Manifesting as an ‘MTV Ready’ generational icon, before MTV was even a thing; his name was Prince, aka ‘The Purple Yoda from the heart of Minnesota.'

Unlike anyone else before or since, Prince defied the pigeonholes of musical categorization common within the music industry, and through a combination of his innate talent, hard graft, imagination, business sense and personal artistic bravery, did things his way throughout his career.

His songs tackled love, sex, lust, religion and society with unflinching honesty and equal abandon, challenging racial divides, and redefined masculinity through his flamboyant persona and lyrics.
He’s responsible for the ultimate ‘Hold My Beer’ moment in the entire history of pop music, the greatest Super Bowl Halftime Show to date and was identified as the only entertainer in the world Eddie Murphy said he’d willingly swap places with, in an interview promoting his ‘Trading Places’ movie in 1983.

He created the Minneapolis Sound, championed real music by real musicians, was a pioneer of DIY music creation and WFH, and became the catalyst for the PMRC Filthy 15 playlist and their ‘Parental Advisory Explicit Content’ stickers.

He had song titles that could have been Bond Girl names to rival Pussy Galore. He wrote songs about the sort of girls you didn’t take home to mother. Songs about the sort of girls your mother warned you about and songs about the sort of girls you wanted to meet. Songs with stories to tell…
Many acts dream of creating an album that’s ‘all killer and no filler’, Prince did this repeatedly and he did so with songs to spare. These spare songs invariably ended up either gifted to other artists, collecting dust in his vault or were shared with us, as B-sides.

31 new songs as B-sides in total, enough for a further 3 albums.

Some of the 31 tracks will almost certainly have gone under the radar of anyone who bought into the prevailing media narrative on Prince’s music post the 80s. Fixated on the rise of hip-hop and grunge, or in the case of the UK, on Britpop too; indolent music critics painted a picture of his music being in a creative decline. This narrative of creative malaise and that ‘Prince was over’ was subsequently eclipsed by Prince’s battle with Warner Bros. and both tabloid and music media journalists could mock the name change to ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Prince’, to gain easy editorial quick wins. In doing so, these music journalists not only highlighted their scant appreciation for Prince's stance but also for the broader implications it had for all artists. This blinkered outlook lacked recognition of Prince’s undeniable dedication to evolving his musicianship and exposed a tin ear to his actual musical output. A failing exacerbated by a lack of appreciation that he wasn’t always chasing another hit, and / or, a lack of exposure to having seen him live, tearing up the stage with the NPG. A place he continued to outperform, all comers, throughout his career.

Far from mere throwaways, Prince's B-sides were akin to what we now call Easter eggs on DVDs and computer games and depending upon the choice of A-side they resided on, sometimes the ‘B’ of B-side really should have stood for ‘best’ side. Each of the 31 songs is listed here with background details where known, and sprinkled with thoughts, personal anecdotes and recollections, as I have marked my life and times by whichever Prince songs were out at the time.

I’ll end this Prince paean now, safe in the knowledge we will never witness such a unique confluence of innate musical talent and circumstance again. Between 1958 - 2016, Minnesota, the record industry, culture, religion, society, technology, family, lovers, friends, and fellow musicians all coalesced in one way or another, to help form a true unicorn of a human being among us. There’ll never be another like him, which is why I am confident in my conviction to give this book the title I have: Prince – King of B-sides.

By Matt Osgood

249 pages
Out September 6.
Kindle US$9.84 or paperback US$19.99

[Edited 9/8/24 9:19am]

Sounds interesting. I plan to pick this up.

peedub said:

Sold. Nice cover, too. Gimme a link. It's not on Amazon... [Edited 9/8/24 12:37pm] [Edited 9/8/24 12:40pm]

Note: The book is in English.

