Since music artists began sharing music with the world there have been songs that have slipped through the cracks. A number of great songs have unfortunately been missed because fans only payed attention to an artist’s singles released on radio or only listened to a few songs their friends shared with them.

Singles are still the most popular songs for artists. Usually the singles are the best songs an artists put together. There is enough belief in those singles that effort and money is put behind them to attract attention to the artist. Those singles better be good otherwise fans won’t pay attention.

There are a few songs that don’t become singles that perhaps deserve to see a full release. Sometimes artists and their teams even realize this after the fact and work to release a song that previously was only an album cut – a song on an album, but not promoted on radio and other marketing channels. Keith Urban‘s You Look Good In My Shirtwas meant to be released as a single, but Keith and his team moved onto the next album. They later rerecorded the song and released it off his Greatest Hitsalbum.

Garth Brooks‘ song Wild Horses reached the top ten on the singles charts in 2000 – 10 years and 5 albums after the song was cut for Garth’s No Fencesalbum.

So there are good songs out there that live in album cut purgatory. It can be a curse of sorts for artists. They’re pressured by fans and their marketing team to continually release new music, but sometimes patience is needed to see a complete album full of hits through. Garth’s team wanted to move on to his 2nd album after his third single had reached the top 3 on the charts, but Garth persuaded them to release a song called The Dance as the fourth single. You may have heard of it?

Here are three album cuts I’m digging right now…

Heart Like Mine – Miranda Lambert

I heard this song on a radio station for new country music one day. The station sometimes plays songs that are usually on new album releases, but that won’t necessarily become singles for the artists.

The song is classic Miranda Lambert. It’s a reflective tune that sees Miranda thinking about how others sometimes frown on the rebel things she does,  but she seems to know in her heart that she’s doing alright.

Download Heart Like Mine

This I Gotta See – Jason Aldean

Jason Aldean reflects on how beautiful and wonderful his girl is in this album cut from his latest hit album Wide Open. The song is rocking like most Aldean tunes. Fellow country artist Andy Griggs released the song as a single from his 2005 album of the same name, but it floundered and disappeared. It sounds like Aldean is ready to release new music as he prepares his next album so it looks like his version of This I Gotta See won’t see the light of day on the country charts at this point.

Hardcore fans will have to discover it on their own.

Download This I Gotta See

Good Girls – Tim McGraw

Good Girls reminds me of the experimental Tim McGraw. Throughout his career, McGraw has ventured into some cool sounding songs. She’s Mind Kind of Rain and When The Stars Go Blue are two songs that ventured into a cool, groovy kind of song that McGraw has tried on a few occasions. Good Girls sounds similar to those songs and it touches on the subject of a girl finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend. One night the good girl snaps and…you’ll have to check it out.

Download Good Girls

What do you think? Are these choice album cuts? Are there others you’d like to share? Please let us hear them.

By Dayne Shuda

Founder of Country Music Life.

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