New Wave Outpost Forum

Going way back the glory days of vinyl. Did you ever buy single from your favorite artist where the B-side turned out far superior to the A-side? Or the rare instance where the B-side got more airplay?

For me it happened simultaneously with XTC's "Dear God" which was the B-side to "Grass". I bought the single and barely played the A-side at all. Then all of a sudden KROQ & 91X were playing "Dear God" twice and hour and the record company ended up pulling the LP SKYLARKING and repressing it with the B-side thrown in. I had never heard of this happening before...

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The first one to come to mind is Ministry:

A-side: All Day and B-Side: Everyday (Is Halloween).

"If I thought I had anything interesting to say I'd say it"

I like the B-side of Duran Duran's "Union of the Snake", which is "Secret Oktober", much better than "Snake". It's a completely different style.

<p align="justify">Basically every b-side to Depeche Mode's singles up to, and including, the album [i]Violator[/i][}:)]

Example: "Fools"[}:)]

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I can't say these b-sides are any better than the a-sides, but 3 that immediately come to mind:

"Like A Gun," the b-side to "Send Me An Angel" by Real Life. I played it as much as the a-side.

Another is "Lost Control," the b-side to "The More You Live, The More You Love" by A Flock Of Seagulls. He kind of strains on the vocals, which is probably why it never made the album, but I was very happy when it was finally released on the [i]We Are The 80s[/i] compilation CD.

And finally, I was very happy to get "Going Overboard" (the b-side to "Saved By Zero") by The Fixx on CD when I did their [i]Ultimate Collection[/i]. I also included it on the reissue of [i]Reach The Beach[/i], which the band really liked. It was originally supposed to be on the album, but they cut it at the last minute for whatever reason. The original master tapes show it listed as part of the tracks on side 2 of the original LP. Even Rupert Greenall said "We were [i]so stupid[/i] to leave that off the album" to me.

I'm sure there are tons more...



"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

From The Cure I'd have to nominate the B-side "Halo" over its A-side, "Friday I'm In Love".

---------------------------
Huh uhh... not Katherine.

I'd go with "Just One Kiss" over "Let's Go to Bed" by The Cure.

"Murder By Numbers" over "Every Breath You Take" by The Police


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Both of these songs had me instantly latched when I flipped the 45 over an played the B-Side, and they have continued to be among my favorite songs by these artists.


"All of Us" - Big Country, the B-Side of "In a Big Country"

(Currently available on the import remaster of "The Crossing", the one with the RED cover.)

Very catchy tune, could have easily been part of "The Crossing" itself. Big Country pretty much always did very good B-Sides and EP tracks ("Angle Park" and "Wonderland" from the "Wonderland" EP, for example.) I was very disappointed that this wasn't among the bonus tracks on the US remaster of "The Crossing."



"Gently" - Spandau Ballet, the B-Side of "True"

(Currently available now on the "Collection Vol. II" import CD)

Possibly the best song Spandau Ballet ever did. Completely different feel from the rest of their work. Slow, haunting, dream-like, slightly psychedelic, slightly Eastern, and very beautiful overall.

God Forbid - Wild Swans

[quote][i]Originally posted by Surly[/i]
<br>
And finally, I was very happy to get "Going Overboard" (the b-side to "Saved By Zero") by The Fixx on CD when I did their [i]Ultimate Collection[/i]. I also included it on the reissue of [i]Reach The Beach[/i], which the band really liked.
[/quote]

Surly, you did a outstanding job with both of those CD releases, kudos. I do like Going Overboard, and there was certainly room to throw it on a 2-sided LP back then. It still sounds 'b-side-ish' to me, but I'm sure it'd be different had it been on RTB all these years.

Now, if we can just get the powers that be to green-light a Walkabout re-issue (with Rediscover as a bonus track, of course)..

1002

I prefer "Satellite" over the OMD A-side of "Dreaming"

I like "M-Factor" which was the B-side of "Pop Muzik" by M.

Naked Eyes "The Time is Now" is much better than "Always Something There to Remind Me"

Duran Duran

A Side: "The Reflex", B Side: "Make Me Smile".

• I listen to [i]Orchestral Manoeuvres[/i] [b]"Annex"[/b] way more, and prefer it to it's A-Side [b]"Enola Gay"[/b]

• I find I play [i]Haircut 100's[/i] [b]"Boat Party"[/b] than it's A-Side [b]"Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)"[/b] (12" version).

•[i]China Crisis's[/i] [b]"The Highest High"[/b] is just so-so...the real joy is on the B-side, an nice little new wave- Walter Becker inspired/produced instrumental track called [b]"96-8"[/b]

•also, [i]China Crisis's[/i] [b]"Working With Fire and Steel"[/b] B-sides [b]"Forever I and I"[/b] and [b]"Dockland"[/b], in a word, RULE.

Some off the top of my head.
Human League- You Remind Me of Gold, b'side to Mirror Man
Thomas Leer- Control Yourself, b'side to Heartbeat
Torch Song- P2e, b'side of Don't Look Now
Fiat Lux- No More Proud, b'side of Solitary Lovers
Psychedelic Furs- Heartbeat b'side of Heaven (later released as single in it's own right)
Probably think of more later
GJH