Australia link: https://www.amazon.com.au...0DGDCHQ92/

Brazil link: https://www.amazon.com.br...0DFD3KRT7/

Canada link: https://www.amazon.ca/Pri...0DGDCHQ92/

France link: https://www.amazon.fr/Pri...0DFD3KRT7/

Germany link: https://www.amazon.de/-/e...0DGDCHQ92/

Italy link: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0DGDCHQ92/

Japan link: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0DFD3KRT7

Mexico link: https://www.amazon.com.mx...0DGDCHQ92/

Netherlands link: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0DGDCHQ92/

Poland link: https://www.amazon.pl/dp/B0DGDCHQ92/

Spain link: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0DGDCHQ92/

Sweden link: https://www.amazon.se/dp/B0DGDCHQ92/

Turkey link: https://www.amazon.com.tr/dp/B0DGDCHQ92

US link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFD3KRT7/

UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DFD3KRT7/

1,341 in Erotic Literature & Fiction

Sounds interesting.

Thank you for the info and links.

Ordered it.

Can anyone name the 31 b-sides?

I only counted 29 from my foggy memory

nayroo2002 said:

Fishpaw's list from the old org link:

1 Gotta Stop (Messin' About) (2:54)
2 How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? (3:50)
3 Horny Toad (2:12)
4 Irresistible Bitch (4:11)
5 17 Days (3:54)
Erotic City (edit) (3:55)
6 Erotic City (7:24)
7 God (4:02)
8 God (Instrumental) (7:47)
Another Lonely Christmas (edit) (4:51)
9 Another Lonely Christmas (6:47)
She's Always in My Hair (edit) (3:27)
10 She’s Always In My Hair (6:48)
Hello (edit) (3:23)
11 Hello (6:38)
Girl (edit) (3:47)
12 Girl (7:36)
Love or Money (edit) (3:57)
13 Love Or Money (6:50)
Alexa De Paris (edit) (3:20)
14 Alexa De Paris (4:54)
La, La, La, He, He, Hee (edit) (3:21)
15 La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (10:32)
Shockadelica (3:30)
16 Shockadelica (6:12)
Escape (3:30)
17 Escape (6:26)
Scarlet Pussy (edit) (4:18)
18 Scarlet Pussy (6:09)
19 200 Balloons (5:05)
Feel U Up (Short Stroke) (3:44)
20 Feel U Up (Long Stroke) (6:30)
21 I Love U In Me (4:12)
22 Sex (7:01)
23 Loveleft, Loveright (5:39)
24 Horny Pony (4:17)
25 Violet the Organ Grinder (4:59)
26 Do Your Dance (5:58)
27 Rock And Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis) (4:34)
28 When Will We B Paid? (4:07)
1+1+1=3 (live) (5:51)
29 Magnificent (4:30)
30 Silver Tongue (4:56)
31 The United States Of Division (6:18)

"The Lubricated Lady/Get Off" surely could be considered.

"Get Some Solo" and a couple from the 'Cream' EP, too?

It get's a bit blurry, I guess.

We'll see what the auther of this book chose!

12 Girl (7:36)

-

We almost never talk about this wonderful, almost forgotten track.

It's haunting rhythm, the melodically flow, the yearning, it's all so pure classic Prince.

It should've been on that album, and preferably even longer...

nayroo2002 said:

Fishpaw's list from the old org link:

1 Gotta Stop (Messin' About) (2:54)
2 How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? (3:50)
3 Horny Toad (2:12)
4 Irresistible Bitch (4:11)
5 17 Days (3:54)
Erotic City (edit) (3:55)
6 Erotic City (7:24)
7 God (4:02)
8 God (Instrumental) (7:47)
Another Lonely Christmas (edit) (4:51)
9 Another Lonely Christmas (6:47)
She's Always in My Hair (edit) (3:27)
10 She’s Always In My Hair (6:48)
Hello (edit) (3:23)
11 Hello (6:38)
Girl (edit) (3:47)
12 Girl (7:36)
Love or Money (edit) (3:57)
13 Love Or Money (6:50)
Alexa De Paris (edit) (3:20)
14 Alexa De Paris (4:54)
La, La, La, He, He, Hee (edit) (3:21)
15 La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (10:32)
Shockadelica (3:30)
16 Shockadelica (6:12)
Escape (3:30)
17 Escape (6:26)
Scarlet Pussy (edit) (4:18)
18 Scarlet Pussy (6:09)
19 200 Balloons (5:05)
Feel U Up (Short Stroke) (3:44)
20 Feel U Up (Long Stroke) (6:30)
21 I Love U In Me (4:12)
22 Sex (7:01)
23 Loveleft, Loveright (5:39)
24 Horny Pony (4:17)
25 Violet the Organ Grinder (4:59)
26 Do Your Dance (5:58)
27 Rock And Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis) (4:34)
28 When Will We B Paid? (4:07)
1+1+1=3 (live) (5:51)
29 Magnificent (4:30)
30 Silver Tongue (4:56)
31 The United States Of Division (6:18)

