THE 100 GREATEST B-SIDES EVER

Little Labours of Love - The 100 Greatest B-Sides

Like the English electric lightning that's features above on Suede's excellent B-side compilation Sci-Fi Lullabies, the B-side is a humble relic from a bygone era. Leaving both a mountain of aural rubbish and a small but largely untold legacy of great music when artists dared to experiment, dared to take risks, dared to push themselves.

B-sides were tracks that accompanied singles - or A-sides - and were their literal flipside, on vinyl or cassette that could be turned or flipped over. In the fifties and early sixties two songs could be recorded and radio would choose their preferred song to play and these became the single. So for example Bill Wither's Ain't No Sunshine was originally a B-side to the single Harlem before Radio DJs saw the obvious error and played the B-side instead. Examples such as these were purely down to chance however. The idea that a B-side could be worthy of being taken seriously was perhaps spearhead by The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, when the former's The Last Time and the latter's Paperback Writer hit the charts in 1965 and 1996 respectively. Both examples were clear indications that artists were ready to experiment, try something different in the studio without the pressure of having to please label bosses and fans.

So what's the best B-Sides ever made? Well after a lot of research this question proved far more difficult than first envisaged; there's just so many good songs tucked away that the wider public (and to a large extent the radio) never got to hear! Below are what I think are the 100 Greatest B-Sides Ever, an article that shows as much about my geekiness than it does of my love of music - but I suppose that's the point, B-sides are hidden gems, aural treasure that if you discover them you'll cherish because frankly you know you're in the cool school where you know you know better than the rest. Enjoy the list...

100. Hey, Hey, What Can I Do - Led Zeppelin

from Immigrant Song (1970) available on Coda

A rare B-side for Led Zeppelin who released very few singles in their career. On the one hand, this is Led Zeppelin by numbers, but on the other, it's a solid, fun romp showcasing what made them so great.

99. Marigold - Nirvana

from Heart-Shaped Box (1993) available on In Utero

A whispered acoustic slice of grunge, quaint if a tad unremarkable. However it's also a little slice of rock history as Dave Grohl takes one of the two written songs he secretly recorded at the start of the nineties and turns it into something more polished, albeit with the same lo-fi, grunge sound. And viola, effectively the first Foo Fighters song is born.

98. The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

from Burning Of The Midnight Lamp (1967) available on South Saturn Delta

A song written deliberately to fill the second side of the single, this is quite a rare moment of sloppiness on Hendrix's part where he basically just let's go with abandon. After singing the initial song for 60 seconds, a long and meandering solo starts, complete with trademark wah-wah, heard here for the first time. It's a testament to the genius of Hendrix that such a off the cuff recording - for that is what he saw it as - is still worthy of being played.

Listen to the song here..

97. Your Only Friend - Phuture

from Acid Tracks (1987) available on any decent Chicago House compilation..

The flipside of the groundbreaking Acid Tracks which virtually created the sub-genre of house we now know as acid house, this was a counter to the argument and the hysteria around the A-side, that it was about drugs. In reality the term 'acid' was chosen because of the sounds it made which reminded its creators of what losing control would sound like. Undoubtedly one of the scariest dance records of all time, up there with Bam Bam's Where Is Your Child and The Chemical Brothers' Acid Children (see number 43).

96. It's Better People - Oasis

from Roll With It (1995) available here only

As they assembled for their second album (What's The Story) Morning Glory? Noel Gallagher had ready a long list of strong songs, having been in a rich vein of form off the back of Whatever and their debut Definitely Maybe. With a double album not being considered and Oasis going for knock out, many great but less anthemic songs were left to prop up single releases. Most - but alas not all - of their greatest B-sides were compiled on The Masterplan compilation and It's Better People that lost out in the fan vote to be included. Effectively a Noel Gallagher solo number, IBP is a classic Gallagher calling card to everyman to get along and to work together for the greater good. It was probably left off because it's chorus is in a melancholic minor chord, an unusual move for an Oasis song but it's effective at getting Gallagher's heartfelt (if to some trite) plea across to the listener.

95. Cheryl Tweedy - Lilly Allen

from Smile (2006) available on Alright, Still

Singing "Wish I looked just like Cheryl Tweedy/I know I never will" drew laughter when this was released off the back of her huge hit Smile, but it makes the song worthy of being considered, a decent B-side, quite a rarity in pop.

94. That Spiritual Feeling - Paul Weller

from Into Tomorrow (1991) available on Paul Weller

Originally appearing on The Style Council's scheduled fifth album before it was rejected and shelved by it's label and which led to their eventual split, Weller rerecorded this track, a leading light of then new acid jazz scene for the B-side of the lead single from his debut solo album, 2 years later as part of his reemergence as a solo artist in his own right.

93. Killing Of A Flashboy- Suede

from We Are The Pigs (1994) available on Sci-Fi Lullabies

Perhaps the anthemic Killing Of A Flashboy didn't quite fit on their melancholic sophomore album Dog Man Star, but nevertheless it joined lead single We Are The Pigs in announcing to the world the first new music since their Mercury Music Prize winning self-titled debut. Alas its release was somewhat overshadowed by the dramatic departure of lead guitarist Bernard Butler.

92. Velvet Goldmine - David Bowie

from Space Oddity (1975) available on Five Years (1969-1973) 

An unused song from the Ziggy Stardust recording sessions in November 1971, this fun glam throwaway - a rarity for this most meticulous of songwriters - belatedly found a home when coupled with a re-released earlier single. It's song title was used as the name of the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine starring Jonathan Rhys-Myers. Listen here:

91. My Secret Enemy - TLC

from Red Light Special (1995) available here only

Tucked away on one of TLC's single from their classic mid nineties album CrazySexyCool, was Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes' tale of how she went woke up and found her house ablaze and the insuring furore that subseqeuntly followed. Left Eye wasn't given as much room to rap as perhaps she could have been given and whilst musically it is a fairly standard piece of R&B, her rap is direct and insightful. Indeed an R&B B-side is a rare thing and worthy of kicking of the Top 100 here.

Listen here:

90. You've Got The Power - Van Morrison

from Jackie Wilson Said (1972) available here only

A rare song by Van The Man, this nevertheless carries the same punch as many of this more well known classic songs. A lost gem...

89. Sweet Sweet Intuition - Björk

from It's Oh So Quiet (1995) available here only

Bjork was offered to write a song for Madonna and the demo she came up with would be turned into Bedtime Story by Madonna and producer Nellee Hooper. Bjork took her demo and reworked it into Sweet Intuition, itself a B-side to Army of Me before remixing this attempt into the far superior Sweet Sweet Intuition, a lullaby about intuition over deliberate thought.

