Five Essential 'Deluxe Edition' Tracks

With the recent release of three simultaneous singles from Taylor Swift's deluxe edition of Speak Now, I  figured it was time to take a look at this inescapably widespread phenomenon.

These days, I'm convinced that the 'Deluxe Edition' may literally be obligatory. I can't even think of any full-lengths that don't get the deluxe edition treatment anymore, even if the deluxe setup only includes a lackluster prize like a 'Making Of' or a couple music videos.

Whether you get the deluxe edition or the regular edition just depends on how big of a fan you are. Can you live without hearing those extra 5 tracks? If you're a casual fan, the answer is clearly "yes." After all, those are just songs they didn't consider good enough for the actual album, right? They're outtakes, filler material that would have been junked in the age of 45 minute vinyl records, right?

But more and more, I'm becoming convinced that labels are hiding some highlights from the album's better half on the expensive version. Not that anyone would be foolhardy enough to cripple an album for the sake of the deluxe edition -- you won't find anyone slipping "Mine" or "Till The World Ends" onto Disc 2. But it's increasingly common to see deluxe edition tracks becoming the fourth or fifth singles in an album's bid for chart success, thus confirming that some of these tracks are ranked higher than the standard album's lesser works.

I'd personally estimate that when you have deluxe editions with new songs (not just remixes or extras), you're bound to find at least one song on the deluxe edition that's better than at least the worst few songs on the standard album. So here are a few of the true gems that casual fans have been missing out on.


#5 Broken Glass -- Matt Bennett (Victorious Soundtrack)

This preposterously devilish ode to the wonders of broken glass (written in-universe as Robbie's idea for a song to entertain children) is only available on the iTunes edition of the Victorious Soundtrack. Set to a jaunty piano tune and propelled by an uninhibited Matt Bennet, a variety of uncouth and highly dangerous activities are praised in succession, befitting the playfully grim and brutal comedy of Victorious which never fails to surprise me.


#4 Untouchable -- Taylor Swift (Fearless)

Taylor might be the master of the deluxe edition, consistently beefing up her extended albums with material that should really have been incorporated into the standard edition (at the expense of lesser tracks). Untouchable is especially a loss to casual fans, as its slow burning enthralling mystique conjurs the ghosts of some of rock and folk music's greatest moments. It's eerie and groovy and beautiful, and it's criminal that a lot of fans will never know it exists.



#3 Beautiful Mess -- Miranda Cosgrove (Sparks Fly)

Miranda's debut "full-length" only ran at 25 minutes to begin with, so it was obligatory that a beefier deluxe edition accompany it. All the bonus tracks are pretty good but only Beautiful Mess would rank among her top 5 accomplishments thus far. The always eclectic Miranda channels late-90s r&b gods Destiny's Child on this indelibly cool, slick icey ballad about unrequited love. Comparing the loss of love to a tear in a new dress seems a bit brash to me (maybe because I'm a guy??) but the jam is so gorgeously smooth that it less than matters.

 
#2 Forever & Always (Piano Version) -- Taylor Swift (Fearless)

The standard edition of Taylor's breakout hit record features a rockin' electric version of this sweet ballad, which falls into mediocrity next to more powerful jams like the fierce The Way I Loved You. But this tender, thankfully under-produced, Sarah McLachlan-channeling ballad drips with the embers of pure emotion and ranks unabashedly as one of Taylor's greatest songs. It's easily my favorite piano track Taylor's done and it makes me crave to see her do an all-piano album.


#1 Super Bass -- Nicki Minaj (Pink Friday)

How this ultimate jam missed out on the standard release will forever perplex pop music historians. It wasn't a hidden holdover -- this song had to be dragged kicking and screaming before the suits would release at as a whopping seventh single from Nicki Minaj's debut album. It wasn't until such formidable acts as Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez praised the song with the sincerest flattery -- by covering it -- that it was released to charts and it became Nicki's biggest hit. With an immaculate feel good delivery reminiscent of rap classics such as Nuthin' But a G Thang, and a joyously anthemic instrumentation, the song became an instant classic. Nicki's number one greatest song to date? Absolutely without question.