"The Lubricated Lady/Get Off" surely could be considered.

"Get Some Solo" and a couple from the 'Cream' EP, too?

It get's a bit blurry, I guess.

We'll see what the auther of this book chose!

I thought U Make My Sun Shine / When Will We B Paid? was a double-A side?

Prince's B-sides alone are better than most artists' entire career. Bold statement, but it's true.

nayroo2002 said:

Fishpaw's list from the old org link:

Hello (edit) (3:23)
11 Hello (6:38)

Like Questlove, I was really surprised (back in 1993) to discover that "Hello" Edit had a total different ending.

Ramzoo said:

nayroo2002 said:

Fishpaw's list from the old org link:

Hello (edit) (3:23)
11 Hello (6:38)

Like Questlove, I was really surprised (back in 1993) to discover that "Hello" Edit had a total different ending.

It's almost like two different songs!

This is a proper edit compared to just "...fade the shit out..."

liverpool86 said:

Reissue the lot on CD'S from the original tapes, no vinyl rips lol.

This should actually be the next release, dammit!!!

Vannormal said:

nayroo2002 said:

Can anyone name the 31 b-sides?

I only counted 29 from my foggy memory

There are more than the 31, some songs like Get Off, Lubricated Lady & various Cream spin-offs that were left off but are still b-sides & yet Violet The Organ Grinder & Escape made it lol

nayroo2002 said:

Can anyone name the 31 b-sides?

I only counted 29 from my foggy memory

I can!!

lol

spent all summer writing about them

30 Prince written songs and 1 cover

[Edited 9/15/24 2:43am]

BEAUGARDE said:

nayroo2002 said:

Can anyone name the 31 b-sides?

I only counted 29 from my foggy memory

There are more than the 31, some songs like Get Off, Lubricated Lady & various Cream spin-offs that were left off but are still b-sides & yet Violet The Organ Grinder & Escape made it lol

You're right but I wanted to focus on the songs not the mixes and I explain this in the book, under 'Reading Notes' but as you've raised a good and valid point, I'll share an excerpt here to explain my selection approach:

Prince - King of B-sides

I have counted a ‘B-side’ as a song that is a new song, one that first lived as a Prince B-side. This discounts any B-sides that were album tracks or mix derivatives of the A-side.

This has meant for some non-scientific subjectivity in song selection on my part. My guiding principle in this selection has been whether the B-side in question could have been either an A-side in its own right and / or sat alongside the A-side, it is a derivative of, on the album the A-side came from. If it could have been an A-side, it is included here. If, however, it would not reasonably have been on the same album as the A-side it is a derivative of, it is not included here.

For example, whilst a B-side on the ‘Cream’ (1991) maxi-single, I have not covered an instrumental like ‘2 The Wire (Creamy Instrumental)’ nor have I covered remixes such as ‘Do Your Dance (K.C.’s Remix) or ‘Housebangers’, they are all too derivative of ‘Cream’ but from the ‘Gett Off’ (1991) maxi-single release I have included songs such as ‘Gangster Glam’ and ‘Violet The Organ Grinder’ because these two tracks are substantially differentiated enough from the original A-side to count as new songs. Another example would be from 1992 ‘2 Whom It May Concern’, an example of where a new song title does not maketh a new song; instead, it’s a spoken-word track which at times samples album tracks.

