The Perfect Single
Your nominations please for perfect 7" singles. I've picked 3 fairly obvious ones to start with.
Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane - The Beatles
Lennon and McCartney both on peak form. George Martin plays a blinder too. Some people point out the edit 1 minute into SFF as a flaw. I think it adds to the all round psychedelic magnificence.
I Get Around/Don't Worry Baby - The Beach Boys
On the one hand: We always take my car 'cos it's never been beat, and we've never missed yet with the girls we meet.
On the other hand: I guess I should've kept my mouth shut when I started to brag about my car, but I can't back down now 'cos I pushed the other guys too far.
I Want You/Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (live) - Bob Dylan
A time capsule of Dylan in 1966, a track from Blonde On Blonde and a live recording with The Band/Hawks.
- More from Dr.Robert.
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Two more fab Fabs pairings
Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out
Paperback Writer/Rain
Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane is the clear winner but...
I always liked Honky Tonk Women b/w You Can't Always Get What You Want.
Thirty plus years on it's a struggle to remember which was the "A" side.
Something you can say about a lot of the Beatles catalogue
Something/ Come Together
Hey Jude/Revolution
It's a very long time since I saw any of those records so forgive me if I've misremembered the exact details.
An album of Beatles B Sides would be better than most bands greatest hits.
One or two
A Mess Of Blues/The Girl Of My Best Friend - Elvis Presley, 1960
I Never Loved A Man/Do Right Woman - Aretha Franklin, 1967
Thanks for reminding me, Lucas
The Aretha is a serious contender, agreed, but for Elvis I've just remembered one that for my money is an even stronger pairing: "Little Sister" b/w "His Latest Flame".
Elvis/Sam Cooke
Seconded. His Latest Flame/Little Sister, definitely one of Elvis' best pairings.
Shake/A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke. Otis Redding liked this pairing enough to cover both sides on Otis Blue.
Elvis
His Latest Flame/Little Sister - I knew there was another one, but I'd been up since 5am and my mind was going...
But my single of His Latest Flame.....
......has Can't Help Falling in Love on t'other side. It was fab 30 years ago and it's fab now.
What, no...
...Rock-A-Hula Baby?
AC/DC
Highway To Hell / If You Want Blood (You've Got It)
Rock... and... roll.
YES
truly brilliant release
Some suggestions
(i) Happy together - The Turtles (Challenge: put it on and don't join in on the chorus)
(ii) I'm a Believer - anyone one can cover this and it still sounds like a hit.
(iii) Hey Ya - OutKast ("shake it like a Polaroid picture")
(iv) You're Gorgeous - Baby Bird
(v) Beautiful Day - U2 (say what you like about them but a thousand sport producers can't be wrong)
Beautiful Day
A thousand sport producers who can spot a hook stolen from A-ha when they hear it!
Elvis Costello
I Want You/I Hope You're Happy Now
EC at his nastiest and best.
Tha Clash
London Calling/Armagiddeon Time
I'll always think of these two songs as conjoined. As a youth I would flip it like a pancake for whole evenings.
More Clash
Good call, Simon. Also excellent and conjoined in my mind - Complete Control / City of the Dead - both produced by Lee Perry I think?
my twopenneth's worth...
bohemian rhapsody / i'm in love with my car (1975) - Queen
smells like teen spirit / anuerysm (1991) - Nirvana
Do It Again
Fire In The Hole
The Dan.
There She Goes by The La's
Thirty years of pop music distilled into three minutes; timeless and brilliant.
Proved
Scientifically (ish): http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/oped/two_minutes_and_42_seconds_i...
2 more with top-notch b-sides
Beatles - Hello Goodbye/I Am The Walrus
Smiths - William It Was Really Nothing/How Soon Is Now? (or with Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want on alternative 7" or even both on 12" - we're not allowed those I know). Another rare type of band who made great b-sides.
Ghost Town, The Specials
"Ghost Town" / "Friday night, Saturday morning" & "Why?"
80's selection
The Jam Absolute Beginners / Tales From the Riverbank
Laurie Anderson O Superman / Walk the Dog
Soft Cell Where The Heart Is / It's A Mug's Game
Morrissey Suedehead / I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
Specials again
A Message To You Rudy/Nite Klub - cracking b-side, as good as a-side.
