Back just before artists started taking albums additional seriously than as mere collections of their most up-to-date singles plus some record-filling cover songs, their LP titles did not overthink the course of action. Typically titled just after a massive single (Please Please Me) or with the artist’s name prominently on show (With the Beatles), it wasn’t until the album format became an art kind that LP titles got additional inventive, irrespective of whether to reflect the contents or to spot the record inside a conceptual framework.

But as the under list of 40 Songs That Aren’t on the Albums They Were Named After shows, often a wonderful title or title track doesn’t make the final reduce. Of course, not all LP titles have a companion song we’re nonetheless waiting for Fiona Apple’s “When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King/What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight/And He’ll Win the Whole Thing ‘Fore He Enters the Ring/There’s No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might/So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand/And Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights/And if You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land/And if You Fall It Won’t Matter, Cuz You’ll Know That You’re Right” to surface.

Never ones to leave a wonderful title or title track unheard, even though, artists more than the decades have resurrected shelved songs – reduce for a single purpose or an additional, irrespective of whether for space or mainly because it did not fit an LP’s theme – for later projects: B-sides, next albums, later albums or even bonus tracks on reissues or expanded editions of the albums they have been omitted from in the initially spot.

AC/DC, “High Voltage”

When AC/DC’s debut album, High Voltage, was released in their native Australia in 1975, the title track wasn’t amongst the eight songs integrated. But a year later, when their initially international LP, also referred to as High Voltage, came out, the track listing looked various. The 1976 edition contained nine songs: a condensation of their initially two Australian records, such as “High Voltage,” initially released on the Aussie-only T.N.T.

AC/DC, “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”

A compact grammatical alteration distinguishes AC/DC’s 1979 Highway to Hell song “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” from the similar-named reside album (no parentheses) from the year just before. The concert set helped establish the band outdoors of Australia, but their sixth studio album was the record that broke them, specifically in the States, where they cracked the Top 20 for the initially time. Singer Bon Scott died seven months later.

Beck, “One Foot in the Grave”

Three months just after his key-label debut Mellow Gold and the single “Loser” pushed 23-year-old Beck into public consciousness, an indie label issued an album recorded just before his breakthrough LP. One Foot in the Grave is comparatively scaled back from Mellow Gold‘s bag of studio tricks, its 16 songs a reduce from the 25 on Stereopathetic Soulmanure, Gold’s predecessor that includes the song “One Foot in the Grave.”

Bee Gees, “Cucumber Castle”

In mid-1969, Robin Gibb left his brothers Barry and Maurice to operate on their seventh Bee Gees album devoid of him. Down a singer and songwriter, the two remaining Gibbs constructed Cucumber Castle for a Television specific that aired in 1970. By then, Robin had returned, but the album was, at the time, their lowest charting in the U.S. and U.K. Curiously, the song “Cucumber Castle” surfaced years just before on their initially LP.

Big Country, “The Crossing”

Scottish band Big Country struck gold in 1983 with their debut album The Crossing, which benefited from radio help and MTV airplay of “In a Big Country.” Bandleader Stuart Adamson, guitarist Bruce Watson and producer Steve Lillywhite tweaked effects pedals to mimic bagpipes, a crucial element to their sound. The epic title track, operating seven minutes, was reserved for the Wonderland EP released in 1984.

Blind Melon, “Soup”

Blind Melon’s 1992 debut became a surprise hit thanks to the results of “No Rain,” a folk/psychedelic/alt-rock hybrid remembered for its “Bee Girl” video. Their second LP, Soup, released 3 years later, had no such luck. Singer Shannon Hoon’s drug-connected death two months later stalled the band’s momentum. In 1996 they gathered leftovers for the Nico compilation, which integrated “Soup,” left off their second album.

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, “Safe as Milk”

Safe as Milk, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band’s 1967 debut, did not stray far from the blues-primarily based garage rock that defined their cover of Bo Diddley’s “Diddy Wah Diddy.” But traces of the psychedelia and avant-garde experimentalism of their later operate have been currently creeping inward. Safe as Milk‘s title song was slated for an abandoned double LP, It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper, later streamlined as Strictly Personal.

Julian Cope, “World Shut Your Mouth”

The Teardrop Explodes frontman Julian Cope announced his solo profession in 1984 with the World Shut Your Mouth album, a continuation of the psych-pop he played with his former band. It would take two additional years just before he recorded a song with that title for his third LP, Saint Julian. It was worth the wait: “World Shut Your Mouth” was Cope’s largest hit, creating the Top 20 in his native U.K. and gracing the U.S. charts.