I will highlight two of Prince’s releases that fall in between the stalls on what I have counted as a new song B-side and what’s just a mix or remix interpolation of the A-side. The first is ‘I Wish U Heaven’ (Parts 1, 2, & 3) from the 12” / maxi-single releases from 1988. Here the three parts are an extension of the A-side single, so not a new song B-side per se as what is on the B-side continues from the A-side, but they almost might as well be. Part 2 is more a funky gospel jam where we are introduced to the arrival of Prince’s new Cloud guitar, nicknamed the ‘Blue Angel’ complete with an epic guitar solo to land the point of said arrival. Part 3 goes into entirely new directions, using an unreleased Prince song ‘Take This Beat’ to funky effect. Combined parts 2 and 3 are more than worth checking out, even if you’re not that fussed by the drum machine polish of ‘I Wish U Heaven’ part 1 aka the single, because this extended version did not make it to the LP.

Arguably Prince’s ‘The Scandalous Sex Suite’ EP from 1989, follows a similar pattern where the original song is deconstructed and represented in three phases entitled ‘The Crime’, ‘The Passion’ and ‘The Rapture’. Again, there is some guitar playing with gusto from Prince, accompanied by Kim Basinger’s spoken seductions, moans and honey in the studio across 19 minutes (rather than the original 4 minutes) that all serve to take the song way beyond the original. But again, not a new song on the B-side but quite possibly the most seductive soul song Prince ever created and that claim I appreciate, when it comes to him, is saying something!

[Edited 9/15/24 2:44am]

nayroo2002 said:

Fishpaw's list from the old org link:

1 Gotta Stop (Messin' About) (2:54)
2 How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? (3:50)
3 Horny Toad (2:12)
4 Irresistible Bitch (4:11)
5 17 Days (3:54)
Erotic City (edit) (3:55)
6 Erotic City (7:24)
7 God (4:02)
8 God (Instrumental) (7:47)
Another Lonely Christmas (edit) (4:51)
9 Another Lonely Christmas (6:47)
She's Always in My Hair (edit) (3:27)
10 She’s Always In My Hair (6:48)
Hello (edit) (3:23)
11 Hello (6:38)
Girl (edit) (3:47)
12 Girl (7:36)
Love or Money (edit) (3:57)
13 Love Or Money (6:50)
Alexa De Paris (edit) (3:20)
14 Alexa De Paris (4:54)
La, La, La, He, He, Hee (edit) (3:21)
15 La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive) (10:32)
Shockadelica (3:30)
16 Shockadelica (6:12)
Escape (3:30)
17 Escape (6:26)
Scarlet Pussy (edit) (4:18)
18 Scarlet Pussy (6:09)
19 200 Balloons (5:05)
Feel U Up (Short Stroke) (3:44)
20 Feel U Up (Long Stroke) (6:30)
21 I Love U In Me (4:12)
22 Sex (7:01)
23 Loveleft, Loveright (5:39)
24 Horny Pony (4:17)
25 Violet the Organ Grinder (4:59)
26 Do Your Dance (5:58)
27 Rock And Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis) (4:34)
28 When Will We B Paid? (4:07)
1+1+1=3 (live) (5:51)
29 Magnificent (4:30)
30 Silver Tongue (4:56)
31 The United States Of Division (6:18)

"The Lubricated Lady/Get Off" surely could be considered.

"Get Some Solo" and a couple from the 'Cream' EP, too?

It get's a bit blurry, I guess.

We'll see what the auther of this book chose!

Gotta Stop (Messin' About) - was an A-side, so I didn't include that.

But what the book does cover is as follows:

Contents:

Dedications......................................................................................... 3

Contents:............................................................................................. 5

Foreword.............................................................................................. 9

“What’s missing from pop music is danger, there’s no excitement and mystery.”............................................................ 9

Preface.............................................................................................. 13

‘I could tell you things to get you excited, things you never heard…’........................................................................................ 13

Prologue............................................................................................ 19

‘This Is Not Music... This Is A Trip…’.............................................. 19

Reading Notes:................................................................................. 57

‘I got two sides and they're both friends.’................................ 57

The 1999 album era: 1982 – 1983................................................... 63

How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore...................................... 63

Horny Toad.................................................................................... 67

Irresistible Bitch.............................................................................. 69

The Purple Rain album era: 1984 – 1985........................................ 75

