Musicians who have B-sides of equivalent quality to album tracks/singles

I forgot I made this thread. Just bumping in case.

Duran Duran

The Cure

The Smiths, as you mentioned, released great b-sides, How Soon is Now? probably being their most well known. Prince’s b-sides were great too, but only up until Sign o the Times.

Hole always had a good deal of B-sides that I liked more than many of their album tracks. This one in particular is an abrasive, harrowing masterpiece:

In the Yaz/Yazoo thread it's mentioned that their biggest hit, Situation, was originally a B-side.

I know they are not very popular around here, but Coldplay has pretty great B-sides.

Björk and the made-for-DL B-side Sod off

I know I've been tolerant 'til now,

But here comes a warning,

There's a very clear line that i'm drawing,

And if you cross it.

Sod off

Sod off

If you think I'll let you pull me down to

Your third-class communication,

And bulldoze over all my sensitivities

You've read me all wrong.

Sod off

Sod off

Things so far,

Have been too perfect

This is the premiere

But, oh, how many dress rehearsals

I've been through

Darling this is far too pure and perfect

I let you corrupt it.

Sod off!

I wont let you ruin this.

Sod off.

Sod off.

Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie (from Siouxsie & the Banshees) had a side project called the Creatures. Their single releases have some pretty great B-sides, too. Like All She Could Ask For

I started listening to The Creatures only a couple of years ago, R7, and their song "Gecko" is great!

Speaking of Björk's b-sides, this one is fantastic and I cannot imagine why it wasn't put on Vespertine. It would've improved that album immeasurably (I'm sorry, I know people love that album, but I find it only so-so, and to me is the beginning of her disappearing up her own butt in terms of the music she decided to put out).

Lil’ Kim basically has an entire unreleased second album of “The Notorious Kim” that’s full of fun 80’s samples that never made the album. It’s her best work after her first album.

Where does one access B-sides in this day and age? Also, I thought B-sides were often album cuts not released as singles. Is this incorrect? Can someone educate me? TIA.

The other side of "I Get Around" is the very best B-side of all time.

Thread Closed.

The Cure - "2 Late"

R10 B-sides are typically a bonus song on a single release. Sometimes B-sides are album cuts but usually, they are songs that don’t appear on the album.

Sometimes artists have B-sides today but it’s rare. Off the top of my head, I know Kylie had B-sides on her singles from “X”.

The original meaning of "B-side" was the flip side of a 45 record. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was the A-side, "I Saw Her Standing There" was the B-side.

"Silver Springs" was the B-side of A-side "Go Your Own Way."

"Don't Worry Baby" was the B-side of A-side "I Get Around."

"God Only Knows" was the B-side of A-side "Wouldn't It Be Nice?"

Wow God only knows was the B side. It is one of the Beach Boys' best songs IMO.

Madonna "Revenge"

I like it when there are big hits that started out as B-sides too, like "Vogue" was the B-side to "Keep it Together" (or originally intended for it), and "Push It" by Salt 'n' Pepa was the B-side to... some song or other.

Tori Amos is Queen of The B sides..

Carpenters: Superstar b/w Bless the Beasts and the Children

Swing Out Sister: Twilight World b/w Another Lost Weekend

(I wish I could think of one for Johnny Hates Jazz, but the B sides for all their singles were forgettable instrumentals.)

R18 “I Feel Love” was the B-side to “Can’t We Just Sit Down And Talk It Over”.

Two B-sides that love from the Carpenters are "This Masquerade" (B-side to "Please Mr. Postman") and "Can't Smile Without You" (B-side to "Calling Occupants").

Eurythmics had some great B sides.

I know you already mentioned Tori Amos in the OP, but it's worth repeating that the quality of her B-sides was INSANE. She could have released two extra albums in the 90s if she'd saved up her B-sides.

Yes R23--some consider this a deep cut, and Eurythmics sounded great when they did it live

U2 had some pretty incredible B-Sides at their peak

R24, exactly. I remember when I would collect her singles back in the 90s and I was never disappointed, you would be blown away by many of those tracks, and constantly be thinking: "Well, this could've easily been ON the album".

