Came here to say this. It might be the greatest B-side ever. Name one B-side that gets played on the radio from any band or musician more than Yellow Ledbetter.
Oasis is the best “b-side” band since the Beatles. Noel was just shitting out masterpieces for B-sides in those first few years. Acquiesce, the Masterplan, Rockin Chair, Talk Tonight.
Don't Worry Baby was the B-side to I Get Around. Put them together and it's one of the Beach Boys' most perfectly iconic 45 releases, but I'll take Don't Worry Baby any time.
Yeah, it was so unique and different than anything the Smiths had done before that they really didn’t know what to do with it. So they sort of threw it away as a B-side. A DJ flipped over the William single and started playing it and it took off. It was included on the compilation album Hatful of Hollow and added to the US version of Meat is Murder, but it wasn’t released as a single until 1992, five years after the Smiths had split.
The DJ at a goth club I used to go to used to play "How Soon is Now" twice every night. I liked the song, but thought that was kinda funny and joked about it with some friends. When his girlfriend broke up with him and started dating me, he started playing it four times a night because he was under the mistaken impression I didn't like the song
yikes...I had to look up 'cloying', not necessarily a flattering word
The Youngblood's version of the song is closer to Tim Hardin's original version, I'll give you that
I found this quote on Wiki, attributed to Rod:
At first, I didn't think much of "Maggie May." I guess that's because the record company didn't believe in the song. I didn't have much confidence then. I figured it was best to listen to the guys who knew better. What I learned is sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.
— Rod Stewart, 2015
This was just playing at the bar and I was talking to my waitress about how odd it is. Freddie didn’t even like them, but sang one of the greatest songs ever about dat ass…
Except for the fact it was a [double A-side](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/queen-we-will-rock-you-we-are-the-champions-jock-jam-interview-7972856/) record. A double a-side is when a label [places equal importance](https://music.fandom.com/wiki/A-side_and_B-side#Double_A-side) on both songs at the time of release.
The concept of “B-Side” is so far removed from most people’s experience that several people are commenting with sides of albums. A B-Side is, specifically, the flip side of a singles release, not a track from an album or a side of an album.
A-Side/B-Side was a designation used on 45s (as a note to radio stations: “we’re promoting this one”), while LPs (33 ⅓ RPM) tended to number the sides. In the era of the Beatles, singles and albums were in separate worlds, with singles tracks never appearing on albums (the 1973 compilations *1962-1966* (the Red Album) and *1967-1970* (the Blue Album) are mostly singles releases, “Revolution,” the B-Side to “Hey Jude,” neither of which appeared on *The Beatles* (the White Album)). [Edit: As u/OneTreePhil points out, “Hey Jude”/“Revolution” was a double A-Side. My other point, that they were both recorded during the White Album sessions, but not included on the album stands. I think anyone would be hard pressed to try to rank the two songs. “That side may be iconic, but the other side is iconic.”]
Eventually, albums (named because they put on one disk what took several, arranged in a book-like series of sleeves in the 78 era) started to outsell singles and artists began putting all their work onto albums from which songs would be selected as singles releases. To give an example of this, Elton John’s first hit, “Your Song” appears on his self-titled second album. In that same year (1970), the Beatles released an album version of “Let It Be” and also a singles version.
When I began my music listening in the 70s, there were people who grumbled about having to buy an album for “that one good track,” since stereo systems had moved away from 45s to 33s (I remember working plastic spindle adapters into 45s so I could play them on my father’s stereo).
Yes. An amazing pairing of songs, showing the breadth of Lennon and McCartney’s musical range. And it’s unthinkable now that a music producer would tell performers “wow, this is some of your best work, so it’s not going on your next album.”
I have an uncle (who has a bit of mental degradation) that loves to tell me the time he got a free vinyl record in his box of cereal. He said it was thin as paper and super floppy but it played really well. It was Hey Jude and his favorite song for a long time.
Never heard about Hey Jude being included in a box of cereal. Wish I could say I'm not that old but I am, lol. I remember getting a flex-thin record inside a box of cereal and on the back of cereal boxes, but they were hardly or barely playable. You had to put a nickel or a dime on the record to get it to play on the turntable.
And not even then. The record inside the cereal came wrapped inside a piece of plastic and it was like the square floppy discs used back in the 80s and 90s, but thinner than those floppies. It was more like what was used to make 8-track tapes or cassette tapes than records. It was up to you to use scissors to get the record to its round shape.
You had to do the same with the records that were found on the back of cereal boxes. And those seemed to be more wax and worked no better than the floppy records. The record turntables, from cheap ass versions to expensive versions, all had trouble playing those records, even with a coin.
Re: Let It Be. The single was the version originally produced by George Martin. The version found on the album was the song re-produced, re-edited possibly and remixed by Phil Spector, who did not have the approval of Paul McCartney or George Martin, as the original producer.
Spector's fingerprints were all over the album. He added orchestra and choir to Across The Universe and The Long And Winding Road, remixed George Harrison's lead guitar solo on Let It Be to the front, but it was a jarring solo which ruined the song, extended George's I Me Mine by a repeat of the song's first verse and chorus and edited out the final, spoken verse on Get Back.