88. Shut Out The Light - Bruce Springsteen 

from Born in the U.S.A. (1984), available on Tracks

Collected on his retrospective collection from 1998, appropriately entitled Tracks, this flipside to Springsteen's well known if often misunderstood anthem is musically its polar opposite, acoustic and brooding to the A-side's electric bombast.

87. Starla - The Smashing Pumpkins

from I Am One (1992) available on Pisces Iscariot

The most ambitious debut B-side ever? At 11 minutes, it certainly is hard to ignore even if the slow grunge drawl perhaps won't win over everyone. If it is not a great song in the truest sense, then its performance is, showcasing for the first time singer and songwriter Billy Corgan's ability to not only capture a mood but also his love of an extended guitar solos, something that was quite rare and set them apart from their grunge peers such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

86. She's Always In My Hair - Prince

from Paisley Park (1985) available on The Hits/B-Sides

At first glance, a cool funk rock tune that was left off All Around The World In A Day, his follow up to the mega seller Purple Rain, this song is a real grower with it's looseness and cute concise guitar solos finding Prince is at his most Hendrix, bemoaning a lover - Susannah Melvoin? - who won't leave him alone for five minutes. It became a live staple and was covered by fan D'Angelo in 1997.

85. Man Called Sun - The Verve

from All In The Mind (1991) available on The Verve EP

Whilst produced so quietly it's hard to hear anything clearly, let alone Richard Ashcroft's murmurings, repeated plays brings this song's beauty to life, not least the sound which undoutedly stems from the band singing and recording long into the following morning with gorgeous celestial guitar from Nick McCabe and chiming church bells add to its atmosphere. It had a big enough impact on bands at the time, even providing the name for fellow indie rockers Mansun.

84. Santo - Pixies

from Dig For Fire (1990) available on Complete B Sides

A rejected song from the Bossanova sessions, it's unclear why it didn't make the cut, perhaps as Kim Deal has mentioned it's because it included her vocals at the time when she had started her own band The Breeders?

83. Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend - Arctic Monkeys

from Brianstorm (2007) available only here

The list of rappers guesting on rock songs is not long. Run DMC on Aerosmith's Walk This Way, KRS-One on R.E.M's largely forgotten Radio Song, Q-Tip on R.E.M's underrated The Outsiders are three examples. The above B-side, which is the most recently released in this list, was from their lead single of their sophomore album and featured a stunning rap from grime legend Dizzee Rascal. It was introduced as "a Glastonbury special" when played live at that festival's 2007 headline slot:

82. Jail Guitar Doors - The Clash

from Clash City Rockers (1978) available on Super Black Market Clash

Starting life as 'Lonely Mother's Son' from Strummer's former band The 101ers, this pop punk ditty was written between their self titled debut and their sophomore album Give 'Em Enough Rope and was taken as the name for an initiative by Billy Bragg to give those in prison in the UK a chance to learn a musical instrument:

81. Petty Thief Lout - The Fall

from Couldn't Get Ahead / Rollin' Dany'  (1984) available on 458489 B-Sides

The Fall's B-sides were almost an event to their fans, unsurprising given they released 46 singles, most before the digital age took a a death knell to the B-side and this is my favourite of theirs, coming from the same period as This Nation's Saving Grace, arguably their commercial peak:

80. Roulette - Bruce Springsteen

from One Step Up & Tougher Than The Rest (1988) available on Tracks

Roulette was Springsteen's tribute to punk, the genre that had dominated the musical landscape in the 2 years preceding its recording in 1979 for The Ties That Bind, the prototype album that eventually became his flawed classic double album The River the following year. Driven by The E-Street Band's drummer Max Weinberg's propulsive drumming, it arguably should be have been included in said albums but instead belatedly appeared as a B-side eight years later...

79. Musique - Daft Punk

from Da Funk (1995) available on Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005

The cornerstone of the Daft Punk sound, this ultimately served as their debut's template to the extent that it was ditched for the debut and replaced by more individual, tighter catchier tracks. Nevertheless for an idea of how they started, this along with Alive showcase their French house sound perfectly:

78. Molotov Bitch - Prodigy

from Firestarter (1996) available on Their Law

99% of Dance acts never get beyond one hit single - the barometer by which they are measured - let alone a series of hit singles or even a series of albums. So a good B-side is rarer still, particularly as they tend to be interesting if inferior remixes of the hit single. Along with fellow Big Beat group Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and in particular Liam Howlett could do no wrong in the mid Nineties and with the succinct and compact Fat Of The Land, there were a few spare tracks left over with Molotov Bitch being the best of the bunch with the YouTube video below really showcasing how good its beats are:

77. Well...All Right - Buddy Holly

from Heartbeat (1958) available on Best of

A short catchy number, showcasing the genius of Buddy Holly and which perfectly illustrates the typical difference between a single (or A-side) and a B-side, namely that B-sides tend to display less straight forward positive messages, here it's a begrudging acceptance from Holly that his girl is correct. Hardly chart material but certainly more interesting than most bright, poppy songs:

76. Sole Sunday - Outkast feat. Goodie Mob

from Ms Jackson (2000) available on Any Given Sunday

Both a track for a film soundtrack and a B-side from their classic Stankonia album, this featured childhood friends Goodie Mob and was a precursor to that album's follow up The Love Below/Speakerboxx and one of it's hidden gems Church:

75. Your Shadow Lay Across My Life - Doves

from The Man Who Told Everything (2000) available on Lost Sides

A real lost gem which I've never heard on the radio, never heard mentioned in any media, not even a passing reference. Probably not included on their debut Lost Souls as its uplifting major chords didn't quite fit their debut's overarching melancholic mood:

74. Dive - Nirvana

from Sliver (1990) available on Incesticide

Possessing all the best elements from their debut Bleach, this flipside to their second single Sliver perfectly demonstrates the trio's power: dirty bass, thick grungy guitar and poppy chorus:

73. One Way To Go - The Verve

from All In The Mind (1991) available here only

Classic flipside to their debut single - a reoccurring theme for indie acts - when Wigan's finest were simply known as Verve (when American jazz label giant Verve flexed their legal might leading to the additional 'The'). The first of the two classics B-sides in this list, this is the lesser known song which I've never seen it referred to either in media, radio or through conversation, which is frankly odd because it's stunningly beautiful:

72. Rockin' Chair - Oasis

from Roll With It (1995) available here only

Noel Gallagher has never been known for his lyrics, indeed he has been lampooned by media and (blur?) fans in the past, but this heartfelt song about getting older and past regrets is fantastic and whilst it was included quite rightly on their aforementioned B-sides compilation, perhaps its poppy melody did itself a disservice? But don't let that fool you, it's a great song and should have been included on Morning Glory:

71. My Insatiable One - Suede

from The Drowners (1992) available on Sci-Fi Lullabies

An anthem for early Suede lovers and indeed for the band themselves - it was used as a title for a recent Sky documentary which was officially endorsed by the band - I haven't quite understood why it's held in quite as high regard as this, but there's no denying it's a good catchy song:

70. Karvel - Björk

from I Miss You (1995) available here only

Arguably the best female solo artist of the Nineties, by the time of her sophomore effort Post - her mini album as an eleven year old is generally disregarded when discussing her actual career - everyone's favourite Icelander had another solid set of songs. Karvel however was actually a leftover from her first 'proper' album, indeed it was recorded in her first session:

69. Huckleberry Grove - Ocean Colour Scene

from You've Got It Bad (1996) available on B-Sides, Seasides & Freerides

Birmingham's best Britpop band peaked with their Mosley Shoals LP in '96 and this B-side from one of its singles is a delight:

68. Together - Suede

from New Generation (1995) available on Sci-Fi Lullabies

The first single package to feature music by new guitarist Richard Oakes, this B-side often gets overlooked in the music press by more popular favourites and I have no idea why because it rocks. An anthemic chorus that Oasis would be proud of, the middle eight features a lovely fuzzy guitar wig out from Oakes which hits the spot everytime:

67. D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman? - Oasis

from Shakermaker (1994) available here only

One of Noel Gallagher's best early lo-fi acoustic songs. Any other band would have made their lead single, but due to a lack of conviction in his own voice and more pertinently a canny knack of knowing what makes a hit single, it was dismissed as a B-side. Those fans who would be there from the start - starting with their lead single, previous single Supersonic - would enjoy the singles released every few months and each B-side which were often gems in there own right:

66. Set The Ray To Jerry - The Smashing Pumpkins

from 1979 (1995) available on The Aeroplane Flies High

A lesson in how sometimes a song is found when reigning it in. Set The Ray To Jerry was written during the Siamese Dream era but was a hard rocker and didn't quite fulfill Corgan's vision. Revisited on the following album by slowing it, it's slow murmuring bass and jazzy drumming makes it stand out from most other Pumpkins songs. Corgan was clearly on a hot streak as they released the 28 song double album Melon Collie & The Infinite Sadness and then a 33 B-side collection from the same sessions the following year:

65. Talk Show Host - Radiohead

from Street Spirit (Fade Out) (1996) available on The Best Of special edition

It's hard to remember but Radiohead were once seen as a guitar band - not necessarily a Britpop band - and the last saviors of white rock once upon a time. It was during this period that there were key moments when it seemed something clicked. Writing Creep. Then recording Street Spirit (Fade Out). In the grand scheme of things, that single's B-side may not click in the same manner but not only did it give them international exposure as part of Romeo & Juliet's soundtrack but it's also important because it's the first time that they seem to tamper with electronic music, in this case not a beat but electronic keys and a shuffling rhythm:

64. The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner - Belle & Sebastian

from Jonathan David (2001) available on Push Barman To Open Old Wounds

Written a few of years prior to it's eventual release, this was the song chosen to be played on Channel 4's The Apocalypse Tube, on what was their debut live TV appearance at the time. Written by singer and songwriter Stuart Murdoch, a keen runner, it was no doubt influenced by Alan Sillitoe's short story The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner:

63. John Cope - Talk Talk

from I Believe In You (1988) available on Asides Besides

When Mark Hollis assembled his band to record their fourth LP Spirit of Eden, the lights were dimmed, candles lit, the instruments are set up and they then proceeded to jam for hours on end. What came out of it were several pieces of music, some no more than fragments. Despite the lack of unused material, Talk Talk had enough to make John Cope a B-side of arguably the best single from the album; not that it was commercial at any stage:

62. Skills To Pay The Bills - The Beastie Boys

from Pass The Mic (1992) available on Sounds of Science

Sub-titled Pt2 Pass The Mic, this is really a new recording in its own right and only one of a handful of decent B-sides by hip hop artists where, like dance artists, all efforts are typically put into the single and accompanying album, leaving the flipside for interesting if unremarkable remixes, edits, instrumentals etc. The booming bass made this a fan favourite and it was included on their best of The Sounds of Science:

61. Child Of The Moon - The Rolling Stones

from Jumpin' Jack Flash (1968) available on Singles Collection: The London Years

The flipside of one of the greatest rock singles ever, Child Of The Moon could be an album contender most years but it was never included on the rootsy Americana influenced Beggar's Banquet, perhaps as it was so childlike and otherworldly:

60. He Knows I'd Love To See Him - Morrissey

from November Spawned A Monster (1990) available on Bona Drag

Often described as a song that indicates his homosexuality, from the homework I've done, it actually seems to be about the former Smiths singer wanting to see his father again. Funny how the truth is often a lot more boring than the narrative:

59. (It's Good) To Be Free - Oasis

from Whatever (1994) available on The Masterplan

Recorded between Definitely Maybe and (What's The Story?) Morning Glory for their single Whatever, along with Half The World Away (see number 24), this ode to being free and easy is one of many B-sides that carried the 'could have been a single' tag, such was the high threshold of Oasis' early output. The live concert Live By The Sea took its title from this song and it was one of several songs played live on Channel 4's The White Room. Perhaps it's most well known for it's entertaining outro, where guitarist Bonehead plays The Harvest Home hornpipe in celebration of his Irish roots:

58. Fretless - R.E.M.

from Losing My Religion (1991) available here only

R.E.M. rarely released good B-sides, preferring to focus on a smaller crop of songs - and hone them to perfection - whilst releasing mostly cover songs on the flipside. That said, at the peak between Out Of Time and their masterpiece Automatic For The People, they wrote this somber moody ballad which wouldn't have been out of place on either of these mega sellers:

57. For What It's Worth - Talk Talk

from Living In Another World (1986) available on Asides Besides

Colour of Spring, Talk Talk's mighty third LP was a terse affair and it wasn't a surprise that solid leftovers existed but the sheer beauty of this B-side is something to behold and makes you wonder whether it should have been included? With its almost Balearic percussive and hypnotic groove, it shares a similar chord progression to the grand theme from the BBC's Trials of Life, their groundbreaking Natural History programme presented by Sir David Attenborough:

