Double B-side
On vinyl, double A-side singles had one song on either side of the record, while double B-sides contain two songs on the same side (on the B-side; altogether giving 3 songs). When such singles were introduced in the 1970s, the popular term for them was "maxi single", though this term is now used more ambiguously for a variety of formats. These would not quite qualify as EP singles – as that is generally 4 songs on a single. The term is also sometimes used in a self-denigrating fashion for a release with no A-side at all, suggesting neither side is of high quality.
Examples include "Styrafoam" / "Texas Chainsaw Massacre Boogie" by The Tyla Gang (1976), and "Jack Rabbit" / "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" by Elton John (1973).
Paul McCartney's 1980 single "Coming Up" had a studio version of the song on the A-side, while the B-side contained two songs, a live version of "Coming Up" and a studio instrumental called "Lunchbox/Odd Sox."
The singles from U2's album The Joshua Tree were released with two B-side songs each, which were pressed at 33 1/3 RPM. Versions for jukeboxes included only one of those songs, which played at 45.
Read more about this topic: A-side And B-side
Famous quotes containing the word double:
“Even in harmonious families there is this double life: the group life, which is the one we can observe in our neighbour’s household, and, underneath, another—secret and passionate and intense—which is the real life that stamps the faces and gives character to the voices of our friends. Always in his mind each member of these social units is escaping, running away, trying to break the net which circumstances and his own affections have woven about him.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)