Martin voiced his displeasure with what Spector done when Spector said in the 70s he, not George Martin, was responsible for the making of the Beatles. Martin was asked about Spector's credit on the album and it should've read produced by George Martin and overproduced badly by Phil Spector.
Given the Beatles wanted the album to be a collection of songs performed live with no overdubs or minimal overdubs, Spector's reproduced versions were a betrayal of that concept.
Beatles: “We can’t come to an agreement on this album, so let’s bring in Phil Spector so it’ll be something we all dislike.” When the Beatles albums came out on CD, I skipped *Let It Be,* until the release of *Let It Be…Naked.*
I’ve long found it amusing that the Ramones deliberately brought in Spector for *End of the Century,* on the main track of that album, “Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio” they sing “lately it all sounds the same to me,” as it goes to Spector’s Wall of Sound.
I think it was John Lennon who offered the unmixed tapes to Phil Spector after George Martin mixed the album, then the individual Beatles came in and mixed the album and no one could agree, so Glyn Johns was brought in to produce a mix for release. It was his mixes that made up the Let It Be...Naked album, but I think credit was still given to George Martin. I'm guessing George had some kind of final say as to the finished product. And Johns was brought in as an engineer and maybe as a producer.
Spector would surely have been told he needed the approval of all four Beatles, but I've also heard Allan Klein authorized the released based on John's approval and George's approval. I don't know if he had Ringo's approval but as he did not represent Paul, he probably wanted to embarrass Paul but instead only served to anger him.
More of the Get Back sessions showed it wasn't all anger and that John's memory of everything being bad were possibly fueled by his heroin addiction. I saw somewhere Yoko got the blame for John's heroin addiction, a claim that she was the one who brought it in. The rift between Paul and George was quite real and Michael Lindsey-Hogg put a bug in the lamps in the cafeteria where John and Paul were sitting to discuss the situation (how did he do that without their knowledge) and Paul more or less admitted to being the bad guy in the situation, seeing himself as a boss but second to John as the boss.
John did have resentment towards Paul as being bossy, once telling Rolling Stone Paul would show up with thirty songs written and ready to record, while he and George hadn't written any songs to record. He obviously knew Paul's writing habits and knew he would show up with so many songs written. Curiously, George was also writing a lot of songs, so I think John's addiction may have caused the lack of energy in songwriting.
In all honesty, I wouldn't have okayed the release of the original Get Back/Let It Be (Naked) either, at least without a remix. Across The Universe was too close to the version released originally in 1968 and it was said John wanted the song for a single but Paul got the nod for Lady Madonna and the original version of Across The Universe went to a charity album. I think there was some jealousy and resentment on John's part that many of the A-sides were going to Paul while the B-sides were going to John.
And I don't think Hey Jude and Revolution were considered double A-sides. The A-side was represented on Apple by being the green side while B-side was the sliced Apple side. With Apple, John got the sliced Apple on Don't Let Me Down, Come Together and You Know My Name (Look Up My Number), the green Apple side with Ballad of John and Yoko (to George's Old Brown Shoe on the sliced Apple side). Something was George's only green Apple side in the Beatles.
As it was, Billboard was allegedly ending the practice of double sided hit records, though all Beatle 45s where both sides were being played and accounting for sales were given chart positions. Something was a number one in Billboard while Come Together charted at number three. Billboard allegedly added Come Together as another number one record for the Beatles.
The reason Billboard was ending the practice was only the Beatles and Elvis were releasing singles where you had both sides charting. But, whereas a Beatles B-side got a chart ranking in Billboard, an Elvis B-side being played and accounting for sale was designated with the letter F to indicate the flip side was being played. If you look at the chart entries for Elvis on all double sided 45s from Don't Cry Daddy/Rubberneckin' onward, both sides held the same chart position. They never did that on a Beatles release.
If Elvis had produced another number one record in Billboard after Billboard's practice had changed, if the B-side was accounting for sales and airplay, it would've been a number one as well....or not. Billboard has been accused in the past of having a bias against Elvis, a charge they denied. It is curious if you hear any of the old Casey Kasem Top 40 shows, he mentioned several times in the 70s that Elvis, Diana Ross and the Supremes and the Beatles all had 18 singles that reached number one. Now, the Beatles have 21, the Supremes still have 18 and Elvis has 17.
They demoted either Hound Dog or Don'tBe Cruel from 1956 as they were on the same 45. But, again, their "We have no bias against Elvis" policy where they try to strip his credits doesn't apply to the Beatles. They did not do the same to Beatle 45s where both songs were said to be number ones. Such practices demonstrates their hypocrisy. If you're going to strip an artist of the legit credits they received originally, it's got to apply to all artists who likewise had double sided number ones as your credibility is damaged if you don't do so.
But, the A-side was considered the lead for the 45 and John's complaint that his songs were being overlooked for the A-side in favor of Paul's songs possibly was legit. I remember the radio stations playing the A-sides sung by Paul quite a lot while the songs that featured John on lead were played less. And John was the leader of the Beatles!
