5 Hidden Tracks

Last week, the NME posted a list - voted for by their Twitter followers - of '28 Magnificent Hidden Tracks'. They covered all the obvious ones like Endless, Nameless by Nirvana and Train in Vain by The Clash, as well as a whole bunch that I'd never come across before.

But they (or their readers) missed a few gems. Here five of my favourite hidden tracks:

An Open Letter to the Lyrical Trainspotter by Mansun

"The lyrics aren't supposed to mean that much..." Hidden at the end of Attack of the Grey Lantern, this wonky little jam debunks all of the bonkers concept album theories in mere moments. Or does it?

How to find it: It's tacked onto to the end of the (already quite long) epic Dark Mavis, with a bit of silence in between.

I'm Not Over You by R.E.M.

That rare hidden track that's in the middle of the album rather than right at the end. This is a short little torch song that numbers among Up's sweetest moments.

How to find it: It arrives right at the end of Diminished.

Mr E's Beautiful Blues by Eels

How many hidden tracks were also their album's lead single? Beautiful Blues was not listed on original copies of Daisies of the Galaxy, although it seems that later pressings opted to draw a little more attention to it.

How to find it: It's track 15 on Daisies of the Galaxy, separated from everything else by a moment's silence at the end of Selective Memory.

It's a Heartache by Arab Strap
Ten Years of Tears wasn't so much a greatest hits compilation as a collection of bits and pieces with the odd hit single thrown in for good measure. The last track is a triple-header, starting with an abridged version of There Is No Ending from The Last Romance and culminating in some bizarre electro business. This Bonnie Tyler cover is right in the middle, and it sounds perfect coming out of Aidan Moffat's mouth. Nice violin work too.

How to find it: It comes straight after There Is No Ending on the Ten Years of Tears compilation.

Untitled by R.E.M.

Can I have two R.E.M. songs? Yes? Alrighty then. I've heard unkind words said about this song - apparently Peter Buck did the drums, and apparently people weren't very impressed - but the emotive, circular vocals are the perfect goodbye from Green.

How to find it: It's the 11th track on Green - just keep listening after the end of I Remember California, which is listed as the last song.