Elvis Costello, “Imperial Bedroom”

One year just before “Imperial Bedroom” the song was left off Imperial Bedroom the album, Elvis Costello performed a equivalent trick with Almost Blue. But “Imperial Bedroom” wasn’t an outtake from the 1982 art-rock LP it really is not even credited to Costello and the Attractions. Instead, the song – initially identified on the B-side of the Imperial Bedroom single “Man Out of Time” – is attributed to Napoleon Dynamite &amp the Royal Guard.

Study Much more: The 50 Best Title Tracks From Classic Albums

Elvis Costello &amp the Attractions, “Almost Blue”

Elvis Costello entered the ’80s with a new determination to not repeat himself. 1980’s R&ampB throwback Get Happy!! was followed a year later with the nation tribute Almost Blue, consisting of songs from the ’50s by means of the ’70s. There was no song named “Almost Blue” on there, but the following year’s baroque pop masterpiece Imperial Bedroom involves a song by that name, a Chet Baker-influenced jazz mood piece.

Counting Crows, “August and Everything After”

Counting Crows came out of nowhere in 1993 with their intriguingly named debut album August and Everything After. The lyrics for a song with that name are scrawled on the LP’s front cover, but it isn’t among the 11 tracks contained inside. It’s not included in a 2007 reissue either. The band debuted “August and Everything After” onstage in the mid-’00s in 2019, the almost 10-minute song lastly surfaced on streaming solutions.

Culture Club, “Colour by Numbers”

Culture Club wasted tiny time delivering new music to their fans. After “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” hit No. 1 in the U.K. in 1982, numerous singles (with non-LP flips) and two albums have been released by the finish of the following year. Colour by Numbers topped the chart in their household nation and reached No. 2 in the States, thanks to 5 hit singles. The album’s title track, MIA on the LP, surfaced as the B-side to “Victims.”

Def Leppard, “On Through the Night”

Def Leppard’s debut album – 1980’s On Through the Night – rode in with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal before they turned into a single of the decade’s largest bands just after streamlining their music. The 1981 comply with-up LP, High ‘n’ Dry, is additional of the similar, with new producer Robert John “Mutt” Lang inching them toward pop chart results. “On Through the Night,” named just after their initially album, retains the earlier LP’s rock muscle.

Dokken, “Back for the Attack”

This a single gets a bit confusing. In 1985 Dokken recorded a song referred to as “Back for the Attack” throughout the sessions for their third album, Under Lock and Key. The track was shelved but resurfaced two years later as component of the “Dream Warriors” single, from the A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors soundtrack. The subsequent year, the Los Angeles metal band released their fourth album referred to as – prepared? – Back for the Attack.

The Doors, “Waiting for the Sun”

An early example of an artist holding back the title song of a single of their albums for later operate, the Doors’ third album, and their only No. 1, 1968’s Waiting for the Sun, did not include things like a track with that name amongst its 11 offerings. Two years later, “Waiting for the Sun,” the song, appeared on the band’s fifth album, the back-to-fundamentals Morrison Hotel, released seven months just after the experimental soft-rock of The Soft Parade.

Emerson, Lake &amp Palmer, “Brain Salad Surgery”

1973’s Brain Salad Surgery is frequently regarded as a single of Emerson, Lake &amp Palmer’s greatest albums, but fans had to wait 4 years to hear the unreleased title song that was recorded throughout the LP’s sessions. It initially showed up as the B-side to the trio’s prog update of Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” single later in 1977 it appeared on ELP’s group-album-but-not-truly collection Works Volume 2.

Foo Fighters, “The Colour and the Shape”

Recording with a band for the initially time – Foo Fighters’ self-titled debut was a Dave Grohl solo record – the former Nirvana drummer had a stockpile of leftover songs for his group’s second album. Even at 13 songs deep, The Colour and the Shape left off the title track, which initially surfaced as a bonus track on the “Monkey Wrench” single. The track also appeared on the 10th-anniversary edition of the album that shares its name.

Study Much more: 40 Artists Who Challenged Fans With Unconventional Records

Gentle Giant, “The Power and the Glory”

Like numerous prog albums of the period, Gentle Giant’s sixth, 1974’s The Power and the Glory, is a loose notion record. Even so, its eight tracks are somewhat lean, averaging much less than 5 minutes every. Still, its lasting influence can be traced to rapper Travis Scott’s No. 1 2023 LP Utopia, which samples Power‘s opening “Proclamation.” The LP’s title song, nonetheless, was released as a stand-alone single about the similar time.

Guided by Voices, “Bee Thousand”

DIY revolving-door indie band Guided by Voices released a nine-minute EP in 1993 referred to as The Grand Hour. Among its six songs are “Bee Thousand” and “Alien Lanes,” both of which were granted second lives as the titles of two of the prolific band’s ideal albums, from 1994 and 1995, respectively. Even with 20 tracks, the profession-ideal Bee Thousand skipped more than the song that gave the album its title.