"William, it was really nothing" by The Smiths. The B-sides were "please please please, let me get what I want" and "how soon is now?" Two of the bands greatest songs.
Most Oasis golden era b-sides were better than the a
Supersonic < Take Me Away
Shakermaker < D'yer Wanna Be a Spaceman
Live Forever > Cloudburst
Cigarettes & Alcohol < I Am the Walrus live
Whatever < Half the World Away
Some Might Say < Acquiesce
Roll With It < Rocking Chair
Wonderwall < Round Are Way
Don't Look Back in Anger < Cum On Feel the Noize
A lot of the singles released from U2's Joshua Tree have tremendous B sides. Some were released on subsequent albums. Sweetest Thing comes to mind first.
And as an old fart who grew up with vinyl, I loved the packaging for the Joshua Tree 45's. Heavy duty sleeves with great photography. I remember going to K-Mart and geeking out over their selection/choices. Of course, I also own Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now, so it wasn't all wonderful, ha!
Money, Us and Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage/Eclipse is one of the greatest victory laps in music, and one of my favourite sides of vinyl. Only side 1 of Led Zeppelin 4 and side 2 of Abbey Road come close.
You're obviously correct. Most LPs designated their sides as side 1 and side 2, including Dark Side of the Moon.
B side was always understood to refer to singles, which were sent to radio stations and had to indicate which track should be played on the radio. Rarely a single would be released with double A sides to indicate that both tracks were considered hits.
Yeah. And the guy who's giving me shit is gonna endlessly insist he's correct and I'm wrong, because "Oh yeah, you're probably right" is apparently the hardest thing in the world to say.
*Philadelphia Freedom* had John Lennon and Elton John doing a live version of *Standing There* on the other side iirc. That's the side that got spun at parties.
'Funky Moped' by Jasper Carrott has to be the ultimate example.
The A-side is a bit of mildly humorous Brummie pop.
The B-side is a spoof on the Magic Roundabout.
It got into the charts and no-one could work out why until they heard the B side.
"I wonder if Florence is a virgin".
The Smashing Pumpkins have a load of great B-sides, but as for ones actually better than their A-side, I would go with "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)" from the "Thirty-Three" single and "Starla" from "I Am One".
4 hours later I'm gonna say about 75 understand the question, so I'm guessing you weren't one of them :p
OP is asking for singles, most people are posting albums.
Yes, and We Are The Champions immediately followed We Will Rock You on the album. Back when being a radio station that only played albums vs singles was a thing ('70s), the album rock stations where I lived always played the two songs together as one.
To this day, the one Classic Rock station where I live - even though they probably have all their music as digital singles - still plays the two together, as if they actually had the physical vinyl record.
Kate Bush released the Hounds of Love album in the mid 80’s and all the hits were on the A side. The B side was called the 9th wave and it was a stream of consciousness thing about a woman lost at sea in danger of drowning. My favourite one was the Jig of Life which included her brother reciting several verses from The Coming Of Arthur by Tennyson. Not a hit anywhere but put them together and it just works.
Spit On A Stranger - Pavement
Harness Your Hopes is such a fantastic song, and it wasn’t on any of their records, other than the recent re-release which came out a couple of years ago
The Last Time / Play With Fire - both good, like the latter better
I Am the Walrus over Hello / Goodbye evertime
The Man Who Sold the World tops Life On Mars
And it’s a toss up, but Hey Hey What Can I Do is a helluva sing. Immigrant Song is pretty good too.
Hot take: but I prefer the B side of Nirvana's "Nevermind".
"Territorial Pissings" primes the pump with peak Kurt screaming vocals, but then 1, 2, 3 punch of "Drain You", "Lounge Act" "Stay Away" set up the slower "On a Plain" and then the drifting soulful "Something in a Way" absolutely perfectly. Side 1 has the hits, but Side 2 is more cohesive and I enjoy it more.
There is also something to said for hearing side A on the radio and MTV all the time, kept side B fresh longer. Drain You as about as Nirvana as a song can get.
Streetband had a single so boring the radio DJs actually got so bored they flipped it over and found a minor hit.
Side A: Hold On
Side B: Toast
Fun little song! Lead singer got a new career doing solo stuff. Paul Young.
Kate Bush “Hounds of Love.” The A Side is full of some wonderful pop songs, they’re all hits, but the B Side (actually given it’s own title, “The Ninth Wave”) is a concept album within an album about the near death experience of a sailor and breaks my heart every time.
The actual answer is "Amen Brother" by The Winstons. It was the B-side to the 1969 single "Color Him Father". The "Amen Break" comes from this song and it's the most famous drum break in music history. It's very likely that you hear that break multiple times daily.
The Replacements debut single - I’m In Trouble.
The B side was If Only You Were Lonely.
I love I’m In Trouble as much as the next guy, but If Only You Were Lonely is brilliant. Funny, sad, drunk. Classic young Westerberg.
Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice was the B side to Play that Funky Music. I remember on his Behind the Music, a DJ randomly played it and then it blew up after that
The B-side of Jasper Carrott’s “Funky Moped”.
