Post by gremashlo on Jul 5, 2010 9:22:31 GMT -5
Timing is everything in life.
In looking at the lost art of "B" sides, one item of note is that they were not supposed to draw attention away from the "A" side, which was the side intended to make the money and rack up sales. They were either failed album tracks, poorly written doggerel or messy studio jams--and rarely were they inspired.
Which brings us to..."Our 'B' Side" by Three Dog Night.
This song (the flip to "Shambala", a great song that went to #3), was rushed into production because ABC wanted to release "Shambala", and quick. So, the group decided to record their own song as the flip, despite the fact that the group was rarely allowed to write their own songs--their skill was in reinterpreting cover songs and other artists' work, and their management did not want to mess up a good thing. This ticked the group off to no end, as they thought that they had it in them to write their own music (sadly, that is the main criticism of the group, that they did NOT write music and relied on ABC/Dunhill to buy the best songs available)...But, they saw an opportunity, and in 20 minutes "Our 'B' Side" was done.
I had a brief 'web site' conversation with former "Dog" Chuck Negron, and he wrote that this song was one of his favorites with the group, as it showed their creativity, and because their family members sing backup. And you can tell they are having fun. Sadly, it has only come out once in a compilation (Celebrate) and was never released as an album track.
I love the song because it knows exactly what it is--a song created simply to take up space, with the perfect "please, don't play me!" title, performed by artists who were confident in the "A" side's success that they could enjoy themselves..and the lyrics are a hoot. "Here it is, our big break baby/Here it is--our "B" side baby!/Someday we'll write an "A" side, baby..."
In looking at the lost art of "B" sides, one item of note is that they were not supposed to draw attention away from the "A" side, which was the side intended to make the money and rack up sales. They were either failed album tracks, poorly written doggerel or messy studio jams--and rarely were they inspired.
Which brings us to..."Our 'B' Side" by Three Dog Night.
This song (the flip to "Shambala", a great song that went to #3), was rushed into production because ABC wanted to release "Shambala", and quick. So, the group decided to record their own song as the flip, despite the fact that the group was rarely allowed to write their own songs--their skill was in reinterpreting cover songs and other artists' work, and their management did not want to mess up a good thing. This ticked the group off to no end, as they thought that they had it in them to write their own music (sadly, that is the main criticism of the group, that they did NOT write music and relied on ABC/Dunhill to buy the best songs available)...But, they saw an opportunity, and in 20 minutes "Our 'B' Side" was done.
I had a brief 'web site' conversation with former "Dog" Chuck Negron, and he wrote that this song was one of his favorites with the group, as it showed their creativity, and because their family members sing backup. And you can tell they are having fun. Sadly, it has only come out once in a compilation (Celebrate) and was never released as an album track.
I love the song because it knows exactly what it is--a song created simply to take up space, with the perfect "please, don't play me!" title, performed by artists who were confident in the "A" side's success that they could enjoy themselves..and the lyrics are a hoot. "Here it is, our big break baby/Here it is--our "B" side baby!/Someday we'll write an "A" side, baby..."