Daryl Hall &amp John Oates, “Bigger Than Both of Us”

1976’s Bigger Than Both of Us gave Daryl Hall and John Oates their initially No. 1 with “Rich Girl.” Seven months just after the release of the LP they returned with their sixth album, Beauty on a Back Street, which failed to yield a Top 40 hit. (The album hit the Top 30, even though.) But it did include things like the song “Bigger Than Both of Us,” a soulful slice of precision pop that would have effortlessly match onto any of the duo’s ’70s albums.

PJ Harvey, “Dry”

PJ Harvey’s 1992 debut Dry arrived just about completely formed, the interplay amongst bassist Steve Vaughan, drummer Rob Ellis and the guitar-wielding singer and songwriter calling the shots zeroing in on a post-rock, option blues. Tracks such as “Dress” and “Sheela-Na-Gig” sparked an electric new voice, but it wasn’t till the comply with-up LP in 1993, the additional abrasive Rid of Me, that the song “Dry” identified a spot in her canon.

Robyn Hitchcock &amp the Egyptians, “Queen Elvis”

Years, and six albums, as a left-of-center cult artist lastly paid off for Robyn Hitchcock in 1989, who had a Modern Rock radio hit with “Madonna of the Wasps.” Much of the rest of Queen Elvis is almost as accessible, acquiring crossover appeal in alt-rock’s growing influence. The title track, nonetheless, didn’t appear until 1990’s Eye, a solo acoustic record produced without his backing band the Egyptians.

Iron Butterfly, “Scorching Beauty”

Four years just after they broke up, drummer Ron Bushy reunited with guitarist Erik Brann (who left just after Iron Butterfly’s third album) for the group’s fifth LP in 1975. Scorching Beauty stalled at No. 138, but that did not cease them from releasing an additional record nine months later. Sun and Steel failed to chart altogether and turned out to be Iron Butterfly’s final album. Included: “Scorching Beauty,” a song left off the prior LP.

The Jayhawks, “Tomorrow the Green Grass”

Minneapolis-primarily based alt-nation group the Jayhawks lastly cracked the charts with their third LP, 1992’s Hollywood Town Hall. Their subsequent album, 1995’s Tomorrow the Green Grass, gave them their highest-charting record to date. It was also the final album to include things like singer, songwriter and cofounder Mark Olson. The guitar-heavy sing-along title song was left off the album but showed up as a track on the “Blue” single.

The Jesus and Mary Chain, “Psychocandy”

The Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1985 debut, Psychocandy, promptly identified an audience with its distorted noise rock tethered to classic ’60s melodies. The album helped spur a movement in 1980s U.K. indie rock, at some point setting the template for shoegaze over the subsequent decade. The LP’s title track – slightly altered to “Psycho Candy” – initially appeared on the Some Talking EP and later on the B-sides collection Barbed Wire Kisses.

Led Zeppelin, “Houses of the Holy”

The king of missing title tracks, “Houses of the Holy” was initially the name of Led Zeppelin’s fifth album, but the song, recorded for the LP but left off, did not seem till the subsequent record, Physical Graffiti. Like “The Rover” and “Black Country Woman” – other outcasts from Houses of the Holy – the song joined with other Zeppelin outtakes and some newly recorded songs for the band’s 1975 double-album chart-topper.

The Mars Volta, “Frances the Mute”

The Mars Volta’s second LP is filled with normally complicated and time-stretching songs by the new-college prog rockers. Even though Frances the Mute includes only 5 tracks, they clock in at additional than 75 minutes, with not substantially area left for any outcasts worked on throughout the sessions. The epic title song, which runs almost 15 minutes, was a single of the left-off casualties. It later appeared as a bonus reduce on the LP’s Japanese edition.

The Mothers of Invention, “Absolutely Free”

The Mothers of Invention’s initially 3 albums – Freak Out!, Absolutely Free and We’re Only in It for the Money – just about hyperlink with each other as a single piece, unified in their defiant spirit and takedowns of Summer of Love emptiness. Frank Zappa’s avant-garde music pushes against the conventions of psychedelia – “Absolutely Free” is a prime instance: We’re Only In It for the Money highlight shares its name with the band’s prior album.

Alan Parsons, “The Secret”

In 2019, Alan Parsons released his fifth solo album (just after years of fronting the Alan Parsons Project) with enable from original Foreigner singer Lou Gramm, former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett and ’00s singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. What The Secret did not have was the title song – new-century prog-rock with a lean toward pop – which was held more than for Parsons’ subsequent record, 2022’s From the New World.

