well,
ever since I got hold of my first PF CD, which was Piper, I was wondering - since their first single was "See Emily Play" how come it wasn't on the cd? I think I read somewhere that they had it on either the euro-version or the american version, yet I have both and I can't seem to find Emily play anywhere...
See Emily Play was actually their second single Arnold Lane was the first. See Emily play was on the Original US Tower version of Piper, but not the European version.
It's been an EMI policy at that time that singles would not appear on the album proper and it's been that case for Pink Floyd and others including The Who. Naturally, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play" would not appear as singles in America so it had to appear on the album. The idea was that these singles would be on the "best of" albums (which it did on <i>Relics</i>).
Now, when the album (<i>Piper at the Gates of Dawn</i>) was re-released back in 1992 or 1994, it was the original British version as opposed to the American one. Isn't great how album politics work?
The Journey is actually a concert-only piece and is the second part of their Gesamtkunstwerk (to use a Wagnerian term... total art work): More Furious Madness from the Massed Gadgets of Auximenies. It comprises of:
The Beginning ("Green is the Colour")
Beset by Creatures of the Deep ("Careful with That Axe, Eugene")
The Narrow Way ("The Narrow Way pt. III")
The Pink Jungle ("Pow R Toc H")
The Labyrinths of Auximenies ("Moonhead")
Behold the Temple of Light
The End of the Beginning ("A Saucerful of Secrets: Celestial Voices")
Julia Dream: B-side of "It Would Be So Nice" found on <i>Relics</i> and on the Early Singles disc of the <i>Shine On</i> boxset
When the Tigers Broke Free: Movie single and now it's on <i>Echoes</i>
I'm under the impression that it was the Beatles themselves that began (or, at least, encouraged) the trend of leaving A-sides (and B-sides) off original studio albums.
This really began with the release of their third single From Me To You; the first four A- and B-sides - Love Me Do, P.S. I Love You, Please Please Me and Ask Me Why - all appeared on their debut album Please Please Me in 1963 (although the version of Love Me Do was a slightly earlier version). Lennon & McCartney also insisted that all the single tracks be composed by they themselves, although Please Please Me, With The Beatles (1963) and Beatles For Sale (1964) certainly relied on a number of cover versions to flesh out the seven or so original songs on each album, such was the pressure for new product on an almost monthly basis.
The two singles that promoted their third album, A Hard Day's Night (1964), featured four songs that would become available on the LP itself - again, due to the high standards they had to meet, the two chief songwriters were somewhat pushed to come up with thirteen new songs and four original tracks for 7" release. In 1965, album tracks Ticket To Ride and Help! promoted their fifth album, but were coupled with two marvellous B-sides, Yes It Is and I'm Down.
The double A-side pairing of Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine in 1966, released concurrently with their most original album, Revolver, and Something/Come Together in 1969, were the only other times that album tracks were used for single release, although Get Back (1968) and Let It Be (1969) were both versions, or edits of songs that also appeared on LPs.
I Am The Walrus, meanwhile, appeared on the Magical Mystery Tour EP in 1967, as well as on the B-side of Hello, Goodbye, one of the Beatles' biggest selling singles.
As a singles band, the Beatles remain unsurpassed. The progress made through all of their forty-four 7" songs stands as a fitting...
Location: In the editing bay...working on the final cut...
Postby mosespa »
As I understand it, it worked like this...
Bands (in the UK, anyway) used to record singles first. If the single did well, they got to do an album. But since the single was already out, they (EMI) didn't see the point in including it on the album.
Singles weren't considered very important. The songs established bands released as singles were the kind of songs that didn't fit on the album, or were left over from the album sessions and rush released to promote the fact that an album was coming out.
In a sense, British bands viewed singles in much the same way that American bands viewed the B-sides of their singles.
