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Lily Allen · S11 E4
The Deep Cuts
B-sides, bonus tracks, and the songs only real fans know
Every Lily Allen album has songs that the singles campaign buries. The deep cuts are where the real fans live, and some of them are better than the hits.
"L8 CMMR" by Lily Allen (2014). A Sheezus track that most listeners have never heard, buried at track two on the album behind the title track's controversy. This is the kind of song that only exists on deep cuts episodes: too good to ignore, too quiet to be a single, and exactly the reason this masterclass needs a dedicated hour for the songs that fell through the cracks.
“My favourite songs are always the ones that don't get released as singles. The singles are for everyone. The album tracks are for the people who actually care.”
— Lily Allen, NME interview (2014)
The Hidden Catalogue
Across five albums, Lily Allen has released roughly twenty singles. That leaves over fifty album tracks, B-sides, and bonus cuts that most casual listeners have never heard. Some of them are throwaways. But a surprising number are among the best things she's ever recorded.
L8 CMMR, Lily Allen (2014)
'L8 CMMR' (Late Comer) sits at track two on Sheezus and carries a restless energy that the more polished singles around it don't attempt. Listen for how the production keeps shifting underneath the vocal, never settling into a comfortable groove. The beat twitches and stutters in a way that mirrors the lyric's impatience. It's one of those album tracks that reveals itself on the fourth or fifth listen, which is exactly why it never became a single.
TAP TO REVEAL: What are the five best Lily Allen deep cuts that most fans have never heard?
Why Deep Cuts Matter
The singles tell you who Lily Allen is for the public. The deep cuts tell you who she is for herself. 'The Fear' is a perfect pop single because it was designed to be. 'Three' is a perfect song because it couldn't have been anything else.
Deep Cuts: By the Numbers
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, The Smiths
The Smiths' 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out' is the ultimate deep cut that became bigger than any single. It was never released as a standalone single during the band's lifetime, yet it's their most beloved song. In an episode about the treasures buried inside albums, this track proves the point: the songs nobody promotes are sometimes the ones that last forever.
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, The Smiths (1986)
The most famous deep cut in pop history. Never a single, always the best song on the album. That's the whole thesis of this episode in one track.
Which Sheezus bonus track is named after British slang for 'shut up and mind your business'?
The voice, the pen, the producers, and the deep cuts. One question remains: what did Lily Allen actually change about British pop? Next episode: the legacy.
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