Okay. Time to ‘fess up. The first single I ever bought was Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn. To my mind, it still stands as a great song (a recent singles collection from the Australian soapstarturned-popstar supports my faith in her greatness), and when bought it, I remember my joy possessing such a shiny, shiny object. And you know what? When I take it out of its cardboard case now (ten long taste adjusting years later) and slip it into the tray, listening to those three precision-aimed tracks pop wonderment still brings back the same giddy thrills it did then.
Vinyl collectors are always accused of geekishly fetishizing their collections, buffing grooves (or whatever), and it seems that CD owners will soon go the same way. I try to
Josh Farrington and Verity Simpson debate the pros and cons of the B-side, while Varsity picks the best of the bunch
stay away from eroticising compact discs, but my innate selfishness and agnostic attachment to earthly possessions leads me to value my CD collection more than just about anything else I own. An mp3 file on a computer just isn’t the same – I can’t search for it in a shop (where it will be, invariably, hidden away behind a discount ska compilation), then take it triumphantly to the till, rushing home with it to place it on the stereo like a sacrifice upon an altar, and sitting back to worship. People rave about the download revolution because it means we can cut out only the sharpest, but this is a bad thing. You don’t cut your favourite chapters from a book, or the best scenes from a film. Albums are recorded as a unified work of art to be taken and appreciated as a whole, and singles B-sides aren’t just castoffs tagged on to encourage people to buy something they already own, they’re of surplus creativity for dedicated fans of musical experiments that work in an album sometimes, just they’re better by themselves.
Josh Farrington
I’m not ashamed of my first single. It was the Manic Street Preachers, If You Tolerate This, Then Your Children Will Be Next. Okay, not their best, but I can honestly say that I have no recollection of its B-side. I didn’t listen to them then, and I certainly don’t listen to them now. The CD B-side is dead, and its ashes have been scattered over iTunes, where a phoenix has risen from them to take on the form of a sort of ‘pick and mix’ attitude to the purchase of music. You hear a single
somewhere, and if you like it enough you buy it on iTunes (or you download it from your music savvy friend) and that’s that. The reason most bands had a B-side was due to the demands of their record labels, but let’s face it - the majority of them just weren’t very good. Or, more irritatingly, there were just three remixes of the same song. Or worse, an instrumental version. Crap. However, this isn’t meant to be an essay condemning the B-side, or at least the concept of a B-side. I have nothing against an added bonus for your money, as long as it’s actually a decent track. But let’s bear in mind that we need to
move forward. Why put out a CD single with a good B-side when, in the current download frenzy, hardly anyone will buy it? That’s why so many B-sides that were actually worth listening to passed under the radar, and were, at first, wasted. And why should mp3s and downloads be condemned and blamed for the death of the B-side? If it’s such a good song, release it as an mp3 and watch the sales fly in. If people can listen to 30 seconds of an excellent track, which may not have had exposure on a single CD, they’re more likely to buy it. Well, thank god these ten B-sides were saved from the reject pile. In many cases, they proved themselves superior to their A-sides and became classics. And you can buy them on iTunes too.
Verity Simpson
Kraftwerk, The Model, lost on Computer Love and Neon Lights
Yes. Not once, but twice did German man-machines Kraftwerk give away one of their most distinctive songs as a B-side to a far inferior A-side. Showing a distinctive pop-nous that informed all of their greatest tracks, The Model’s chiming synth-lines cut to the core of a society in thrall to superfi ciality, anticipating the rise of the yuppies in the decade to come. Also beloved by New Romantics, and they
were right about everything.
The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody, lost on Hung On You
Yes I know, I hate this soulless dirge too, but it’s impossible to deny its commercial success.
Number one in the British charts by four different artists (Jimmy Young, The Righteous Brothers,
Robson & Jerome, and Gareth Gates), and reputedly Simon Cowell’s favourite song, it
was considered so boring during the Righteous Brothers’ recording that one of them (Bill Medley) isn’t even singing on it. Yet somehow, radio DJs saw through the lack of verse, chorus, or pleasant tune, and recognised an unlikely pop behemoth beneath – playing it over its now forgotten A-side, Hung on You.
The Smiths, How Soon is Now, lost on William, It Was Really Nothing
One of the more surprising entries to the B-sides list, this one. After all, how could How Soon Is Now?, The Smiths’ signature song, be used only as a B-side, to William It Was Really Nothing of all things? Thankfully, Morrissey and co soon realised the error of
their ways, and Johnny Marr’s experimental guitar workout (and fi rm fan favourite) became an A-side in its own right a year later. How smart was that? Oh, it was really nothing. I’ll stop now.
Radiohead, Talk Show Host, lost on Street
Spirit (Fade Out)
A classic by anyone’s standard, the fact that this repetitive, atmospheric haunter was used up as the second B-side to Radiohead’s equally
brilliant hymn to existential despair, Street Spirit (Fade Out), shows that the mighty Radiohead have talent and tunes to spare. Nagging
away on the soundtrack of Baz Lurhman’s Romeo+Juliet, you might not know what it is, but you will know it instinctively as the background music to pain and disaster.
Rod Stewart, Maggie May, lost on Reason to Believe
It didn’t take long for radio DJs and fans to realise the great gruff Rod’s mistake and get the ludicrous listings of this single
reversed. But despite this oversight, the ballad of the hooker with the heart of gold had already snuck into the British charts. Now it’s a staple of karaoke, school discos,
and even inspired a fantastic fi lthy short story by legendary music writer Lester Bangs – not bad for a B-side then.
David Bowie, Queen Bitch, lost on Rebel Rebel
Even if you claim to dislike David Bowie, on account of being a little bit scared of his weirdness (it’s alright, everyone else feels this too), little bit scared of his weirdness (it’s alright, everyone else feels this too), you can’t claim not to like this track. If you do, you’ll be fl ying in the face you can’t claim not to like this track. If you do, you’ll be fl ying in the face of, well, pretty much every respected music opinion, ever. Written for Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, it has been covered no fewer than ten times, by artists varying from Seu Jorge to the Arcade Fire. If nothing
else, the title should appeal.
The Beatles, Eleanor Rigby, lost on Yellow Submarine
Well, we couldn’t not include at least one Beatles song, could we? Of course, any band who produces work as consistently
good as The Beatles couldn’t avoid having a clutch of nigh-onperfect B-sides, but this is the pick of the bunch (some might say Rain,
but this is better). Later included on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, it’s instantly recognisable, and infi nitely brilliant. Bigger than
Jesus, and defi nitely better with a piano and a handful of chords.
Posted on Saturday 13 October 2007