Lindsey Buckingham once picked the best A and B side release in rock history
Fleetwood Mac always had two killer songs for the price of one on their single releases. Whether it was the magnificent Christine McVie ballad ‘Songbird’ on the B side of the number one Stevie Nicks song ‘Dreams’ or the underrated Lindsey Buckingham album cut ‘That’s Enough for Me’ acting as the flip side to the single ‘Sara’, each Mac single seemed to be packed to the gills with memorable melodies.
Buckingham is a bit of a scholar when it comes to rock history, pouring over the intricacies and details of popular music like few others could. So when Buckingham was asked to name the best pop song of all time during a 2021 interview with Forbes, Buckingham decided to be more nuanced with his response and instead focus on the totality of a single release. That is to say, he values records with great A sides and B sides.
When asked for the greatest pop song of all time, Buckingham responded, “I don’t know if there’s one, but as far as pop goes, I’ll give you one of my, probably at the top of my list for a great A and B side of a 45, how’s that? And that is, ‘I Get Around,’ by The Beach Boys on the A side, and what’s on the B side? ‘Don’t Worry, Baby.’”
“You could say, well, it’s a car song or it’s a, whatever, both of those, subject matter-wise,” Buckingham added. “But still, Brian had already evolved from the first couple of albums and the structure, the construction of something like ‘I Get Around’ is just symphonic in a two-and-a-half minute format or less, probably less. Just masterful with the key modulations and breakdowns that repeat and just so sophisticated. Unbelievable piece of work.”
Although he doesn’t go into detail on the flip side, Buckingham’s remarks could have just as easily been applied to ‘Don’t Worry Baby’. Taking the form of a standard ’60s narrative, Wilson took all the lessons he learned from Phil Spector and the Ronettes 1963 smash ‘Be My Baby’ and filtered it through his own evolving tastes in complex compositions and intricate arrangments. It’s an wonderful one-two punch, one that makes for a thrilling single release.
Check out both ‘I Get Around’ and ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ down below.