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.)............................................................... 75

Erotic City (make love not war Erotic City come alive).......... 81

God / God (Love Theme From Purple Rain).......................... 87

Another Lonely Christmas........................................................... 91

The Around The World in a Day album era: 1985........................ 95

She's Always in My Hair / She’s Always In My Hair (New Mix). 95

Hello / Hello (Fresh Dance Mix aka Extended Version)........ 107

Girl / Girl (extended version).................................................... 111

The Parade OST album era: 1986................................................. 115

♥ Or $ (aka Love or Money) / ♥ Or $ (Extended Version)..... 115

Alexa De Paris / Alexa De Paris (Extended Version*)............ 119

The Sign ☮️ The Times album era: 1987...................................... 125

La, La, La, He, He, Hee / La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive)..................................................................................... 125

Shockadelica / Shockadelica (Extended Version)............... 129

The Lovesexy album era: 1988..................................................... 139

Escape / Escape (Free Yo Mind From This Rat Race)........... 139

Scarlet Pussy................................................................................ 143

The Batman OST album era: 1989................................................ 151

200 Balloons................................................................................ 151

Feel U Up (Short Stroke) / Feel U Up (Long Stroke)................. 157

I Love U In Me............................................................................. 161

Sex (The '80s are over and the time has come 4 monogamy and trust)..................................................................................... 165

The Graffiti Bridge OST album era: 1990...................................... 169

Get Off / The Lubricated Lady................................................. 169

Loveleft, Loveright...................................................................... 173

The Diamonds and Pearls album era: 1991................................ 177

Horny Pony.................................................................................. 177

Violet the Organ Grinder.......................................................... 183

Gangster Glam........................................................................... 187

Call The Law................................................................................ 191

The Gold Experience album era: 1995........................................ 195

Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis)................ 195

Non-Album Project – standalone single 2001............................ 199

When Will We B Paid?................................................................ 199

The Musicology album era: 2004................................................. 202

Magnificent................................................................................. 202

United States Of Division............................................................ 205

Silver Tongue (Demo) / Silver Tongue...................................... 209

Non-Album Project – standalone single 2005............................ 213

Brand New Orleans.................................................................... 213

Epilogue........................................................................................... 217

Prince – King of B-sides.............................................................. 217

References...................................................................................... 227

Fact checking: Facts – remember those? Facts still matter. Facts, like books and albums,
still matter................................................................................... 227

Appendices:................................................................................... 229

Appendix A..................................................................................... 231

List of Prince songs released and unreleased known to incorporate orchestral arrangements
from Clare Fisher......................................................................... 231

Appendix B..................................................................................... 239

My favourite B-sides in ascending order................................. 239

Appendix C..................................................................................... 243

#NeverEnoughGuitar with Prince............................................ 243

Appendix D..................................................................................... 247

*The artist formerly known as Camille -................................... 247

Se7en said:

Prince's B-sides alone are better than most artists' entire career. Bold statement, but it's true.

that's why i wrote the book

.

[Edited 9/14/24 9:58am]

nayroo2002 said:

1,341 in Erotic Literature & Fiction

lol

I'd put that down to either Erotic City - and where I write about whether it was 'funk' or f**k' that was being sung

FrankieCoco1 said:

Thanks for sharing the contents page information. I hope your book does well 👏👏

thank you

so far so good!

I certainly, wasn't expecting it to hit No.1 on Amazon New Releases and Best Sellers, so that made my day

I look forward to reading this.

leecaldon said:

I look forward to reading this.

thank you

I hope you enjoy it

cheers

Matt

mattosgood said:

Prince - King of B-sides

I have counted a ‘B-side’ as a song that is a new song, one that first lived as a Prince B-side. This discounts any B-sides that were album tracks or mix derivatives of the A-side.

‘I Wish U Heaven’ (Parts 1, 2, & 3) (...&...) ‘The Scandalous Sex Suite’

These are the extended versions of said songs, not really what you explained as "new songs".

"Scarlet Pussy" & "Sex" are the B-Sides, respectively.

I don't mean to de-merit your literature, but "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" was, for me, Prince's first B-Side.