Speaking of passing time, these talks about bonus tracks prompted me to imagine how the early albums could have taken form taking advantage of the extra songs created in that time.
So, without absolutely no one asking or needing this, here I bring you.... my own personal "ultimate editions" of the early albums!
TATTOED MILLIONAIRE Ultimate Edition
1. Tattooed Millionaire 4:28
2. Son of a Gun 5:55
3. Hell on Wheels 3:39
4. Born in '58 3:40
5. Dive! Dive! Dive! 4:41
6. Gypsy Road 4:02
7. Lickin' the Gun 3:17
8. All the Young Dudes 3:50
9. Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter (original version) 5:01
10. Winds of Change 4:14
11. No Lies 6:17
49:02
My rationale: even though Son of a Gun is the best song of the album to start off the record, it's weird to open an album with a slow piece, so I completely rearranged the order by having the fast song first, followed by the mellow song later.
I sacked Zulu Lulu and created a stronger second half of the record, including the original version of Bring your Daughter... and the excellent Winds of Change.
I would have also discarded Lickin' the Gun but there wasn't any other non-slow, original b-side to replace it with. Darkness Be My Friend is fantastic, but is totally out of place on the record so I didn't include it.
BALLS TO PICASSO Ultimate Edition
01. Cyclops 7:58
02. Hell No 5:11
03. Gods of War 5:02
04. 1000 Points of Light 4:25
05. The Breeding House 5:18
06. Change of Heart 4:58
07. No Way Out...To Be Continued 7:31
08. Laughing in the Hiding Bush 4:20
09. Shoot All the Clowns 4:24
10. Fire Child 6:24
11. Sacred Cowboys 3:53
12. Tears of the Dragon 6:24
66:48
My rationale: well, first of all, Balls to Picasso is fine as it is. It has a very unique style and there's no need to "metalize it" further. I can see why Bruce kept the most metal songs off the record, and they belonged to the projects before the Tribe of Gypsies came along anyway.
Having said that, and playing make believe, I strech out the album by including some amazing B-Sides: the epic, eerie No Way Out, the ballsy Breeding House, and the folk-ish Fire Child.
The original song Fire paid the price for it. I don't hate the song, I just find it expendable. Not a fan of Shoot All the Clowns either but it was a single and it has that funky vibe that only could have come from the Tribe so I kept it. The slightly rearranging of songs it was for better pacing and balancing.
SKUNKWORKS Ultimate Edition
1. Space Race 3:47
2. Back from the Edge 4:17
3. Inertia 3:04
4. Faith 3:35
5. Solar Confinement 3:20
6. Re-entry 4:05
7. Inside the Machine 3:28
8. Dreamstate 3:50
9. I Will Not Accept the Truth 3:45
10. Armchair Hero 2:42
11. God's Not Coming Back 2:16
12. Rescue Day 4:09
13. Meltdown 4:35
14. Octavia 3:15
15. Innerspace 3:31
16. Strange Death in Paradise 4:50
58:27
I'll repeat the same things I said for Balls to Picasso: the album Skunkworks is fine as it is, the best B-Sides still sound a bit out of place and the lyrics don't match the overall vibes and themes of the album. Who cares, we're playing here.
And again, just like Fire on Balls to Picasso, I don't hate the song, but to keep an even number one song had to pay the price, so I took out Headswitch. Which are the songs that stretch out the album out and flesh it more? the excellent Re-Entry (at least a true slow piece for the album), the short and to-the-point Armchair Hero and God's Not Coming Back, and the grunge-y Rescue Day.
And once again, the re-arranging of the songs were made for a better overall pacing and alternance between faster songs and slower songs.
Fun fact: one of the lesser b-sides, an arguably forgettable song, is called R-101. The second attempt to write a song about that aircraft would have been slightly better.....
I didn't create the other albums alternate tracklists because there's not really that much to add: Ghost of Cain is the only original song to insert into Accident of Birth, and Chemical Wedding is a concept album so songs that don't fit the concept don't belong, sorry Return of the King, you're an absolutely fantastic and gorgeous songs. And Tyranny of Souls has Eternal as japanese bonus track, that's it.
EDIT: on my notepad file and even when I'm in Modify mode for the post, the running times are aligned, damn.