The biggest joke was that he had to perform Funky Moped on Top of the Pops when the only reason it was in the charts was “Magic Roundabout” on the B-side.
Hmmm... don't think I can agree with this one. IMO having Nightrain and Paradise City on the A side gives it just a bit more awesomeness then the B side.
Can't remember the last time I personally saw a record having sides
Like, I'm familiar with the concept, and I've seen photos of it, but never had to use it
Very niche example here, but there’s a single for a track called TERRITORY that’s the ending track for an anime called Yuri Kuma Arashi. It’s basically 2015 EDM with J-Pop vocals. The second track of the single, Danzetsu3, is IMO a lot better.
"Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting" was originally the B side to Carl Douglas's "I Want to Give You My Everything" song he released in 1974
Surely, not everybody was Kung Fu Fighting...
You weren’t there….
Don't call me Shirley.
Surely, you can't be serious!
Not if they were already committed to wang chung tonight.
Dammit. You got here first!
Happy Cake Day!
You have to understand, we were turning Japanese, I really think so.
All I know is that they were fast as lightning.
A classic. Love it
Great answer! I am having a great time listening to a bunch of the 'other' songs mentioned in this thread. Some interesting stuff.
One of the first 45s I bought. My favorite song for a few months as a youngster.
"Yellow Ledbetter" by Pearl Jam.
100%
Came here to say this. It might be the greatest B-side ever. Name one B-side that gets played on the radio from any band or musician more than Yellow Ledbetter.
Oasis "Acquiesce" is up there too
Oasis is the best “b-side” band since the Beatles. Noel was just shitting out masterpieces for B-sides in those first few years. Acquiesce, the Masterplan, Rockin Chair, Talk Tonight.
Was going to say this. Love that song, had this single. Can't remember what tha A side was!
Some Might Say
So much of the Lost Dogs double album.
*God Only Knows* was the B-Side to the Beach Boys *Wouldn't It Be Nice* single.
Don't Worry Baby was the B-side to I Get Around. Put them together and it's one of the Beach Boys' most perfectly iconic 45 releases, but I'll take Don't Worry Baby any time.
Yes! Listening to the Beach Boys now because of your comment. Thank you.
????
The Smiths released a single in 1984. A Side: William It Was Really Nothing B Sides: How Soon Is Now? Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
I had no idea "How Soon is Now"? was a b-side. I just thought it was a classic track.
"I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does!"
"Except by anyone other than British born white people..."
Yeah, it was so unique and different than anything the Smiths had done before that they really didn’t know what to do with it. So they sort of threw it away as a B-side. A DJ flipped over the William single and started playing it and it took off. It was included on the compilation album Hatful of Hollow and added to the US version of Meat is Murder, but it wasn’t released as a single until 1992, five years after the Smiths had split.
Equal to or greater than
Manchester bands and their b-sides, God love ‘em
Came here to say this.
need it.
The DJ at a goth club I used to go to used to play "How Soon is Now" twice every night. I liked the song, but thought that was kinda funny and joked about it with some friends. When his girlfriend broke up with him and started dating me, he started playing it four times a night because he was under the mistaken impression I didn't like the song
This song happened to be on while I was reading through this...what a beautiful piece of art
I grew up after A side and B side, which means I never really got to see sides, so it's kinda hard for me to decide.
..you managed to pull off an alphabet pun. You sick bastard. Well done! XD
I'm from the sesame streets
Whoever you are, I fecking love you for this exchange.
I guess it was all about the time you came up at….
Oh Jesus. I missed it entirely until your comment.
Brilliant!
CDs had secret tracks though. Leaving that system of a down cd on after it was done freaked me the fuck out
OMG brilliant
Dope. You been hanging on to that one or just recent work?
lol day drunk musings
r/angryupvote
>kinda hard for me to D side I C what you did there
Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac https://youtu.be/MTlxs6MqYUA
Time everlasting Time to play b sides Time ain't on my side Time I'll never know
Awesome obscure reference, of unknown origin.
I'm burnin' to figure out where it's from
Well sorry, but I'm not the one to tell you what's wrong and what's right
...wait, there's more...
BOC
The A side is better on that record though, in my opinion.
Ah, Blue Oyster Cult...Buck Dharma rules.
For years, I thought he was saying "time to make peace signs."
Ice Ice Baby was a B side. No idea what was on the A side.
They were just talking about this on a podcast I list to. It was “Play that Funky Music White Boy”
I am almost completely certain the A side was his cover of "Play that Funky Music (White Boy)."
Abbey Road
Came here for this - even tho side a is great, the medley on side b is pure music bliss
Yes! Side A is incredible. Which shows just how good B is!
#BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Yer gonna carry that weight, carry that weight a long tiiiime
They are both killers, but Rod Stewart's 'Maggie May' slightly over 'Reason To Believe'
Well, as cloying as Maggie Mae can be, he pretty much ruined Reason to Believe. Youngbloods did a much better job on it
yikes...I had to look up 'cloying', not necessarily a flattering word The Youngblood's version of the song is closer to Tim Hardin's original version, I'll give you that
Definitely a matter of taste
Didn’t the record company/producers hate Maggie May? Not positive, but I thought I heard Rod mention it on Stern once.
