been written. A couple of music queens have album titles begging for title tracks. Tori Amos’ Under the Pink recently turned thirty. That title could refer to sexuality. Femininity and womanhood. I am not exactly sure why the album was called Under the Pink, yet there is that tantalising what-if regarding a title track. Again, at nearly an hour and thirteen tracks, would it be excessive or bloated having another track in there?! I think an Under the Pink track would have been really interesting. I guess that Beyoncé’s Lemonade is explained and explored through the album. Its title referring to making something good out of a bad situation. That struggle in terms of race and gender. Identity and political struggle. Rather than it being too revealing, an extra track on her 2016 masterpiece would be wonderful. A song called Lemonade could have various meanings and, as such, her lyrics could dig into a variety of subjects and avenues. The acidic lemon sting or the heroine making lemonade out of lemons. Mixing childhood metaphors and taking that word in other directions, I did half-expect Lemonade to have a title track when the album was annoucned.
I will come onto The Beatles and some other classic albums. First, there are some other older and newer classic albums I muse as to what a title track would have sounded like. Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks is his 1975 classic that could have increased its tracklisting to eleven and had a powerful and stirring title track. What about Joni Mitchell and her 1979 album, Mingus? There is Nirvana’s Nevermind (1991), Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (1977) and Radiohead’s Amnesiac (2001). I know some albums without a title track do mention the title in another song. It is a subjective thing, though most of us listen to classic albums that do not have a title cut. Why do artists not include one?! Maybe the title doesn’t suggest anything good. There may be that thing of the album being non-thematic. The title track might make the album narrative too limited or defined. It is pretty curious. I think that The Beatles’ Revolver is an album that begged a title track. Most of their albums had title tracks, though perhaps their first never did. I suppose the gun-themed word might be too violent or restrictive. I feel a Revolver track could have sounded perfect on the album. Thinking about it, the album’s predecessor, Rubber Soul (1965) is without a title track.
Whilst there have been discussions and features about this very subject before, it is something not as dissected as I’d imagine. The fact Oasis’ Definitely Maybe turning thirty is one of the biggest anniversaries of this year got me thinking about what a title track could have consisted of. How epic would it have been. My mind also went to other albums from 1994 without title tracks: Pulp’s Different Class (1995); Beck’s Odelay (1996) – though the word is repeated through the album song, Lord Only Knows -; The Chemical Brothers’ Dig Your Own Hole (1997) and R.E.M.’s Out of Time (1991). Looking at some suggestions online and more modern albums like Britney Spears’ Blackout (2007), Billie Eilish’s debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (2019) had potential title tracks (or at least in fans’ minds). There is no title track on Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) (an album, annoyingly, that most shortened to ‘Dark Side of the Moon’!). There are ample examples of albums where the title is mentioned in other songs, thus people feel that that is an adequate connection. The Corrs’ Talk on Corners ( 1997) is mentioned in the track, Queen of Hollywood. There is actually an album by The Title Trackers called Lost Title Tracks that mentions a few. The inclusion of The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. (1972) made me realise that this album, plus 1968’s Beggars Banquet, 1971’s Sticky Fingers and even their Beatles rip-off, 1967’s Their Satanic Majesties Request (pretty much their version of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from the same year) does not have a title track! If you have any suggestions or ideas of title tracks that could have slotted onto classic albums currently without them then let me know. Sadly, in the days of A.I., that sort of request can be fulfilled pretty quickly. It is best kept in the imagination. It takes me back to Oasis’ Definitely Maybe and whether the band had a title track in mind. Would it have been any good?! I guess we will never know. Do have a think about missing title tracks from classic albums and let your…
IMAGINATION run wild!