Primal Scream, “Screamadelica”

Primal Scream’s Screamadelica is a landmark record in early ’90s acid-home-influenced option rock. But excellent luck acquiring its title song on the 1991 release. Instead, appear for it on the Dixie-Narco EP released a year later to market the album track “Movin’ On Up.” (The later record also involves a cover of the Beach Boys’ “Carry Me Home.”) The almost 11-minute “Screamadelica” sounds like a piece with the LP.

Public Image Ltd., “Happy”

Public Image Ltd.’s sixth album, 1987’s Happy?, coyly references leader John Lydon’s plastered-on sneer and misery, ever-present traits dating to his Sex Pistols days. Its opening song “Seattle” was a dance club favorite later that year. When the band returned two years later with 9 (confusingly, their seventh studio LP), the lead track shared a title with PiL’s prior album – sans query mark, even though.

Study Much more: 25 Songs That Almost Ruined Classic Albums

Queen, “Sheer Heart Attack”

Queen was beginning to create their signature sound additional sharply on their third album, 1974’s Sheer Heart Attack. “Killer Queen” and “Now I’m Here” are a launchpad for the global results of their subsequent album, A Night at the Opera. But fans would have to wait an additional 3 years for the song “Sheer Heart Attack” to seem on News of the World, rerecorded by the band just after it was shelved from the 1974 sessions.

The Smashing Pumpkins, “Siamese Dream”

At 62 minutes, the Smashing Pumpkins’ breakthrough 1993 album, Siamese Dream, could have made time for the title song, but alternatively, the track – like numerous other people recorded for the LP – ended up as a single B-side. A 7″ single for “Disarm” released in early 1994 was the first to include “Siamese Dream,” which later appeared on some Smashing Pumpkins compilations and the album’s 2011 three-disc reissue.

Elliott Smith: “Figure 8”

Singer-songwriter Elliott Smith’s fifth album dived further into the chamber pop mapped out on predecessor XO in 1998. The minute-and-a-half-long “Figure 8” – written by Bob Dorough for the Schoolhouse Rock series – was left off the 2000 LP of the same name, perhaps because of its minimalist instrumentation and hazy vocals that recall a demo still in the sketch stage. Find it in the deluxe edition of the album.

The Smithereens, “Especially for You”

New Jersey power-pop purveyors the Smithereens arrived as college rock was making inroads into the mainstream during the mid-’80s. Their 1986 debut album, Especially for You, includes radio staples “Blood and Roses,” “Behind the Wall of Sleep” and “In a Lonely Place.” What it doesn’t have is “Especially for You,” which ended up on their next LP, 1988’s Green Thoughts, as the Side One closer.

Talk Talk / Mark Hollis, “The Colour of Spring”

Talk Talk traded their synth-pop success for something more progressive and less chart-friendly on their third album, The Colour of Spring, a spiritual ancestor to Radiohead’s mid-’90s makeover from 1986. After two more LPs, frontman Mark Hollis broke up the group and started a solo career, which resulted in just one album before his 2019 death: an eponymous 1998 LP. The opening cut? The career-linking “The Colour of Spring.”

Television, “Adventure”

Television made two albums before taking a 14-year hiatus broken by their third and final self-titled LP in 1992. While 1977’s debut Marquee Moon is the band’s undisputed masterpiece, the next year’s Adventure comes from a similar place carved from classic rock and new wave. The album’s title track, a five-and-a-half-minute shuffle featuring a climaxing guitar solo, sat unreleased on the shelf before a 2003 reissue resurrected it.

They Might Be Giants, “They Might Be Giants”

Brooklyn geek-rock duo They Might Be Giants named their 1986 debut album They Might Be Giants. Nineteen songs long, the LP included their first college radio hit “Don’t Let’s Start” and fan favorites “Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head” and “(She Was a) Hotel Detective.” What it didn’t include was a song called “They Might Be Giants.” That would have to wait for their third album and major-label debut, Flood.

Tom Waits, “Frank’s Wild Years”

After seven albums as a scat-talking, beat-influenced boho, Tom Waits turned his attention to more abstract work with 1983’s Swordfishtrombones. The brief, not-even-two-minute “Frank’s Wild Years” feels like a carryover from his past – a spoken-word narrative atop a hip jazzy rhythm. Four years later, Frank reappeared (without apostrophe this time) as a concept album inspired by the earlier song.

Neil Young, “Journey Through the Past”

Nine months after Neil Young lodged his only No. 1, Harvest, in 1972, a double LP named Journey Through the Past – a soundtrack to a little-seen film – arrived with live songs, TV performances and outtakes from 1966 through 1971. Among the recordings are Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young songs. But the title track, a Harvest outtake, sat on the shelf until the Archives almost four decades later.