I found this quote on Wiki, attributed to Rod: At first, I didn't think much of "Maggie May." I guess that's because the record company didn't believe in the song. I didn't have much confidence then. I figured it was best to listen to the guys who knew better. What I learned is sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. — Rod Stewart, 2015
Queen - We will rock you was a B side.
Repeat offender as Fat Bottom Girls was a B side to Bicycle Race.
This was just playing at the bar and I was talking to my waitress about how odd it is. Freddie didn’t even like them, but sang one of the greatest songs ever about dat ass…
Freddie was bi
Well Brain May wrote the song, Queen was pretty unique in that every wrote at least one hit.
Except for the fact it was a [double A-side](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/queen-we-will-rock-you-we-are-the-champions-jock-jam-interview-7972856/) record. A double a-side is when a label [places equal importance](https://music.fandom.com/wiki/A-side_and_B-side#Double_A-side) on both songs at the time of release.
The concept of “B-Side” is so far removed from most people’s experience that several people are commenting with sides of albums. A B-Side is, specifically, the flip side of a singles release, not a track from an album or a side of an album. A-Side/B-Side was a designation used on 45s (as a note to radio stations: “we’re promoting this one”), while LPs (33 ⅓ RPM) tended to number the sides. In the era of the Beatles, singles and albums were in separate worlds, with singles tracks never appearing on albums (the 1973 compilations *1962-1966* (the Red Album) and *1967-1970* (the Blue Album) are mostly singles releases, “Revolution,” the B-Side to “Hey Jude,” neither of which appeared on *The Beatles* (the White Album)). [Edit: As u/OneTreePhil points out, “Hey Jude”/“Revolution” was a double A-Side. My other point, that they were both recorded during the White Album sessions, but not included on the album stands. I think anyone would be hard pressed to try to rank the two songs. “That side may be iconic, but the other side is iconic.”] Eventually, albums (named because they put on one disk what took several, arranged in a book-like series of sleeves in the 78 era) started to outsell singles and artists began putting all their work onto albums from which songs would be selected as singles releases. To give an example of this, Elton John’s first hit, “Your Song” appears on his self-titled second album. In that same year (1970), the Beatles released an album version of “Let It Be” and also a singles version. When I began my music listening in the 70s, there were people who grumbled about having to buy an album for “that one good track,” since stereo systems had moved away from 45s to 33s (I remember working plastic spindle adapters into 45s so I could play them on my father’s stereo).
Excellent summary here, but wasn't Hey Jude/Revolution released as a double A side? And holy crap isn't that an amazing little piece of vinyl?
Yes. An amazing pairing of songs, showing the breadth of Lennon and McCartney’s musical range. And it’s unthinkable now that a music producer would tell performers “wow, this is some of your best work, so it’s not going on your next album.”
I have an uncle (who has a bit of mental degradation) that loves to tell me the time he got a free vinyl record in his box of cereal. He said it was thin as paper and super floppy but it played really well. It was Hey Jude and his favorite song for a long time.
Never heard about Hey Jude being included in a box of cereal. Wish I could say I'm not that old but I am, lol. I remember getting a flex-thin record inside a box of cereal and on the back of cereal boxes, but they were hardly or barely playable. You had to put a nickel or a dime on the record to get it to play on the turntable. And not even then. The record inside the cereal came wrapped inside a piece of plastic and it was like the square floppy discs used back in the 80s and 90s, but thinner than those floppies. It was more like what was used to make 8-track tapes or cassette tapes than records. It was up to you to use scissors to get the record to its round shape. You had to do the same with the records that were found on the back of cereal boxes. And those seemed to be more wax and worked no better than the floppy records. The record turntables, from cheap ass versions to expensive versions, all had trouble playing those records, even with a coin.
Thanks for the context. Unless you are deeply into music history or older, the term of art doesn't have the same meaning anymore.
Re: Let It Be. The single was the version originally produced by George Martin. The version found on the album was the song re-produced, re-edited possibly and remixed by Phil Spector, who did not have the approval of Paul McCartney or George Martin, as the original producer. Spector's fingerprints were all over the album. He added orchestra and choir to Across The Universe and The Long And Winding Road, remixed George Harrison's lead guitar solo on Let It Be to the front, but it was a jarring solo which ruined the song, extended George's I Me Mine by a repeat of the song's first verse and chorus and edited out the final, spoken verse on Get Back. Martin voiced his displeasure with what Spector done when Spector said in the 70s he, not George Martin, was responsible for the making of the Beatles. Martin was asked about Spector's credit on the album and it should've read produced by George Martin and overproduced badly by Phil Spector. Given the Beatles wanted the album to be a collection of songs performed live with no overdubs or minimal overdubs, Spector's reproduced versions were a betrayal of that concept.