56. Novelty - Joy Division

from Transmission (1979) available on Substance

A showcase for how great and how underrated a guitar player Bernard Sumner is, who's guitar dominates this song, starting with the extended intro before playing the entire melody. It's something that would be increasingly rare as the influence of Hook's bass and then group's appetite for synthesizers grew:

55. I Against I - Massive Attack feat. Mos Def

from Special Cases (2003) available here only

Another rap b-side? Originally written for the Blade soundtrack a year earlier - this understated but brilliant piece of slight hip hop - combined the beats of Massive Attack with the smooth flow of Mos Def with great results. One wonders how it came to be and indeed why more wasn't recorded given how stunning this track was:

54. Aneurysm - Nirvana

from Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991) available on Incesticide

Seattle's world conquerors were on a hot run of form so it's no surprise that out of the Nevermind sessions there would be a decent unreleased song and of these Aneurysm is the pick, highlighting what made them so great, with the quiet/loud dynamics in full effect:

53. Obscured - The Smashing Pumpkins

from Today (1993) available on Pisces Iscariot

Band leader Billy Corgan's songwriting chops were already getting the knack of writing by the time the Pumpkins released their sophomore album Siamese Dream which featured a number of very good songs that didn't make said album's final tracklisting. Appearing on B-side compilation Pisces Iscariot and released before their blockbuster Mellon Collie... album, Obscured is the Pumpkins at their gentlest and most dreamlike:

52. Young And Lovely - Blur

from Chemical World (1993) available on The Blur EP

Hailed by Q Magazine in 2007 as one of the great "lost tracks", this lovely little ditty about growing up, about "kicking around in the centre of town" and telling Mum not to worry, perfectly captures that exploratory moment in childhood when you start to discover the world outside your home:

51. Standing Here - The Stone Roses

from She Bangs The Drums (1989) available on Turns Into Stone

Effectively two songs put together, Standing Here is one of the bluesiest things they did, almost a light precursor to their second album Second Coming. To finish it off, they play an extended coda halfway through the song which becomes the outro as Brown delicately sings "I should be safe forever in your arms":

50. She Don't Care About Time - The Byrds

from Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season) (1965) available here only

Whilst sounding very similar to the rest of Turn! Turn! Turn!, this B-side was nevertheless important in helping them hone their unique sound as well as influence others, most notably The Beatles' George Harrison who said the drumming from this was used on his own If I Needed Someone:

49. Cloudburst - Oasis

from Live Forever (1994) available here only

Arguably the most underrated song in Oasis' canon, this often overlooked gem and personal favourite is a brilliant slice of anthemic Mancunian cool, complete with great guitar breakdown. Alas a possible second chance never materialised as it sadly failed to make the cut on The Masterplan, Oasis' excellent B-sides compilation:

48. Lady With The Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix) - U2

from Even Better Than The Real Thing (1991) available on The Best of 1990-2000 & B-Sides

The Joshua Tree gave us the classic Sweetest Thing as a B-side but that itself was rerecorded and released as a single adecade later so does not feature here. However what does make it from the sessions is U2's first foray into dance. Lady With The Spinning Head was originally a loose rock song but like the single it was partnered with, it was given a remix and the rest they say is history:

47. These Things Take Time - The Smiths

from What Difference Does It Make? (1984) available on Louder Than Bombs

Probably deemed too similar to What Difference Does It Make?, TTTT nevertheless shares it's A-side's energy, spirit and frankly is as good. Alas it never quite got the attention it deserved after appearing on early B-side and BBC session compilation Hatful of Hollow in an inferior John Peel recording which didn't capture the full speed and thrill of the original recording:

46. Going Down - The Stone Roses

from Made of Stone (1989) available on Turns Into Stone

The Roses at their most ethereal, with it's beautifully chiming Byrdsy guitar coupled with the entwined harmonies of Brown and drummer Reni as they sing "ring a ding ding ding, I'm going down, I'm coming round", it would form the bedrock of many a minor acoustic Britpop song in the following decade:

45. She's Got Everything - The Kinks

from Days (1968) available on The Ultimate Collection

Not known for their B-sides, this cracker of a song received some belated attention when it was included on the band's best of compilation at the turn of the century. It was quite a departure for the band who were in the middle of their English storytelling period having just recorded Village Green Preservation Society and harks back to their early garage rock days:

44. The Butterfly Collector - The Jam

from Strange Town (1983) from The Sound of The Jam

Depending on who you believe, either about NME journalist Julie Burchill or - perhaps more likely? - written about former Sex Pistol groupie Soo Catwoman who the band ended up shunning due to her promiscuity. Arguably their greatest B-side and flipside to one of the best three songs Weller, in his opinion, has ever wrote, The Butterfly Collector has been covered in concert by Noel Gallagher and on record by Garbage, who's cover appeared on the tribute album Fire & Skill: The Songs of The Jam:

43. Electronic Battle Weapon 7 - The Chemical Brothers

from Galvanize (2004) available on Brotherhood

A relative rarity within Dance music, a fully fledged piece of electronic music not related to any other (single) release, EBW7 was the 7th in a long running series that the Brothers would release in clubs - effectively white labels for dance - to test them out and gauge their reaction. Whilst this track - titled Acid Children - did not make it onto any album it has been played extensively live since 2004 and became something of a fan favourite due to its immersive live experience featuring the infamous sample from Nightmare On Elm St, see below:

42. Play With Fire - The Rolling Stones

from The Last Time (1965) available on Hot Rocks

Featuring a stellar line up of Jagger, Richards, Jack Nitzsche and Phil Spector, this is a simple almost folksy, warning shot to ladies who fancy playing games with the famous lead singer. Released as the flipside of their classic single The Last Time, it showed that Jagger & Richards were to be taken seriously and that they could do whatever the Beatles could do. Possibly their most underrated track:

41. Afro Ride - Leftfield

from Afro-Left (1995) available on Leftism (Deluxe)

A remix of an album track from their debut Leftism, taking the original African influenced track and putting a pounding house beat underneath to simple effect. However, it's the exposure that this B-side received that was important, when it was used alongside music by Orbital and Prodigy as the soundtrack to the first Wipeout racing game on the Sony Playstation. It perfectly aligned with the speed of the futuristic vehicles and a whole new generation of house and big beat kids were born:

40. Velocity Girl - Primal Scream

from Crystal Crescent (1986), available on Maximum Rock'n'Roll: The Singles

Before they discovered Ecstasy and allowed Andrew Wetherall to remix their music, the Scream were a so so jingle jangle Byrds-esque act who was part of the NME driven C86 crowd and this track, by far their best song during this period and barely more than 60 seconds long was, as the famous Velvet Underground quote goes, only heard by a few thousand but almost everyone who did started a band. Well almost:

39. Spirit - Sade

from Smooth Operator (1984), available here only

With it's funky bass and housey piano, Spirit is almost as seductive and slick as it's flipside Smooth Operator, taken from her debut Diamond Life. It's perhaps another case of rich pickings where the song left off the album is nevertheless worthy of further listening:

38. Jeane - The Smiths

from This Charming Man (1983) available on The Sound Of The Smiths

Undoubtedly one of the most influential B-sides ever and one of the chirpiest, influencing Oasis and their Britpop peers ten years later to go out and try to repeat their feat of releasing great A-sides/singles and B-sides. The happiest Smiths song?

