WHY ON EARTH did Prince feel that these were only worthy as throwaway songs?

- Erotic City
- Irresistable Bitch
- Always In My Hair

and all those other amazing songs. WHY oh WHY did he think, "aww, only the fools that buy the single would really be interested in something like this..."

OR was it, "OH, this is just too damn good to put in with a bunch of other songs... I'll have to hide this on the flip side of a hit that most people won't appreciate because they're spoon-fed idiots who buy whatever is hot on the radio".

Or maybe it's just my meds wearing off...

otan said:

I dont think "Erotic City" wouldve fit on Purple Rain..

Irresistable Bitch i agree shouldve been put in place of "All The Critics Love U In NY" (and All The Critics a B-Side).

and She's Always In My Hair wouldve REALLY benefit being in place of "Temptation" or "Condition Of The Heart"

Hell no , i think "Condition of the heart" is great !

paisleypark4 said:

Erotic City wasn't even meant for Purple Rain anyway, so it wouldn't have gone on there regardless. Irresistible Bitch (the released version) was recorded AFTER 1999 and the demo version sure as hell wouldn't have fit on 1999 at all. She's Always In My Hair in place of Temptation or Condition Of the Heart? Hmmmm. See, that's when you pull out your cd burner and have at it, cuz I think ATWIAD just isn't the right place for that song.

There was a point to the b-sides. He never considered them throwaways and that's why he's performed almost all of them live.
[Edited 9/28/04 13:47pm]

I think it would have fitted nicely tho , it's a bit psychedelic i think .
[Edited 9/28/04 13:52pm]

paisleypark4 said:

I don't really agree with your choices here, but the reason he would put incredible unreleased songs as B sides is that he has always been( and still is ) aware of building legends about himself as a rock star

I guess they didn't fit what Prince was trying to compile at that time.

But, let's face it, there isn't really much 1978-88 that wasn't touched by gold.

Spinlight said:

I didnt think AWTWIAD was right for "Raspberry Beret" either. So in that case "She's Always In My Hair" wouldve been mighty fine right above it.


Condition Of The Heart is BOOORING. Good lawdm, time after time i try and listen 2 that song and just NO...its too long and dull..and WHY did it have to be song #3?? I mean im on my psychadelic funk trance then all of a sudden this mess is put on.

paisleypark4 said:

yeah I agree

These three were just examples - I'm not looking for specifics about each individual song... but the backstory does help with Irresistible Bitch.

But I'm talking in general here. He's put out some amazing B-Side stuff, "Feel U Up", "Shockadelica", (altho I know Shockadelica was just to bust up on Jesse) and more and more... why do you think he holds on to some of these? Like this debate about replacing some of the spacier stuff on ATWIAD... WHY would you put stuff on ATWIAD but think, "oh, NOO! I couldn't pollute ATWIAD with "She's Always In My Hair"! That's some b-material there. Shit - the first time I ever heard that cut, I was in a disco on acid for the first time and thought I'd gone to heaven.

Not that I condone the use of drugs, because they're bad. Just say no. No, thank you.

"But, let's face it, there isn't really much 1978-88 that wasn't touched by gold."


Let's face it- Their are actually a few crap songs that came out then as well. Prince fans are notorious for over romanticising this era.

skywalker said:

Cosign.

skywalker said:

Despite our wording, we both agree there are a small number of songs during this period that were shite.

Care to name the ones you consider superfluous? (Just out of interest)

"b-side" doesn't equal "throwaway" -- just another medium to release it when restricted to a 45-minute album a year

otan said:

ok like 2day i went thru my dads old stack of 45's i found always in my hair on vinyl with raspberry beret so what does it count as a single

My understanding is that sometimes a song will be so personal, Prince will opt to use it as a B-side. At least that is what I read of "She's Always In My Hair"

Averett said:

where u got that there from

Prince is smart. You have to put a good song on the B Side to make the fans who have the albums continue to buy the 45s, 12 Inches, etc.

If the first B Side I ever heard was "Alexa de Paris", I would have never bought another 45.

Actually i like that one , especially the 12 Inch.

Also sounds good on 33RPM , should try that y'all , ít's strange but it actually sounds good like that .
[Edited 9/28/04 19:44pm]

True story: my first exposure to Prince was the song How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?

I purchased both Controversy and 1999 attempting to get a copy of this song!

When I got my hands on Controversy I fell in love with the entire album and didn't really mind that I didn't have HCYDCMA, and was really fascinated at the vibe it contained.

1999 was more of the same... got my hands on this album and was just pleasantly surprised at the depth of music contained, and found new songs such as Free and Something in the Water.... I never did find a copy of HCYDCMA as it was replaced as the official b-side of 1999 pretty quickly.

That one b-side has led to a lifetime obession of mine... which ain't a bad bit of marketing. I do know that I made it a habit back in the days of vinyl of snatching up the 12" singles like candy.

"...snatching up kids like a circus clown!"

ABeautifulOne said:

From the booklet to "The Hits".... Though that is not quite the case as Prince has very rarely used an overly personal song as a b-side. "She's Always In My Hair" might be the only one that I personally know of.

kmc said:

I have it

i think it just demonstrates Prince's profeciency at the time. he was writing a billion songs a day and the majority of it was great. I think it was a way of giving the listener a taste of his diversity that one album a year could not fullfill.

Averett said:

Sure u didn't read that somewhere?

vainandy said:

You've got it.
That's why.
And it worked brilliantly.
When I heard GIRL (Bside of America) I knew I would always be buying singles AND albums....

Fleshofmyflesh said:

Isn't it funny how a song as simple as "Girl" is sooooo addictive/awesome?

I think the b-sides have always had their own legacy. They ALL rock! I don't think he ever concidered them throwaways. Just something that either didn't fit onto the album as a whole or he completed the song after the album was too far into production. OR just another marketing ploy to make you want to buy every single thing released with the color purple.

Spinlight said:

Indeed. That song puts me under every time I hear it. It's like it honestly gets better each time. Guess we shoulda started a GIRL APPRECIATION THREAD....

vivid said:

Sorry for not being more clear, I read it in the booklet that came with the "The Hits /The B-Sides" 3-CD collection.

The B sides are what made me want to buy everything. The first 12 inch I got was let's go crazy with the movie mix and erotic city on the back. From then on I had to buy the singles to get the killer songs on the B sides