Non-album singles by major and very popular acts often tend to be among their biggest hits, because of the "value for money" thing.
With lesser and more album-oriented acts, however, it's often the opposite. Those acts' fans often tend to discover the act through albums that are often not very new, and while the albums may continue selling, stand alone singles - even great ones - tend to be forgotten.
So let this thread be devoted to those great lost stand-alone singles, I'll write about three examples here:
Scritti Politti: "She's a Woman"
Before taking a long break during most of the 90s, Scritti Politti recorded two cover versions released as stand-alone singles. This version of The Beatles' "She's a Woman" was the first, and is IMO one of the best cover versions ever. The bluesy McCartney rocker has been turned into a mock-reggae funk pop song, with Shabba Ranks providing some toasting in-between. And Green does one of his best ever vocal performances. A great single that would have deserved more attention, also in retrospect.
Prefab Sprout: "The Sound Of Crying"
"The Sound Of Crying" was one of two singles released in 1992 before the release of "A Life Of Surprises", their first "best of" CD. It's a great song that, because of its non-inclusion on any of their albums is largely ignored today. The lyrics are among the best ever, written about the first Gulf War, and kind of very up-to-date today in the light of the Iraqi war. The music is among their best ever, classic Prefab Sprout and giving a hint of how great all the lost material from the mid 90s may be.
Genesis: Spot The Pigeon
Great EP containing three great tracks that were the last they released before Steve Hackett left the band. The songs are among the last really great stuff they did before they became more pop-oriented.
Any other examples?
― Geir Hongro, Sunday, 30 September 2007 03:00 (eighteen years ago)
one month passes...