Liner notes from the Japanese release of The Other Sides of Gilbert O'Sullivan

Compact Discs have taken the place of vinyl records since 1990. All of Gilbert’s albums have been released on CD. The first five MAM albums have been released numerous times.

Gilbert’s enthusiastic new fans must have been looking for his singles in second-hand shops, knowing many of Gilbert’s b-sides are not included on his albums. Those who can find Gilbert’s singles except some of his very popular ones will be very lucky. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to find the rare singles now.

The b-side collection became reality with Gilbert’s blessing. The list includes many new-to-CD songs and five songs, which were never released in Japan.  Many of the songs are "gems" and this collection must be one that Gilbert’s fans wanted to see released.

1.      Intro  - The b-side to "No Matter How I Try," released in Japan in January of 1972. Gilbert placed "Intros" and "Outros" on his early albums to make them personal, something different from other artists. This Intro was placed at the beginning of the b-side of "No Matter How I Try." It has no title, so fans were very surprised and delighted (a present from Gilbert).

Notes:Two Y’s with a capital C is a play on words referring to a single as C and Y instead of A & B.

2.      Mr. Moody’s Garden This song was released in 1969 as an A side with an overdubbed orchestra.  It was re-released in 1971 as the b-side of "I Wish I Could Cry," but the orchestration was removed. In Japan, this was released in 1973. Recently, Gilbert performed some very early songs on stage and Mr. Moody’s Garden was performed in England in 2002. Some of the lyrics are personal or refer to something happening at that time. Don Partridge is a Busker and John Wesley Hardin is a Bob Dylan Album released in 1967. This is the oldest song on this collection, and according to Gilbert, it was recorded in 1967. The song also reflects one of the characteristics of his lyrics:  the play on words with garden, pardon, Pat, Hat, arrive and alive. This and the previous song are in mono.

Notes: Bill and Ben were the Flowerpot Men who found stardom in a Puppet series with 26 black-and-white episodes that were shown over-and-over again. A Busker is a person who entertains especially by playing music on the street. From the Italian buscare (to look for).

3.      Everybody Knows The b-side of "Nothing Rhymed" and released in Japan in February of 1971.  This single along with "Underneath The Blanket Go" and "We Will" are hard-to-find since Gilbert was unknown before "Alone Again." Gilbert’s first 6 singles ("Disappear" to "We Will") were released in mono. This is the first stereo version of this song.

Notes: "Pieces of Leather" refers to shoes being made of leather. "State" refers to the country and state or condition a person is in.

4.      Tell Me Why The b-side of "You Are You" released in March of 1975 in Japan. However, this song can also be heard on the b-side of "The Marriage Machine" single, which was released only in Japan eight months later.

5.      Call On Me The b-side of "You Never Listen To Reason" released in Japan in April 1976. "My Love And I" also has the same b-side. The ending of this song will remind you of those old 45’s. The A side has not been released on CD yet.

Notes:  Alberto Semprini is a famous pianist.

6.      You Don’t Have To Tell Me The b-side of "Why, Oh Why Oh Why" released in January of 1974 in Japan. Some fans might think it sounds like "Will I Do" from Piano Foreplay, released last year in Japan.

Notes: In "Who Done It" stories it’s usually the Butler who did the crime Gilbert chose the Chambermaid.

7.      Good Company The b-side of "Ooh Baby" released in October of 1973 in Japan. Magazine photos from 1973 show the meeting between Mohammed Ali and Gilbert. This might have been inspiration for some of the lyrics.

8.      A Very Extraordinary Sort Of Girl   The b-side to "Get Down" and released in April of 1973 in Japan. Rhino Records released this song in 1991 on The Best Of Gilbert O’Sullivan. However, it was removed from the second edition and was not available until now.

9.      Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind The b-side of "To Each His Own," released in January 1977 in Japan. This song is included on Rare Tracks as well as tracks 10,13 and 18. Gilbert didn’t release an album for three years after Stranger In My Own Backyard.  So, he must have accumulated many songs. The quality of the b-sides from that time period is excellent. Those songs from that time were included on Rare Tracks.

10.  Just As You Are The b-side of "I’ll Believe It When I See It." The A side was not released in Japan.  Both sides were introduced on Rare Tracks for the first time. This song suits piano well as do "My Father," "I Wonder Would You Mind," and the songs on The Little Album.

