One of the most glorious things about the internet is that it has made it easier than ever to get your hands on a not-so-popular B-side from the pre-streaming era of rock music. When it comes to these six best B-sides in rock history, we’re surprised they didn’t get a front-and-center release; they’re just that good.
1. “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac
Ah, the B-side that never should have been a B-side. “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac is one of the biggest and best-aging songs by the folk-rock band. It’s still crazy to think that this song was just used as a B-side to “Go Your Own Way”, rather than the Rumours album. Years later, Stevie Nicks’ iconic song eventually nabbed a Grammy after the band performed it at a reunion concert. And we all remember that reunion concert.
2. “Hey, Hey, What Can I Do” by Led Zeppelin
This stellar B-side supported the A-side track (and hit) “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin. It’s the only non-album B-side that the band ever released. It didn’t take long for the underrated “Hey, Hey, What Can I Do” to become regular classic rock radio fodder for years after it was released in 1970.
3. “Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam
“Yellow Ledbetter” is the B-side to Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy”. It’s quite an underrated song from 1992. Complete with soaring vocals and drawn-out guitar riffs, “Yellow Ledbetter” is a great example of Pearl Jam’s more “classic” era of music production. It has an old-school feel to it. Despite only being a B-side, the song became a hit on alt-rock radio soon after its release.
4. “Total Eclipse” by Iron Maiden
When we talk about the best rock B-sides in music history, this track from Iron Maiden often comes up. The 1982 B-side “Total Eclipse” backed the song “Run To The Hills”. Both tracks are killer, but we think “Total Eclipse” deserved its own A-side release. Even Iron Maiden themselves believe they chose the wrong B-side. “Gangland” definitely should have been swapped with “Total Eclipse” on The Number Of The Beast.
5. “Carry Me Home” by AC/DC
This AC/DC classic from 1977 backed the song “Dog Eat Dog”. It was only released in Australia at the time, and we’d be bold enough to say it was one of the late Bon Scott’s best songs. “Carry Me Home” also happened to be one of bassist Mark Evans’ last recordings with AC/DC. It’s a little piece of hard rock history! Luckily, it eventually got a wider release on the 2009 record Backtracks.
6. “Shut Out The Light” by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 track “Born In The U.S.A.” is by far his most well-known song. However, it’s often misinterpreted as some starry-eyed patriotic anthem. The song’s original B-side, “Shut Out The Light”, provided some shouldn’t-be-needed context to its A-side hit. “Shut Out The Light” is a direct and harrowing song about the aftermath of the Vietnam War. It was allegedly inspired by Born On The Fourth Of July by Ron Kovic.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives
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