Also further Jam - Strange Town/Butterfly Collector.
Strange Town/Butterfly Collector
Good call on Butterfly Collector.
I'll third that one
Probably their best A/B-side combo, though
When You're Young/Smithers-Jones
wasn't too shabby either
Oh...
... and David Watts/A-Bomb In Wardour Street
Going Underground/Dreams Of Children
Gets my vote - the bass note right at the end of G/O blew up my first stereo back in the early 80s.
Start/Liza Radley is a pretty good pairing too.
Bruce's bombastic bass
We used to have one of those corner glass cupboards in our front room. That bass note at the end of Going Underground would make the glasses rattle.
Going Underground
.. is the first record I ever bought with my own money and so has a very special place.
3 more
Some great choices, including some I'd forgotten.
Here are 3 more:
Tears Of A Clown/Tracks Of My Tears - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Little Red Rooster/Off The Hook - The Rolling Stones
So It Goes/Heart Of The City - Nick Lowe
Some Might Say
I've always thought the Some Might Say EP by Oasis sums up everything that's great (or once was) about Oasis.
Some Might Say
Talk Tonight
Acquiesce
Headshrinker
4 belters all on one single. Even Noel has admitted it's the single which defines Oasis.
Agreed
It's their best release by far. Talk Tonight and Acquiesce are just an amazing pairing. Noel really was on form at that point.
How about
Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen/Did You No Wrong. B side gem.
Elvis Costello - Olivers Army/My Funny Valentine. Proper pop song and a dark cover version.
The Smiths - William It Was Really Nothing/How Soon Is Now?/Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want. 3 of the best Smiths moments on one 12" single. Beat that.
William
The William 12" really is a perfect record, arguably their peak along with their Top of the Pops performance of How Soon is Now? six months later...no?
If we're talking great singles with great b-sides
We can't let Itchycoo Park/I'm Only Dreaming pass unmentioned. The a-side's very well-known. Don't think the b side is though and it should be: The Small Faces at their best
Rock and Roll Part 1/Rock
Rock and Roll Part 1/Rock and Roll Part 2 - Gary Glitter
My perfect Punk 7"...
The Rezillos: My Baby Does Good Sculptures / Flying Saucer Attack
A sides that were originally on the b-side
Mississippi Delta/Ode To Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry
Harlem/Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
DJ power
The Bobbie Gentry one was flipped because more DJs "picked up" on Billy Joe rather than Mississippi Delta. Both great songs though. Wasn't it reasonably common in America in the old days for both sides of a single to attain a chart position, because the charts were based on airplay as well as sales? Or if one side failed to catch on it was "flipped"?
Diana Ross's I'm Still Waiting was only released as a single because Tony Blackburn heard it on the album and told Motown if they issued it as a single he'd make it his Record of the Week. It got to No.1. Never a single in America.
Another...
...A side that was originally on the B side:
Reason To Believe/Maggie May - Rod Stewart
My copy clearly labels Maggie May as the B side.
Someone really ought to say this
Obvious, but...
Backed with Bill Monroe's Blue Moon Of Kentucky, the original radical marriage of country and r&b.
Of course...
...sometimes the obvious needs to be pointed out!
Hank
Hank Williams entire output predated this and so it can't claim any originality.
Hank
I'm sure you're right. Any particularly good examples?
Layla/Bell Bottom Blues
Not a bad pairing, you have to admit. BBB is the great Clapton song to these ears, while Layla has the best intro argument (http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/beginning) taped.
What Do I Get?
What Do I Get?/Oh Shit by the Buzzcocks. 30 years ago!
Perfect timing
... and one second short of the "perfect" 3 minutes as well. This one gets my vote.
Singles
If we're talking mostly A-sides, then surely Motown 1964-67 had the biggest string of perfect 45s ever?
Motown Singles
It's the A side B side combo, where both sides could have been the A side, that makes for a perfect single. Having said that, there must be a fair few amongst those Motown singles that qualify. Unfortunately, my knowledge of classic Motown is based on compilations and re-issues which put 2 hits on 1 single.