Linda Ronstadt1 had several :

Youre No Good/Cant help it if im still in love with you

When Will I Be Loved/It Doesnt Matter Anymore

Heatwave/Love Is A Rose

and several others...A sides charting on the pop charts and the B sides charting on the country charts...

r28 And both sides made great album content. Except for "Different Drum," I never had a Linda Ronstadt 45. And now I see that I liked the B sides you mention more than the A sides. (I hated "Heat Wave," whether by Linda or Martha and the Vandellas.)

PJ Harvey.

There’s a reason why she just released a box set of 6 LPs worth of B-sides last month.

I just saw that on streaming a few weeks ago R30! The only thing is: where is "Reeling" and "Wang Dang Doodle"? Everything else is there (well, "Claudine, the Inflatable One" and "Primed and Ticking" aren't either - though I believe these were only John Peel recorded sessions), but these are not. I know I stand alone, but I prefer the studio version of "Reeling" to the demo version, which is the main one you will find.

It's great to have the demo versions of those Rid of Me tracks that weren't put on 4-Track Demos too.

I don’t know if it applies to all his songs, but it’s shocking Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger” was a B-Side. Great song and probably his most well known after Lust for Life.

Pet Shop Boys, Bjork, Mylène Farmer

R31, I agree the studio/full-band “Reeling” is way better than the demo (though I do like the demo). No idea why it wasn’t included. “Wang Dang Doodle” was likely excluded for the same reason as the others from that session—likely BBC-owned, and they didn’t get clearance in time, or maybe they’re planning a separate BBC/Peel Sessions volume in the future.

"B sides" is sort of an antiquated term, since it's mostly about 45 releases.

A number of the songs being mentioned are tracks that were not on any 45s but were not in the original release of a given album.

Bruce Springsteen's "The Promise." It was recorded for Darkness on the Edge of Town, and I think it should have replaced "Factory" to make it a perfect record.

"She's a Woman" is the B side of "I Feel Fine," released by the Beatles at the end of 1964. Each was considered a single in its own right, at least on 77 WABC-AM radio in New York.

This is the A side, "I Feel Fine."

This was an unusual thing for a group, or a label, to do. As it happened, I preferred the B side.

They entered ABC's All American Survey on November 24, 1964. The week before, they were Hot Prospects. I don't know how they decided one was selling more copies than the other.

Prince's b-sides in the 80s were something else for sure. They're some of my favorite Prince songs. Everything from the ridiculous:

To the most somber:

In the CD era, B-sides were called non-album tracks.

Bands like Siouxsie & The Banshees took full advantage of 12" vinyl single releases where they included two B-sides, or non-album tracks.

For example, the 12" single release of This Wheel's On Fire features an extended version of the title track (Incendiary Mix) and on the other side it features Shooting Sun and Sleepwalking (On A High Wire). The 7" featured the regular version of the title track and Shooting Sun as the B-side.

That is how the band managed to fill three CDs of just B-Sides (and one extra CD for the Thorn EP) with the CD box set Downside Up.

Madonna’s into the groove was the b side to Angel

Tried to post this yesterday.

80's Prince owns this thread. He had B-site "hits!"

Erotic City

How Come you Don't Call Me (anymore)

and classics:

17 Days

She's Always in My Hair

Another Lonely Christmas

Irresistible Bitch

R42 agree that Siouxsie and the Banshees' B-sides were excellent. I prefer many of them over some of the album tracks/singles. Downside Up is a great listen.

I think one of the stories in the band's book was that Voices, the B-side to Hong Kong Garden, was used by pub owners to clear the place out at last call.

It was always a treat when seeing them live and they'd play a B-side or two, something the casual fan were kind of clueless about.

It seems like some bands (like Siouxsie and the Banshees or the Pet Shop Boys) would often use B-sides as a way of experimenting with other sounds or types of songs that they may not have felt would've fit on any album they would make, which is a lot of fun too.