starvinmarvin said:
That's fine - but don't try to tell me the b-sides are excellent.
But they are...you're just moaning and going along with the myth that ALL B-sides are throwaway tracks...
It sometimes [quite frequently in U2's case] comes down to having to cut tracks because they don't fit the MOOD of the album. Unfortunately, you imagine 'The Three Sunrises' [which is one of U2's best songs in my opinion...a WASTE!] opening 'The Unforgettable Fire' LP and it just doesn't work. That album overall has a rather dark side to it compared to a lot of the material left off.
And The Joshua Tree, I would have loved the record to have included 'Race Against Time' and 'Spanish Eyes' on there, but if you listen to the rest of the album, their epic 'soundscapes' just follow a totally different path or there isn't enough room for them
[I think 'Race Against Time' actually fits the Joshua Tree excellently...just put it on Side One and have 'Red Hill Mining Town' afterwards, finishing off the side.]
I think you must convinced yourself to not like them simply because they are B-sides. So what? Why do U2 include B-side discs with their 'Best Of' Compilations?? If it's not up to scratch, why take the time to re-release the material on a seperate disc?!
My personal view is the songs that are [as you put it] not up to 'snuff', are not B-sides, but the ones that never see the light of day or probably don't make it past the 'demo/working' stage [some of which 'die-hard' U2 fans will find on the internet years later anyway]...
...Take 'Wild Irish Rose' and 'Be There' for example. Some may enjoy them, but at the end of the day, 'Wild Irish Rose' never really LEADS anywhere and 'Be There' just sounds a bit empty...also, The Edge used to freak out when demos were played to people before the songs had properly developed because they were of 'inferior quality' [example, Zooropa in it's VERY early stages being played to an NME Journalist during the 'Achtung Baby' half of Zoo TV.] THAT'S what I call not being up to snuff.
B-sides are there for a reason: extra material which, yes, provides padding for singles, but at the end of the day they are there for those who are REALLY into a band and want to hear more! Singles are just the only place for them. The 'Unforgettable Fire' and 'Pride' singles were, between them, PACKED with extra tracks from the album sessions. Doesn't that mean they WANT their fans to hear the rest, not to mention having some top material to go with the hit single when a new listener buys the record??