Stoned Love / Shine On Me by The Supremes
Shine On Me's even got backwards guitar on it and that great "psychedelic" vocal blending and phasing that some Motown records did in the late '60s. Tricky to judge what exactly constitutes a Motown single in that they were released at different times in different countries with different combinations of songs. My copy of The Four Tops I Can't Help Myself for example, a British release, has Baby I Need Your Loving - another American hit a side - on the b side so it doesn't really count. The Stoned Love/ Shine On Me single though was a genuine contemporary a/b combo.
What about...
...all those singles that have a Part 1 on one side and a Part 2 on the other? I'm thinking of Ray Charles' What'd I Say, The Isley Brothers' Shout (I think) and things like this:
http://redkelly.blogspot.com/
2 parters
A large portion of James Brown's singles discography would qualify.
Surely, surely, surely
The most perfect single EVER has to be...
Be My Baby by the Ronettes...
I'll also leave you with another couple of pure pop belters
Stand and Deliver by Adam and the Ants
and
Don't You Want Me by The Human League
Homer once said that everyone knew that rock music attained perfection in 1973. Pop music hit the peak in 1981
What could be more perfect
MIKE OLDFIELD
Moonlight Shadow/Rite of Man
Some southern soul classics
You Better Move On/A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues - Arthur Alexander, 1961
Mustang Sally/Three Time Loser - Wilson Pickett, 1966
The Road Of Love/She Ain't Gonna Do Right - Clarence Carter, 1967
Snatching It Back/Making Love (At The Dark End Of The Street) - Clarence Carter, 1969
Proud Mary/What Am I Living For - Solomon Burke, 1969
I believe they were all recorded in that magic decade at FAME studios, Muscle Shoals.
I could happily switch any of those round so the B side was the A side, or vice versa.
Ian Dury
Just about any of his Stiff singles...
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/Razzle In My Pocket
Sweet Gene Vincent/You're More Than Fair
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick/There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards.
And while we're at Stiff...
Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World/Semaphore Signals
Max Wall - England's Glory/Dream Tobacco.
You just beat me to it!
Hit me/Clever Bastards - perfect
No Woman No Cry/Kinky Reggae is another one I wore out
Supergrass
Caught by the Fuzz/Strange Ones - perfectly fine
Jumping Jack Flash
paired with Child Of The Moon - one THE great lost song Stones songs..
Deadend Street/Big Black Smoke - The Kinks
My first record, both A & B side demonstrating Ray Davies' huge talent for Social Realism. Big Black Smoke covered the same territory as McCartney's She's Leaving Home but from the perspective of the girl. Tremendous stuff.
Wot no Chic???????
My favorite? Good Times by Chic (Warm Summer Night on the b side, sexy as hell)
I have a vague theory that happy tune + sad words = pop classic.
My evidence are things like Help, Tears Of A Clown and pretty much everything Chic did apart from Le Freak and Dance Dance Dance (Yowsa Yowsa Yowsa).
Now back to work...apologies for the rather poor grammar.
Good times
I agree. A while ago I suggested that this was a banker at any disco.
Del Amitri's.........
Roll to Me - such a perfect single - happy, concise, jangly and feelgood.
Also, Cum on Feel the Noize by Slade
Hungry Heart by Brucey (not Forsyth)
and of course Starman by Mr Bowie....
HA !
Carmen
The Raspberries Overnight Sensation. A serious contender for the title of The Perfect Single. It really does take some beating. Beatles, Stones, Dylan et al - hang your heads in shame. This is where it's at, man.
The perfect flop
"Strawberry Fields"/"Penny Lane" was the Fabs' first chart disappointment - it was blocked from the No. 1 slot by Engelbert Humperdinck's unassailable "Release Me".
The bizarreness of that can probably only be matched by another surprising non-No.1: the GROAT itself, The Ronettes' "Be My Baby". It couldn't get past this in America:
Good. Grief.
You Dancin`
ABC Poison Arrow/Theme From Mantrap. A brilliant idea turned on its head.
Ian Dury
Hit me with your rhythm stick / there ain't half been some clever b*st*rds
one of my first encounters with swearing