11.  Save It The b-side of  "Alone Again (Naturally)" released in April 1972 in Japan. Alone Again sold well. So this song must be one of the most famous b-sides songs in Japan. The song was released as a bonus cd with the Kitty Records Box Set as well as the only b-side released in 1972 which was not included on an album.

12.  Too Bad The b-side of "A Woman’s Place" released in October 1974 in Japan. The A side caused some controversy at the time. This is a very typical Gilbert b-side song.

13.  Our Own Baby The b-side of "Miss My Love Today." The A side was not released in Japan as a single. However, this b-side has a wonderful melody.  Gilbert sung this song on numerous television appearances. It could be one of his favorites.

14.  In Other Words The b-side to "A Minute Of Your Time." The A side is included on Life & Rhymes. However, this album was not released in Japan in 1982 and the single was difficult to find as well.  It finally makes its Japanese debut as well as 15, 16, 19, and 20 do.

15.  Down, Down, Down The b-side of "What’s In A Kiss" in the UK. The Off Centre album and the "What’s In A Kiss" single were released in Japan after the two singles had been released in the UK. In Japan, "I Love It But" became the b-side to "What’s In A Kiss."  So, this song also makes its Japanese debut on this CD.

16.  In A Nutshell The b-side to "So What." This song is the last b-side in chronological order released in 1990.  Judging from the synthesizer and piano, this is a solo performance by Gilbert. The melody is superb, mixed with major and minor cords although the arrangement is a bit rough. This is probably a big favorite among his fans. There are some 12-inch singles of "So What" with remixes of the song. "In a Nutshell" is only available on the 7 inch single.

17.  To Cut A Long Story Short - The b-side to the "Christmas Song" released in the UK in November of 1974 but released a year later in Japan.  This is also the only single to be released with a picture sleeve but in 1978 not 1974. The photo used is from the cover of the Greatest Hits album.  The record company was trying to sell additional copies of the Greatest Hits package knowing that Gilbert would no longer release albums for MAM.  The b-sides on the second release were "Nothing Rhymed" and "Clair."

18.  As Long As I Can The b-side to "You Got Me Going" released in Japan in January of 1978. Gilbert has said before that this song was recorded as a B-side.

19.  You Better Run The b-side to "Lost A Friend." In 1989, Gilbert released the Album In The Key Of G, after a seven-year absence. Back then; many albums were released in both formats (Vinyl & CD) and some artist altered the content a bit. (For instance, this CD has a bonus track which the LP did not) The b-side to the "Lost a Friend" CD single has the new version of "We Will" and "Get Down." However, the vinyl single has this song.

20.      Don’t Bother At All The b-side to "Bear With Me."  Gilbert appeared on TV in 1982 and sang among others, "Got To Be That Way" and "Wonder Why." For Every Song Has Its Play, he re-recorded "If I don’t Know You" and "You Don’t Own Me." The song seems to be inconspicuous on this collection. Gilbert’s b-sides have a more rock feel as opposed to soft ballads.  We’re inclined to think of Gilbert as a good balladeer because "Alone Again" or "Clair" occurrs to us easily when we hear his name. But in fact, his b-sides show another side: a good rock ‘n’ roller!

Gilbert has said that he recorded A side songs with Gordon Mills and he made B side ones alone. Surely the b-side songs are not conspicuous on the whole.  On the other hand, he seems to do wants on the flip sides. They reflect Gilbert’s musical roots and tastes or his experimentation, which is absent on his albums. You will find the other side of his music on this collection as vinyl records had another side, completely different from our image of him a first-rate balladeer.

I would like to express my gratitude to Gilbert for responding to my questions. I also thank Mr. Joe DiMuro, Mr. Martin Wiseman and Mr. Paul Yates, Mr. Takashi Yamade, Mr. Hidetsugu Tanaka and Aki Tamura at Victor Entertainment for their information and advise. I asked Mr. Yamada to create a list of 7-inch singles. Please use it as a guide.

January 5, 2004 - Isao Hirami

*Thanks to my Japanese Friend Isao for always being there and never saying no! He translated the liner notes into English. I've changed just a few words!