37. Talk Tonight - Oasis

from Some Might Say (1995) available on The Masterplan

After a bad gig at LA's famous Whisky A Go Go, a hacked off Noel Gallagher stormed off determined to end the band he had tried so hard to make happen. Talked out of it by a mysterious new female friend who loved strawberry lemonade, Gallagher would go on to document some of his emotions here after excusing the band from recording duties to on his own recording Half The World Away (see number 24) and the above Talk Tonight:

36. 17 Days - Prince

from When Doves Cry (1984) available on The Hits/The B-Sides

17 Days or 17 Days (The Rain Will Come Down Then U Will Have 2 Choose. If U Believe, Look 2 The Dawn And U Shall Never Lose) to give it it's full title, making it the longest song title by Prince (by some stretch!). Undoubtedly one of his greatest B-sides, it was unlucky not to make it onto the terse nine track Purple Rain, perhaps suffering from not being bombastic enough nor directly part of the movie Prince was concocting in his mind; for that is what Purple Rain ultimately is,a soundtrack.

      It is nevertheless magnificent and a true group effort with Lisa, Wendy and Dr Fink of The Revolution fully involved in it's creation which Prince acknowledged with a rare sharing of the songwriting credits. Starting with a rolling bass line, a reggae-esque keyboard comes in before Prince laments the "17 days, 17 long nights" since his lover left him. It's a perfect 4 minutes really and almost a crime that it is only a B-side but thank goodness they existed then and it was able to be released. 

35. Careful With That Axe, Eugene - Pink Floyd

from Point Me at the Sky (1968) available on Relics

One of the first instrumentals that the Floyd wrote post Syd Bartett, CWTAE would showcase the new sound that they would forge ahead with and ultimately own, a sub-genre of rock known as space rock which also featured groups such as Hawkwind. However it was Pink Floyd who with David Gilmour and Roger Waters at the helm would go onto conquer the rock world, firstly with Meddle and Live At Pompeii and then the classics albums Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here.

 

34. Round Are Way - Oasis

from Wonderwall (1995) available here only

A joyous and galloping romp that really really should have been a single, Round Are Way received the full Noel Gallagher wall of sound before it went somewhat wayward with Be Here Now. Brass and harmonica coupled with lyrics about growing up, going to school and playing footie make this the quintessential song to like for the more learned Oasis fan. Indeed, despite being a marvellous song and being flipside to the equally magnificent Wonderwall, it failed to make a fan poll for their B-side compilation The Masterplan much to my disbelief.

33. In A Lonely Place - New Order

from Ceremony (1980) available on Substance

When New Order commenced after the suicide of Joy Division's lead singer Ian Curtis, the last two songs written and rehearsed had yet to be released and so they became their first single release. Of these it's the B-side which is closer to the original Joy Division sound, particularly the debut's slower songs. As with many of Curtis' songs, the imagery is so vivid and stark and coupled with the pedestrian low bass, provides the ultimate in melancholy:

 

32. Grumblin' Dub - The Upsetters

from Police & Thieves (1977) available on Police & Thieves

In Jamaica, the B-side of reggae 45s were often instrumental versions with a twist. Indeed they would create a whole new genre called dub and one of it's pioneers Lee "Scratch" Perry was the genius behind many of its best tracks. Perry produced the original Junior Murvin classic Police & Thieves song (and its parent album) in his famous Black Ark studio and he then took it and mixed it the next day into something different, with heavier bass, echo and the future hallmarks of what we now know as dub. Undoubtedly more B-sides (or dubs) would feature here but for the fact that I've decided to focus on the charts I know best i.e. US and UK where only a handful were released in comparison to their original Jamaica releases:

31. Bass Trap - U2

from The Unforgettable Fire (1985) available on The Unforgettable Fire

One of a number of ethereal pieces that U2 recorded for their fourth album The Unforgettable Fire that showed their desire to move away from the steady stadium rock that they felt, with some good reason, they were becoming, to something more enchanting and beguiling, no doubt in part influenced by new producers Brian Eno and his engineer Daniel Lanois who they had insisted help them carve out this new direction.

      Backed by airy soundscapes, Edge plays the most beautiful acoustic guitar of his career and it just floats along. Perhaps it was too ethereal for the album, but to this listener's ears it's a mystery as to why it didn't replace one of the inferior tracks on the album such as Promenade or 4th July.

30. Urge For Going - Joni Mitchell

from You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio (1972) available on Hits

By the time of her debut release in 1968, Joni Mitchell had had a number of her songs chart for other artists including Judy Collins, Fairport Convention and Tom Rush and it was Rush who first recorded Urge For Going, before Mitchell went on to record her own version for 1971's Blue. At the last minute, it was left off in favour of newer songs and remained unreleased until the following year's lead single You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio. 

      The track was revitalised when Mitchell chose it as the lead track from her compilation Hits in part to sell it to fans who already owned all her music. Such is the greatness of Mitchell that she could afford to write a song this good and merely tuck it away as a B-side:

29. Don't Let Me Down - The Beatles

from Get Back (1969) available on Past Masters

Somewhat of a slow burner, I don't recall this being much a played song whenever my father discussed The Beatles and the fact that it was covered so many times would attest to that. Even when The Beatles' popularity started to increase again with super fans Oasis mentioning and playing their songs - it is easy to forget that The Beatles were seen as cultural dinosaurs in the Seventies and Eighties: they were not cool at all - this wasn't one of the songs that necessarily grew with that new found adulation (unlike say The Beatles' I Am The Walrus). Its belated appearance on Let It Be...Naked ensured that it had a wider audience to appreciate it and wonder it was left off the original release of Let It Be in the first place:

28. Mersey Paradise - The Stone Roses

from She Bangs The Drums (1989) available on Turns Into Stone

The Roses at their Byrdsiest best, with singer Ian Brown reminiscing about a childhood memory where he used to play as a kid. Exhilarating, exuberant, it's songs like this that led to the term 'great b-side'!

27. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? - Prince

from 1999 (1982) available on The Hits/The B-Sides

Just Prince and the piano, as he sings entirely in falsetto about the telephone blues. Recorded whilst drinking red wine, the vino evidently relaxed Prince allowing him a defter touch as he brushed the piano keys. The song has been covered a number of times, most famously by Alicia Keys for her debut Songs In A Minor.

26. London - The Smiths

from Shoplifters of the World Unite (1987) available on Louder Than Bombs

A latter day classic for The Smiths and a reminder of how they could rock. It also shows how aware they were of the allure of London for employment, either generally or perhaps more likely for bonds as London is seen as the supposed centre of British music. Many have been tempted to move down south, including fellow Mancunians Oasis eight years later, who succumbed. Interestingly, it is one of the few Smiths songs where singer Morrissey doesn't sing in the first person, choosing to question the decision making of a man: "And do you think you've made the right decision this time?"

25. Laughing Stock - Love

from Your Mind And We Belong Together (1968) available on Forever Changes

150 seconds of sheer abandon and perhaps the ultimate in quiet/loud dynamic - 20 years before Pixies would be credited with coming up with idea - as singer/songwriter/chief Arthur Lee starts off with a slow drawl "here we are....." before the song explodes into life just before the minute mark. British DJ John Peel would famously play this song twice in a row:

24. Half The World Away - Oasis

from Whatever (1994) available on The Masterplan

With the same back story as Talk Tonight (see number 37), HTWA expressed Noel Gallagher’s frustration and disillusionment with being away from home in a band which wasn’t living up to what he’d hoped:

“you know I’d stay but I just can’t stand it”

Based on the music of Burt Bacharach’s This Guy’s In Love With You, HTWA would gain a new lease of life as the theme music to the UK sitcom The Royle Family as well as be faithfully reproduced live on Channel 4’s The White Room featuring the Modfather Paul Weller.

23. 1977 - The Clash

from White Riot (1977), available on Super Black Market Clash

A quick straight to the point no nonsense punk song that went to the heart of what punk was about, namely the here and now and how it was all going to change as everyone's had enough of "Elvis, Beatles & The Rolling Stones". As with anything time dependent - hear any Hip hop track stating the year at the beginning and it immediately sound out of date, "2003 people!" - it's objective was delivered and done soon after it had been released but just for a split second The Clash were there and ready to change the world.

22. 51st Anniversary - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

from Purple Haze (1967) available on Are You Experienced?

Written to accompany Purple Haze and before his debut, 51st Anniversary is one of the most underrated songs in the Hendrix canon. Starting off with a chugging bassline before the main swinging blues of the song kicks in, Hendrix then tells us about how couples are with each other for so long, 20 years, 38 years and "they had their fun".

Interestingly for a rock song, it's structure is very much in reverse with the chorus starting as the main groove stops just leaving the chugging bassline before Hendrix relents after hearing his girlfriend discuss marriage:

"so you, you wanna be married? you must be losing your sweet little mind!"

Listen here...

21. Under The Ivy - Kate Bush

from Running Up That Hill (1985) available on Hounds of Love

Written and recorded especially for the lead single for Kate Bush's fourth album and masterpiece Hounds of Love, Under The Ivy came to Bush very quickly. A simple vocal/piano song, it covered similar themes to other Bush songs including the recollection of a memory, nature and possible danger. It's such a simple song and yet is effortlessly powerful and vivid in its imagery. In that respect it's an extension of Hounds of Love and it stands next to it with Bush at the peak of her powers.  

20. Punky Reggae Party - Bob Marley & The Wailers

from Jamming (1977) available on Legend

A great B-side which was unlucky not to feature on the classic LP Exodus. The song came from Bob Marley's appreciation of British punks which was greatly influenced by the shared hostilities they both found they faced from society, in particular from general members of the public and the police.

1977 was the year of punk so when Marley toured the UK with his Wailers band he would pass and see British punk bands in close proximity as they shared dates and/or venues as Marley sang:

"The Wailers will be there, The Damned, The Jam, The Clash, Maytals will be there, Dr Feelgood too".

19. I Am The Walrus - The Beatles

from Hello Goodbye (1967) available on The Magical Mystery Tour

Released both as the centrepiece of The Magical Mystery Tour EP and flipside of Hello, Goodbye...

...the original appeal of I Am The Walrus was somewhat lost to subsequent generation's until a small band from Manchester called Oasis started including it in their early live sets. This culminated in an appearance by The Bootleg Beatles at Earls Court in 1995 when Oasis finished the set with a rousing cover:

18. To The Birds - Suede

from The Drowners (1992) available on Sci-Fi Lullabies

With no more B-sides, how many great songs as beautiful as this will be lost? As with several others on this list, the majestic epic To The Birds, one of Suede's greatest songs,  coupled The Drowners, Suede's debut single. In hindsight and as singer Brett Anderson attests, perhaps it should have made the album, but alas that was still a year away so...

17. Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam

from Jeremy (1992) available on Lost Dogs

An outtake from their sessions for debut Ten and the second song they ever wrote, Yellow Ledbetter is a Hendrix inspired ballad that quickly became a live favourite and a staple at their shows over the years. The lyrics are a bit of a mystery, whilst it's a bit of a mystery how it didn't make Ten in the first place and indeed some of the members were "bummed at the time" as guitar Mike McCready explained years later but like so many B-sides in the list, many a great band had 'killer' material from the off and it would be released at the time without too much thought, analysis and foresight. It is only as time passes that the idea that songs were missed or are under- (or indeed over-)rated comes to pass.

     Lyrically, the band have often joked how hard it is to decipher, which has been compounded by singer Eddie Vedder often changing the words at concerts. Overall the main basis of the song regards a friend who's died overseas in a war.

