Paperback Writer/Rain: The Most Perfect A-side/B-side Ever?

Precisely why it's one of their three or four least good singles. File it 'forgettable', next to Lady Madonna, Can't Buy Me Love and Long and Winding Road.

 

If you're sincerely putting up a Frank Sinatra single as a contemporary rival to The Beatles single, then I guess one or other of us isn't really serious.

 

I get it

 

Think Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields is much stronger. Better lyrical depth and groundbreaking pop creation.

 

I personally have to go with Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane

 

I was 10-11 in 1966 and I thought Paperback Writer an embarrassment. Those videos you saw were the colour ones, in the UK we had the pleasure of seeing The Beatles appear live on Top of The Pops doing Paperback Writer and Rain, in black suits and black ties. They looked just like The Beatles. Paul even had a fixed tooth. No sunglasses, no fancy shirts. If John had played a Rickenbacker instead of the Epiphone, it could have been 1964. Now the next time we saw them, in February 1967, they really looked different.
I think Steve was just as big a Beatles nut as you were, and about 9 or 10.

 

Yes, all of those - and with Day Tripper, We Can Work It Out, Revolution, Don't Let Me Down, Across The Universe (alt.), Get Back (studio), Let It Be,... Past Masters 2 is my favourite Beatles CD!

 

Everyone mentioning The Beach Boys cites Wouldn't It Be Nice b/w God Only Knows.

No love for I Get Around b/w Don't Worry Baby? Tremendous A/B punch from a group that didn't often skimp on the B sides.

A few more runners up from The Beach Boys 1963 ~ 1965:

Surfin' USA / Shut Down
Surfer Girl / Little Deuce Coupe
Fun Fun Fun / Why Do Fools Fall In Love
When I Grow Up (to be a man) / She Knows Me Too Well
Do You Wanna Dance / Please Let Me Wonder
Help Me, Rhonda / Kiss Me, Baby
California Girls / Let Him Run Wild

If you ask me, these all rank with The Beatles are far as quality of the B-side goes (not comparing the BBs to the Bs release for release). I'm just saying that The Beach Boys showed serious concern for the B-side as well -- in an era where the B-side was still a throw away for many groups.

 

Sorry, always found the Frere Jacques bit flat and annoying. Detracts from the rest of the track.

 

That's an excellent a/b especially the b-side - but it's very hard to top "Wouldn't It Be Nice"/"God Only Knows".

 

how about we will rock you b/w we are the champions?

 

SFF/Penny Lane is better....

 

Agreed.

 

My vote would go to:

Strange Town/The Butterfly Collector
or
William, It Was Really Nothing/Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want Now

 

The color, Chiswick Park-filmed promo videos for Paperback Writer/Rain are the the Beatles at their absolute peak of cool. You can debate the music, but the Fabs never looked better and never made a better promo than for those two tracks.

And I have mentioned this before over the years, but when I went to London in 2000 for vacation, I spent an entire day going to/from and hanging out in Chiswick Park just to be where those promos were made.

 

Yeah they were the epitome of cool in '66. When I finally get to the UK I'll be doing the same thing. Also want to go to where they filmed the videos for ""Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane".

 

You're right. I had it when I was a kid and I guess I never looked at the date and realized it was a reissue.

 

Blech

 

That's my favorite beatle single

 

Boy, you put a lot of effort into rebutting my OP, which was done in good fun. Some one pee in your coffee? Forgot to take your meds?

Seriously, you can disagree, it is fine, but your views are rather over the top.

 

Yup. Agree.

 

In the summer of 1966, Sinatra/Strangers was a huge pop hit that was played side-by-side with the Beatles and Stones and other top artists on Top 40 AM radio in the U.S. So nikh33 has a legitimate point when he argues that it is/was indeed a contemporary rival to the Beatles that summer. The recordings may be miles apart stylistically, but they competed on the same "radio turf" for airtime...and 13 year olds like me that summer of '66 bought both 45s, Sinatra and the Beatles. And FWIW, my fave that summer, the Stones' Mother's Little Helper/Lady Jane.

 

...wow...
Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

was a double A in the UK apologies if others may have already mentioned

 

here are many perfect A side B side Beatles pairings but in the UK we have to disbar Penny lane and We can work it out/DT as perfect pairings as these were double A's, however of UK true A side B side Beatles pairings along side Paperback, would be HJ/Revolution, Get Back / Dont let me Down and IWTHYH and This Boy and probably IFF / she's a woman they must all be up there. Something Come together would be too but they were unusually taken from an existing Album. Other artists will struggle to have many, if any, B sides that will come even close to most Beatles B sides, let alone the A side......if you need reminding about how the Beatles can dwarf almost anything else just look at most of their B sides.....