Tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 7, Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks will be releasing her eighth solo album 24 Karat Gold — Songs from the Vault, which consists of songs Nicks had written over the last 40 years but never recorded. She is far from the only artist, however, to release an album of unused songs. Here are six more albums made up of scrapped songs:
1. Bob Dylan: Dylan (1973)
This 1973 Dylan album was compiled — without Dylan's permission, it should be noted — of outtakes from two albums he recorded in 1970: the notoriously bad Self Portrait and its relatively excellent follow-up New Morning. Based on the album's toxic reception, these are songs that were all cut for a good reason. The album was never released on CD, and therefore difficult to find on YouTube.
2. Neil Young: Hawks & Doves (1980)
One of the most famous unreleased albums in rock history is Young's Homegrown, which was recorded from late 1974 to early 1975. Two songs from the album were eventually released on Side 1 of Young's 1980 album Hawks & Doves, along with two other songs recorded during the '70s. The album's second side, however, consists of songs recorded in 1980 specifically for the album.
3. The Rolling Stones: Tattoo You (1981)
1981's Tattoo You was arguably the Rolling Stones's last great album, but it was not even recorded like a proper album. Instead of sitting down and writing a new batch of songs, the band simply compiled 11 unfinished songs they had recorded during the '70s, dating as far back as 1972, and overdubbed new vocals and instrumental tracks.
4. Guided by Voices: Bee Thousand (1994)
Because Guided by Voices's 1994 album Bee Thousand was intended to be the band's last, frontman Robert Pollard decided to clear out the vaults and use old demos and unused songs, giving the album its surreal, Abbey Road-esque patchwork quality. The album would prove to be Guided by Voices's masterpiece, and propelled the band closer to the mainstream.
5. Tom Waits: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards (2006)
While the other albums on this list are relatively short, Tom Waits's 2006 album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards clocks in at more than three hours. Though roughly half of the collection's 56 songs are rare tracks that had been included on film soundtracks or compilations, the other half consists of songs Waits had never released before, dating back to the mid-1980s.
6. Bruce Springsteen: High Hopes (2014)
Though the other albums on this list were mostly compiled of songs recorded at earlier dates, Springsteen's most recent album, High Hopes, is a bit different, consisting largely of original and cover songs Springsteen had been performing in concert for the last 15 years or so, but never got around to recording. The album also includes reworked versions of previously recorded songs, such as "The Ghost of Tom Joad," which was re-recorded here with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who had been performing a newly arranged version of the song with Springsteen in concert.
What are some other albums that are made up of scrapped and unused songs? Let us know in the comments section.