16. Pharaohs - Tears For Fears

from Everybody Wants To Rule The World (1985) available on Saturnine Martial & Lunatic

Here’s the scenario: Roland Orzabal is rolling the tape apparently doing roughly a half tempo version of the keyboards to Everybody Wants To Rule The world. A major storm is approaching the British coast and he has the weather radio on....At one point a helicopter flies overhead and Orzabal decides to leave that on the tape.. it’s a simple beautiful inspired piece, a masterpiece of a B-side and if you listen carefully to the outro…. you will hear a gentle rendering of the guitar line from Everybody Wants To Rule The World and then you see how these pieces work together:

15. Fade Away - Oasis

from Cigarettes & Alcohol (1994) / Don't Go Away (1998) available on The Masterplan / The Help Album

Noel Gallagher was a sponge for ideas, melodies, style and influences and by taking Wham!'s Freedom and adding the punk of Sex Pistols, he created the basic framework for Fade Away, one of Oasis' most beloved B-sides. Not only does it sound great, but lyrically it hits home too as Liam sings about "the dreams we have as children fade away", the line that was used as the album title for Noel Gallagher's official solo debut album, a live unplugged selection of this best songs to date.

      It was also brilliantly redone acoustically for the Help Warchild charity album, with celebrity friends Johnny Depp and Kate Moss joining in as Noel swapped lead vocals with Liam, who sang beautiful harmonies and it ended up belatedly on Don't Go Away, one of the few gems from their overblown Be Here Now LP.

14. Silver Springs - Fleetwood Mac

from Go Your Own Way (1976) available The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac

Continuing the rich pickings that Stevie Nicks found when writing about her broken romance with bandmate Lindsey Buckingham and in keeping with many of her songs on their classic Rumours LP, this track just got pipped to its final tracklisting, much to the songwriter's annoyance at the time. Perhaps the lyrics were just too personal, or perhaps a livelier track was chosen to give the album a more entertaining feel? Whatever it was, it remains a classic of Nicks and a staple in live concerts.

13. Meeting In The Aisle - Radiohead

from Karma Police (1997) available on Airbag/How Am I Driving?

Radiohead's interest in electronic music started way before Kid A as this track attests. Originally started as a doodle by guitarist Ed O'Brien during the sessions for OK Computer, Zero 7's Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker would then add programming and beats to create Radiohead's first instrumental and their first proper foray into electronic music. It was subsequently used as the entrance music before the band took the stage on their 1998 shows, replacing OK Computer's Fitter Happier. Indeed perhaps it replaced this track on the album, given how Fitter Happier was such a neat two minute encapsulation, combining all the themes on OK Computer. Whilst not about anything in particular, MITA is simply beautiful and like the very best electronic music transports you to a place of your choice and depending on your mood. Perhaps Kid A should have been less of a surprise if they had taken note of this release at the time?

12. The Living Dead - Suede

from Stay Together (1994) available on Sci-Fi Lullabies

The last recording to feature founding guitarist Bernard Butler, Stay Together would meander to over 50 recordings with both a radio edit and a longer 8 minute version released. Far more interesting were it's two B-sides, particular The Living Dead 

11. Stone Free - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

from Hey Joe (1966) available on Are You Experienced?

There will be themes that run through this article but none will be as striking as the fact that many of the best songs released as B-sides were done so on debut recordings where the artist has just signed and honed their skills enough to be set free on the music buying public. The first of these is Hendrix's debut with his band The Experience and is again one of the most famous B-sides ever, having rightly appeared next to more obvious songs on Hendrix best ofs whilst being covered a number of times. A counter-culture anthem for hippies at the time.

10 The Masterplan

       OASIS

from Wonderwall (1995) available on The Masterplan

One of Oasis' and Noel Gallagher's greatest songs perfectly summed up songwriter and Oasis' chief's strategy, other than there was no strategy at all, bar as Paul Du Noyer wrote in the linear notes to their B-side compilation The Masterplan, to 'write good songs. Oh yeah and be the biggest band in the world'. This duopoly neatly summed up Oasis: to both paradoxically come across as grafters who strove for the top but easy going lads who didn't need to try.

      There can be no better evidence of how hard they worked than their resulting B-sides from the first few years of recording. Between 1994 and 1995, practically everything they touched turned to gold, not just singles and album tracks but also the B-sides from these singles, as evidence the presence of eleven in this top 100. It is hardly a surprise that they struggled to continue this with Be Here Now and beyond. As touched upon earlier on in this article, they were buoyed by their heroes The Smiths, The Jam and The Beatles and wanted to emulate them by also taking care of their lesser known songs and not just use B-sides as spaces to release demos and half-baked songs.

      The Masterplan is a virtual Noel Gallagher solo number but unlike earlier acoustic gems, it features Alan White on drums as well as piano, brass and harmonica. Indeed is it also McCartney-esque in its anthemic whimsy and is perhaps the closest they ever got to an all out ballad:

9 Do It Clean

    ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN

from The Puppet (1980) available on Crocodiles

This feature has probably taken me more time than any other so far and it's not only the new B-sides that you discover that excite but also the ways in which you discover them that are particularly prominent. Take this early Bunnymen classic which having not grown up with their music I thought was a single having been included on their Best Ofs including the Songs To Learn And Sing compilation at the exclusion of the actual single the unremarkable The Puppet. How this initial song choice was ever made beats me but common sense has prevailed in time and whilst the single has been rightly forgotten - if not only because of it's historical significance as the third Bunnymen single - it's B-side rightly has become a live favourite with it's post-punk guitar rush and urgent questioning from singer Ian McCulloch including a clever nod to fellow scousers The Beatles: "where have you been? I've been here, I've been there. I've been here there and everywhere, here there and nowhere!"

8  Sugar Mountain

     NEIL YOUNG

from The Loner (1969) available on Decade

Written on his 19th Birthday, this gorgeous acoustic lament almost was forgotten until it was paired with his first single off his self-titled album. It's four verses were whittled down from an extraordinary 126 (!) which Young has joked about in the past; "I had a lot of trouble figuring out which four verses to use!". It was paired with a later single too as well as being included on his mid-career double LP retrospection Decade in '77. Undoubtedly the first true classic song Young wrote, even predating his few years with the Buffalo Springfield, it is still played often in concert, with its enduring appeal of lost youth and years easy to relate to.

7  Rain

     THE BEATLES 

from Paperback Writer (1966) available on Past Masters

Undoubtedly one of the most famous and revered B-sides in Pop history, with its praise surpassing it's flipside years ago, John Lennon's song - "about people moaning about the weather all the time" - was recorded in the same sessions as their classic Revolver album. It featured the same recording techniques used on that album's tracks like Tomorrow Never Knows - such as a slowed down rhythm track, a droned bass and backward vocals - as well as similar moods, particularly the hazy, psychedelic I'm Only Sleeping which Lennon also wrote. Ringo considers it his finest recorded moment.