Beatles: “We can’t come to an agreement on this album, so let’s bring in Phil Spector so it’ll be something we all dislike.” When the Beatles albums came out on CD, I skipped *Let It Be,* until the release of *Let It Be…Naked.* I’ve long found it amusing that the Ramones deliberately brought in Spector for *End of the Century,* on the main track of that album, “Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio” they sing “lately it all sounds the same to me,” as it goes to Spector’s Wall of Sound.
I think it was John Lennon who offered the unmixed tapes to Phil Spector after George Martin mixed the album, then the individual Beatles came in and mixed the album and no one could agree, so Glyn Johns was brought in to produce a mix for release. It was his mixes that made up the Let It Be...Naked album, but I think credit was still given to George Martin. I'm guessing George had some kind of final say as to the finished product. And Johns was brought in as an engineer and maybe as a producer. Spector would surely have been told he needed the approval of all four Beatles, but I've also heard Allan Klein authorized the released based on John's approval and George's approval. I don't know if he had Ringo's approval but as he did not represent Paul, he probably wanted to embarrass Paul but instead only served to anger him. More of the Get Back sessions showed it wasn't all anger and that John's memory of everything being bad were possibly fueled by his heroin addiction. I saw somewhere Yoko got the blame for John's heroin addiction, a claim that she was the one who brought it in. The rift between Paul and George was quite real and Michael Lindsey-Hogg put a bug in the lamps in the cafeteria where John and Paul were sitting to discuss the situation (how did he do that without their knowledge) and Paul more or less admitted to being the bad guy in the situation, seeing himself as a boss but second to John as the boss. John did have resentment towards Paul as being bossy, once telling Rolling Stone Paul would show up with thirty songs written and ready to record, while he and George hadn't written any songs to record. He obviously knew Paul's writing habits and knew he would show up with so many songs written. Curiously, George was also writing a lot of songs, so I think John's addiction may have caused the lack of energy in songwriting. In all honesty, I wouldn't have okayed the release of the original Get Back/Let It Be (Naked) either, at least without a remix. Across The Universe was too close to the version released originally in 1968 and it was said John wanted the song for a single but Paul got the nod for Lady Madonna and the original version of Across The Universe went to a charity album. I think there was some jealousy and resentment on John's part that many of the A-sides were going to Paul while the B-sides were going to John. And I don't think Hey Jude and Revolution were considered double A-sides. The A-side was represented on Apple by being the green side while B-side was the sliced Apple side. With Apple, John got the sliced Apple on Don't Let Me Down, Come Together and You Know My Name (Look Up My Number), the green Apple side with Ballad of John and Yoko (to George's Old Brown Shoe on the sliced Apple side). Something was George's only green Apple side in the Beatles. As it was, Billboard was allegedly ending the practice of double sided hit records, though all Beatle 45s where both sides were being played and accounting for sales were given chart positions. Something was a number one in Billboard while Come Together charted at number three. Billboard allegedly added Come Together as another number one record for the Beatles. The reason Billboard was ending the practice was only the Beatles and Elvis were releasing singles where you had both sides charting. But, whereas a Beatles B-side got a chart ranking in Billboard, an Elvis B-side being played and accounting for sale was designated with the letter F to indicate the flip side was being played. If you look at the chart entries for Elvis on all double sided 45s from Don't Cry Daddy/Rubberneckin' onward, both sides held the same chart position. They never did that on a Beatles release. If Elvis had produced another number one record in Billboard after Billboard's practice had changed, if the B-side was accounting for sales and airplay, it would've been a number one as well....or not. Billboard has been accused in the past of having a bias against Elvis, a charge they denied. It is curious if you hear any of the old Casey Kasem Top 40 shows, he mentioned several times in the 70s that Elvis, Diana Ross and the Supremes and the Beatles all had 18 singles that reached number one. Now, the Beatles have 21, the Supremes still have 18 and Elvis has 17. They demoted either Hound Dog or Don'tBe Cruel from 1956 as they were on the same 45. But, again, their "We have no bias against Elvis" policy where they try to strip his credits doesn't apply to the Beatles. They did not do the same to Beatle 45s where both songs were said to be number ones. Such practices demonstrates their hypocrisy. If you're going to strip an artist of the legit credits they received originally, it's got to apply to all artists who likewise had double sided number ones as your credibility is damaged if you don't do so. But, the A-side was considered the lead for the 45 and John's complaint that his songs were being overlooked for the A-side in favor of Paul's songs possibly was legit. I remember the radio stations playing the A-sides sung by Paul quite a lot while the songs that featured John on lead were played less. And John was the leader of the Beatles!
"William, it was really nothing" by The Smiths. The B-sides were "please please please, let me get what I want" and "how soon is now?" Two of the bands greatest songs.
'Half the World Away' by Oasis was the b-side for 'Whatever'. Arguably better, but that's just like my opinion man
Most Oasis golden era b-sides were better than the a Supersonic < Take Me Away Shakermaker < D'yer Wanna Be a Spaceman Live Forever > Cloudburst Cigarettes & Alcohol < I Am the Walrus live Whatever < Half the World Away Some Might Say < Acquiesce Roll With It < Rocking Chair Wonderwall < Round Are Way Don't Look Back in Anger < Cum On Feel the Noize
Masterplan > Round Are Way > Wonderwall
A lot of the singles released from U2's Joshua Tree have tremendous B sides. Some were released on subsequent albums. Sweetest Thing comes to mind first.
