I can still remember going out to get the 12-inch of "U Got The Look" when it was first relased and just about having a heart attack when I saw that "Housequake" was being wasted on the B-side! WTF happened?

Simple: It was too funky to be a single.

Leave some of the best stuff for the albums! That's how it works.

Forgive me for asking, but what is an A-side and what is a B-side?

doctamario said:

Are you for real? I dont know maybe you're a youngster. Well back in the day with records and tapes and even 8 tracks they had two sides you could play, A and B. As far as singles went, you had a main single (side a) and a song thrown on the other side (side B) some people had the extended and radio versions on the two sides and some put different songs. Hope I explained it well.

Yes, I'm young and new to Prince. So everything on the whole third disk of the Hits/the B-sides was all previously released on the records and tapes, but not the CD versions?

Kinda, but it doesn't strictly mean those songs were unavailable on CD. 'A' and 'B' sides, in the literal sense, were the 2 sides of the single. For example, "Let's Go Crazy" was the "A-side" of that single and "Erotic City" was the "B-side." But B-Sides, in the CD age when there was only one physical side, just meant the other tracks on the single. For Prince, those B-sides are special because they were only available on singles. For example, again, "Let's Go Crazy" was released as a vinyl 7" single (the smaller vinyl records), but it was also available on the 'Purple Rain' album. "Erotic City," however, was only a B-side. It never appeared on any Prince album (until 'The Hits/The B-Sides'). Prince put a lot of his best songs on B-Sides. Those songs, not available on any of his albums, are what's on the third disc of 'The Hits.'

As it relates to this thread, the song "Housequake" was put on the b-side of the "U Got The Look" single. What that means, and what Averett is saying, is that the label chose to release "U Got The Look" as a single to radio, while "Housequake" was stuck as the b-side and would not be promoted. It didn't wind up on the 'Hits/B-Sides' album because it was also available on the album 'Sign 'O' The Times'. The third disc of the 'Hits' was strictly for b-sides that had never been released on any album.

If any of the above doesn't make any sense, just ask! I guess for younger listeners growing up in the digital download age, 'a' and 'b' sides are obsolete.

"Housequake" is still the shit!

That's exactly what I wanted to know. You answered the question perfectly. Thanks a lot.

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kdj997 said:

8 Tracks didn't have a B side. It played straight through in 4 different "programs".