10 Perfect Rock Songs That Were Never Released As Singles
When the Fans Come To You.
When choosing a single for a record, you're going to want to put your best foot forward in every single way you can. In just one song, you have to have something that gives a nice trailer for the record as well as gives the audience a general idea of what the entire album has in store. It's never an easy decision as to what to release, but it's a crime that these songs were left to become mere album tracks.
That's not to say that the actual singles from these projects were flops by any stretch. Hell, in most of these cases, every single one of these songs on their respective records are great, with only these songs falling through the cracks and being forgotten gems by comparison. The fans haven't forgotten them over time, with most of them sticking up for these songs and earning them the distinction of being even more popular than the songs that were meant to actually promote the record.
If anything, that's just a testament to the kind of songs you're working with here. You can do whatever you can to promote your record the way you want, but for the bulletproof songs, the masses are going to come to you. Whether on a B-side or buried in the record, it's time to show these masterpieces a little more love.
10. The Power of Equality - Red Hot Chili Peppers
There's a good contingency of Red Hot Chili Peppers fans who think that the magic never got started until John Frusciante joined the band. While there were still some amazing tracks being made with Hillel Slovak behind the fretboard, his tragic passing opened the door for some of the most adventurous music the Peppers would ever release. And on their first blockbuster record, they made their presence known right from the first note.
Coming out swinging, the Power of Equality almost has a strange mix of funk rock and punk sprinkled into the mix, with Anthony Kiedis having a lot more attitude behind his vocals than you would have expected. While he always had an amped up personality, this feels like everything that came out on Mother's Milk with a sharper focus, sprinkling in some real grit in the rap verses before going into the choruses.
This is also one of the tightest grooves that the band had made thus far, with Frusciante playing right in the pocket and Flea stomping out his competition right out of the gate, locking in with drummer Chad Smith and slapping the hell out of his bass strings until they're begging for mercy. Standing at just a few minutes, the track also practically snuffs itself out at the end, bleeding directly into the next song If You Have to Ask. If anything, this does exactly what you'd want an opener to do. It's straight and to the point, while also leaving you pleading for more once it's done.