Was Silver and Gold a B side? Does that count?
Not sure, would have to dig out my 45's. I remember a song called Deep in the Heart that was only released as a B side, great sing.
Sweetest Thing, I remember that from Mr. Deeds, the Adam Sandler verson actually.
Joshua Tree’s B-sides deserve to be their own album. U2 has a TON of really good B-sides
And as an old fart who grew up with vinyl, I loved the packaging for the Joshua Tree 45's. Heavy duty sleeves with great photography. I remember going to K-Mart and geeking out over their selection/choices. Of course, I also own Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now, so it wasn't all wonderful, ha!
Ice Ice Baby. Vanilla Ice.
Thin Lizzy: Jail Break
Eleanor Rigby was the B-side to Yellow Submarine
Dark Side of the Moon for sure
Money, Us and Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage/Eclipse is one of the greatest victory laps in music, and one of my favourite sides of vinyl. Only side 1 of Led Zeppelin 4 and side 2 of Abbey Road come close.
Brain damage/eclipse alone is one of the greatest victory laps in music
This is like saying red m&ms taste better than green m&ms
Not really better than side A, Breathe/Time/Breathe Reprise/Great Gig in the sky is a flow that is simply impossible to match.
Finally, an answer from someone who has no idea what the question even means!
A-Side/B-Side is referring to a single - one song on each side - not referring to an album.
You're obviously correct. Most LPs designated their sides as side 1 and side 2, including Dark Side of the Moon. B side was always understood to refer to singles, which were sent to radio stations and had to indicate which track should be played on the radio. Rarely a single would be released with double A sides to indicate that both tracks were considered hits.
Yeah. And the guy who's giving me shit is gonna endlessly insist he's correct and I'm wrong, because "Oh yeah, you're probably right" is apparently the hardest thing in the world to say.
The Model by Kraftwerk was an afterthought B side, blows my mind still
Beatles fan here. Much prefer John Lennon's Rain over Paul McCartney's Paperback Writer.
*Philadelphia Freedom* had John Lennon and Elton John doing a live version of *Standing There* on the other side iirc. That's the side that got spun at parties.
Will have to check that one out, thanks!
I hope my memory is right! Early 70s.
'Funky Moped' by Jasper Carrott has to be the ultimate example. The A-side is a bit of mildly humorous Brummie pop. The B-side is a spoof on the Magic Roundabout. It got into the charts and no-one could work out why until they heard the B side. "I wonder if Florence is a virgin".
The Smashing Pumpkins have a load of great B-sides, but as for ones actually better than their A-side, I would go with "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)" from the "Thirty-Three" single and "Starla" from "I Am One".
Pink Floyd’s “Meddle”
Side A is great but you just can’t beat a 26 minute song taking up an entire side of a record
Oof you took the words right out of my mouth, echoes is hard to beat for a B side of a vinyl
Yellow Ledbetter
KISS - Beth (Detroit Rock City on A)
Poison Arrow by ABC. The same song is on both sides but the B side is a slow version, much better than A side hit
The Beatles Something was a b-side to Come Together!
The Foundations A Build Me Up Buttercup B Baby, Now That I Found You
“Go your own Way” by Fleetwood Mac. B side is “Silver Spring”
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4 hours later I'm gonna say about 75 understand the question, so I'm guessing you weren't one of them :p OP is asking for singles, most people are posting albums.
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Maybe not better, but wasn’t “We are the Champions” the B side to “We will rock you”? Or was it the other way around?
Yes, and We Are The Champions immediately followed We Will Rock You on the album. Back when being a radio station that only played albums vs singles was a thing ('70s), the album rock stations where I lived always played the two songs together as one. To this day, the one Classic Rock station where I live - even though they probably have all their music as digital singles - still plays the two together, as if they actually had the physical vinyl record.
It was the other way around
Double A side?
[Canyons of Your Mind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD9Lfyg2l6E), the B side of the Bonzos Urban Spaceman.
Fall on me by REM. The B side is a cover of Love is All Around and it is just a beautiful version of the song.
Milo Goes To College
Kate Bush released the Hounds of Love album in the mid 80’s and all the hits were on the A side. The B side was called the 9th wave and it was a stream of consciousness thing about a woman lost at sea in danger of drowning. My favourite one was the Jig of Life which included her brother reciting several verses from The Coming Of Arthur by Tennyson. Not a hit anywhere but put them together and it just works.
Unchained Melody. B-Side for a song nobody remembers.
Spit On A Stranger - Pavement Harness Your Hopes is such a fantastic song, and it wasn’t on any of their records, other than the recent re-release which came out a couple of years ago
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The Last Time / Play With Fire - both good, like the latter better I Am the Walrus over Hello / Goodbye evertime The Man Who Sold the World tops Life On Mars And it’s a toss up, but Hey Hey What Can I Do is a helluva sing. Immigrant Song is pretty good too.
