Hidden Track One Audio

In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener. In some cases, the piece of music may simply have been left off the track listing, while in other cases, more elaborate methods are used. In rare cases, a 'hidden track' is actually the result of an error that occurred during the mastering stage production of the recorded media. However, since the rise of digital and streaming services such as iTunes and Spotify in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the inclusion of hidden tracks has declined on studio albums.

It is occasionally unclear whether a piece of music is 'hidden.' For example, " Her Majesty," which is preceded by fourteen seconds of silence, was originally unlisted on The Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' but is listed on current versions of the album. That song and others push the definition of the term, causing a lack of consensus on what is considered a hidden track. Alternatively, such things are instead labeled as vague audio experiments, errors, or simply an integral part of an adjacent song on the record.

Techniques

A vinyl record may be double-grooved, with the second groove containing the hidden tracks. Examples of double-grooving include Monty Python's 'three-sided' '' Matching Tie and Handkerchief'', Tool's ''Opiate'' EP, and Mr. Bungle's '' Disco Volante''.

With the invention of digital media and compact discs, alternative methods for hiding unlisted tracks were conceived. With a similar aim of concealment, unlisted tracks are sometimes given their own separate index point on digital media. Songs can be placed in the pregap of the first track of certain CD formats, so that the CD must first be cued to the track, and then manually back-scanned. These are often referred to as Track 0 or Hidden Track One Audio (HTOA). A CD player will not play these tracks without manual intervention, and some models (including many computer operating systems) are unable to read such content. On Super Furry Animals' ''Guerrilla'', "The Citizens Band" is found in the pre-gap approximately five minutes before the beginning of track one. A glossary of terms used in the song's lyrics is printed on the interior of the cardboard outer sleeve of the CD. This essentially renders them inaccessible without taking the sleeve apart, hiding the glossary in a parallel way to the song itself.

A less concealed method is to place the song at the end of another track, typically the last track on the album, following a period of silence. For example, Nirvana's song " Endless, Nameless" was included as a hidden track in this way on their 1991 CD ''Nevermind'', after 10 minutes of complete silence within the track listed as the final song. Although it was not the first hidden song to use this technique, it gained significant attention. Similarly, short tracks of silence can be layered before the hidden track plays. On Lazlo Bane's debut album, '' 11 Transistor'', the eleventh song is followed by 57 silent tracks, each four seconds in duration, with "Prada Wallet" (sometimes referred to as "The Birthday Song") being the 69th track on the album. The total length of silence between the two songs is 3:48.

It is possible for a track to be playable only through a computer, such as the '15th' track on Marilyn Manson's ''Mechanical Animals'' album, which can only be accessed through an Enhanced CD executable.

There are yet-deeper ways a track can be hidden. A "ghost" track can be subtly mixed to play concurrently with other, dominant audio, or heavily distorted in a way which must be undone to be played. For example, on a DVD included with the deluxe and 'ultra-deluxe' editions of Nine Inch Nails' ''Ghosts I–IV'', two hidden bonus tracks ("37 Ghosts" and "38 Ghosts") are included as digital multitrack files, from which the songs may be reconstructed.

Reasoning

*Aaliyah's self-titled album ''Aaliyah'' features the hidden song "Messed Up" on track 15. During the stages of the album creation, Aaliyah had no desire to put this song on the album, but after numerous inquiries from different labels and colleagues, she settled on making it a hidden track.
*In some rare cases, it is used to avoid legal issues. An example is Ramones' '' Loco Live'' American version, which has the song " Carbona Not Glue" hidden after ''Pet Sematary'' on track 17. It was originally recorded on their album ''Leave Home'', but the makers of the spot remover Carbona, a registered trademark, objected. Therefore, reference to the song was removed from the album and cover.
*"Freedom" by Paul McCartney was a hidden track on the original release of ''Driving Rain''. It was later added as a track on the re-release. The track was not meant to be hidden; it was a tribute to 9/11 victims, and McCartney wanted it on the album. The artwork was already finalised, so there was no choice but to make it a hidden track.
*"Train in Vain" by The Clash, which appears at the end of ''London Calling'', was left out of the vinyl's track listing simply because it was a last-minute addition to the album, when the sleeves were already printed. It is thus not a real hidden track. It was originally intended as a promotional giveaway for ''NME''. The later CD versions list the track on the sleeve.
*"Weird Al" Yankovic's "Bite Me" from the album ''Off the Deep End'' was put on after ten minutes of silence to scare listeners who had forgotten to turn off the CD player. It was also a loose parody of "Endless, Nameless" by Nirvana. The cover of ''Off the Deep End'' is also a parody of the album containing that track, ''Nevermind'', and its first track is a parody of that album's first track, "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
*'' The X-Files: The Album'' features a hidden track at 10 minutes and 13 seconds into the final track. The track consists of series creator Chris Carter explaining the series mythology and meaning behind the alien conspiracy. The hidden track even includes spoilers and minute details about the show's overall plot that had not yet been resolved on the show itself when the album was released. This track was included as both a surprise to devoted fans who would seek out answers in cross-promotional merchandise, and as a mystery to new fans who would need to watch the show more closely to better understand the track.
*Eugene Mirman's album ''The Absurd Night Club Comedy of Eugene Mirman'' includes a hidden track making fun of hidden tracks, and telling the listener that they have a very bizarre mission.
*The Jam's ''All Mod Cons'' does not list the song "English Rose" and its lyrics on original vinyl copies because Paul Weller believed the title and song would lose meaning without accompanying music. They have been added to re-releases of the album.
* Skip Spence's " Land of the Sun" was included as a hidden track by producer Bill Bentley to specifically close a tribute album to Spence, '' More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album''.
*Oasis

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