6  Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want

     THE SMITHS

from William, It Was Really Nothing (1984) available on Hatful Of Hollow

Even for a band renowned for short terse indie gems, PPPLMGWIW is particularly short with lead singer Morrissey singing for barely more than a minute before guitarist Marr's beautifully finishes things with an extended coda. A beautiful song, it is one of best examples of what made The Smiths so great, namely how the music and lyrics complemented each other so well, with the words echoing that sometimes familiar feeling of hopelessness of what seems unobtainable and out of reach.

      The song would be covered a number of times most famously in the UK by Slow Moving Millie where it went to number 1 after being featured in John Lewis' Christmas:

5  Tattoo

      SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES

from Dear Prudence (1983) available on Spellbound - The Collection

A minimalist, experimental post-punk masterpiece, Tattoo came together as the band sought additional tracks for B-sides and were encouraged to experiment by producer Mike Hedges and in particular use the mixing desk as an instrument. Whilst its initial impact was slight, it belatedly gained recognition a decade later when Tricky covered it on his unofficial second album Nearly God and the track was seen as a foundation on which the ex-Massive Attack star forged a solo career and new sound, playing a central role in the formation of the Bristol sound some call trip-hop.

4  Acquiesce

     OASIS

from Some Might Say (1995) available on The Masterplan

An absolute monster of a song. Who else starts a concert with a B-side, but that's exactly what Oasis did with Acquiesce, see above.

After celebrating the end of 1994 with standalone single Whatever, the band took the first month of the new year off before reconvening at Britain's famous Rockfield studios in February to record the next single Some Might Say, the lead single from their next record (What's The Story?) Morning Glory. Acquiesce is quite rightly touted as the 'single that never was', indeed even Creation founder and owner thought it should have been. One of only two songs featuring lead vocals from both Gallagher brothers, it is a song about friendship but not as some suggest, about brothers

3  Thing In A Book

      UNDERWORLD

from Dark & Long (1994) available on Dubnobasswithmyheadman 

One of a number of different mixes of Dark & Long, itself the opening album track and subsequent single from Underworld's 3rd album and first in their new house techno guise, this is arguably early Underworld at their peak. Whilst the original remained relatively dormant until a club mix was used in the film Trainspotting, it's flip-side above is something else entirely, a twenty minute mix stretching out the original, who's first nine minutes was cut and featured in volume uno of the famous Cafe Del Mar series - humorously entitled Second Hand - series which became the benchmark by which all other chillout albums were compared.

      Like many B-sides this feels like an overlooked gem which is only partially offset by the love for the above Balearic classic Second Hand which is effectively Thing In A Book part one. It's full incarnation showed that Underworld weren't just about club bangers such as Born Slippy, they could create a mood and create something musically monumental and thought-provoking. Perhaps the great recent DRIFT series should then have come as no surprise to us given the hidden delights that Underworld provide if you're prepared to look below the surface.

2  Erotic City

       PRINCE

from Let's Go Crazy (1984) available on The Hits/The B-Sides

My vote for the greatest funk B-side finds his Purple highness experimenting like never before with sped up and slowed down vocals, reversed drums and a guest appearance from future associate Sheila E, whom would go onto work with as drummer of the first incarnation of The New Power Generation which played on the Sign 'O' The Times and Lovesexy tours. The original inspiration for Erotic City though  was Funkadelic Parliament whom Prince saw in concert before going straight back to the studio and spontaneously recording the song in true Prince style. Everything about George Clinton's funk supergroup can be heard in the opening bars as Prince lays down arguably the funkiest track he ever recorded and despite it's (potential) obscenity in the chorus it received substantial radio play.

1 Revolution

     THE BEATLES

from Hey Jude (1968) available on Past Masters

Perhaps the definite B-side. Lennon took Revolution 1 from their, at the time, unreleased The Beatles LP ('White Album' as it's more famously called) and sped it up with twin electric guitars and then expected it to be a single but McCartney's Hey Jude got the nod much to Lennon's chagrin. Perhaps producer George Martin's opinion that he never saw Revolution as a single dealt a telling blow to Lennon's ambition.

Bubbling under*:                 

I'm Cold  The Cure

Pick Up The Pieces Gomez                                                       

Supa Shoppa Blur

Pink Cadillac  Bruce Springsteen                                                        

Wash  Pearl Jam

Winter Wooskie  Belle and Sebastian                                                   

Fuel  Echo & The Bunnymen

Inner Light  The Beatles                                                

Hairdresser on Fire Morrissey

Bumper To Bumper  The Spice Girls     

City Of The Dead, Rockers Galore The Clash

No Bulbs  The Fall     

So Sister, All Night Long  The Verve

Sepia, Black Holes For The Young   Manic Street Preachers

Irresistible Bitch, Alexa De Paris  Prince

Aeroplane Flies High, La Dolly Vita  The Smashing Pumpkins

Love Comes Tumbling Down, Three Sunrises  U2

He's Dead, Where The Pigs Don't Fly, Europe Is Our Playground  Suede

Going Nowhere, Let's All Make Believe, Listen Up, Underneath The Sky, The Swamp Song   Oasis

Find The Cost Of Freedom  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Recurring Dream  Crowded House

*Includes those few B-sides which I've discovered since the article was written (in italics above)

Ranking Criteria;

I only allowed tracks on single releases that followed these 5 rules:

1. Did not feature on the single's parent album e.g Queen's We Will Rock You and The Beach Boys' God Only Knows (which meant in reality there were singles).

2. Were not featured as a double A-side such as The Stone Roses' Fool's Gold and The Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever.

3. Were not solely part of an E.P.; otherwise quite frankly the entire Magical Mystery Tour E.P. by The Beatles would have been included.

4. Were not subsequently released as a single later in life e.g. U2's The Sweetest Thing, New Order's 1963 and The Smith's How Soon Is Now?

5. Were not covers e.g. Scooch's cover of Maybe Tomorrow et al

And lastly, remixes could not be considered if they were hits in their own right (in line with the 4th point above; this ruled out lots of dance tracks).

Legacy

      The legacy for me are the stories that brought each and every one of the above tracks to fruition and the trials and tribulations that came about through these tracks getting made. Some B-sides influenced musicians to better themselves (The Beatles, The Smiths), some provided social commentary (Phuture, Bob Marley & The Wailers), some even created whole new genres (Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Siouxsie & The Banshees) and many were brilliant, bold and daring one offs that'll never been done again.

      Each is a treat in their own right, a window into an artist's eye when the pressure wasn't on, when they could be themselves. The music industry is poorer without B-sides but we can look back with fondness on what an exciting and thriving time it was for music in general.