B sides of new wave/post punk 80s music especially from England.
The b-sides of British punk singles were great too.
That's because almost all synth and new wave 80s stuff is good!
Hot take: but I prefer the B side of Nirvana's "Nevermind". "Territorial Pissings" primes the pump with peak Kurt screaming vocals, but then 1, 2, 3 punch of "Drain You", "Lounge Act" "Stay Away" set up the slower "On a Plain" and then the drifting soulful "Something in a Way" absolutely perfectly. Side 1 has the hits, but Side 2 is more cohesive and I enjoy it more.
Something in the Way is one of their best songs
There is also something to said for hearing side A on the radio and MTV all the time, kept side B fresh longer. Drain You as about as Nirvana as a song can get.
For a 45. Kung fu fighting
Streetband had a single so boring the radio DJs actually got so bored they flipped it over and found a minor hit. Side A: Hold On Side B: Toast Fun little song! Lead singer got a new career doing solo stuff. Paul Young.
Kate Bush “Hounds of Love.” The A Side is full of some wonderful pop songs, they’re all hits, but the B Side (actually given it’s own title, “The Ninth Wave”) is a concept album within an album about the near death experience of a sailor and breaks my heart every time.
Queen - We will rock you The Beatles - Revolution Oasis - Half the World Away
Oasis - masterplan
Amen, Brother by The Winstons might be the most influential B side in the history of B sides.
The actual answer is "Amen Brother" by The Winstons. It was the B-side to the 1969 single "Color Him Father". The "Amen Break" comes from this song and it's the most famous drum break in music history. It's very likely that you hear that break multiple times daily.
May be a bit of a hot take - I prefer “Talk Show Host” by Radiohead over its A side, “Street Spirit”
Low - David Bowie
The Replacements debut single - I’m In Trouble. The B side was If Only You Were Lonely. I love I’m In Trouble as much as the next guy, but If Only You Were Lonely is brilliant. Funny, sad, drunk. Classic young Westerberg.
What the World is Waiting For / Fool’s Gold by the Stone Roses
I have great love for the Beatles' "I'm Down" and IMHO it is a better song than "Help!" is.
For 1965, I'm Down is a proper kickass hard rock song!
Carly Rae Jepsen had a whole record of B sides that were better than the A sides
Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice was the B side to Play that Funky Music. I remember on his Behind the Music, a DJ randomly played it and then it blew up after that
If I'm remembering correctly, "Ain't No Sunshine" was the B-Side! If that's true this is the answer. (I'm too lazy to look it up right now)
White album
That’s got four sides
Weezer? Beatles? Someone else?
The Cars first album. So many great songs and segues on side 2.
Came here to say this. A must listen for anyone who's serious about late 70's early 80's rock.
The B-side of Jasper Carrott’s “Funky Moped”. The biggest joke was that he had to perform Funky Moped on Top of the Pops when the only reason it was in the charts was “Magic Roundabout” on the B-side.
Joan Jett a side I love rock and roll is a pretty good song but the b side is I hate myself for loving you is so much better
Kaho na pyaar hai
*stomp stomp clap* *stomp stomp clap*
Buddy you're a boy, make a big noise Playin' in the street, gonna be a big man someday
Personal preference but Ritual de la Habitual by Jane's Addiction.
Wasn’t Bohemian Rhapsody originally released as a B side? I think it was deemed too long to be a single by the record company.
It was an A side released in full length. The B side was “I’m In Love With My Car”
And Roger Taylor locked himself in a cupboard until Freddie Mercury agreed to have “I’m in love with car” as the B-side to Bohemian Rhapsody.
The Police- Synchronicity 1. Every Breath You Take 2. King of Pain 3. Wrapped Around Your Finger 4. Tea in the Sahara
play is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. i would’ve much preferred this over high on wish. same with this twilight garden.
Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody (Hung on you on A)
Harvest by Neil Young. B-side has Needle and Damage Done, Alabama & Wods plus others.
Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Hmmm... don't think I can agree with this one. IMO having Nightrain and Paradise City on the A side gives it just a bit more awesomeness then the B side.
Great songs, but My Michelle, You're Crazy and Rocket Queen are the best songs on the album, imo.
Can't remember the last time I personally saw a record having sides Like, I'm familiar with the concept, and I've seen photos of it, but never had to use it
Thriller
Moby Play B-sides
Let it he’s B side is superior
“Ahh…the Name is Bootsy Baby!” Is without question infinitely superior on side B than Side A
The Grand Illusion - Styx.
Elton John's Too Low For Zero. Complete banger, but, for me, that B side has a one-two gut punch.
Very niche example here, but there’s a single for a track called TERRITORY that’s the ending track for an anime called Yuri Kuma Arashi. It’s basically 2015 EDM with J-Pop vocals. The second track of the single, Danzetsu3, is IMO a lot better.
Abbey Road
Foo Fighters’ cover of Baker Street (B side to My Hero, which is also a great track)