Double vision on the singles scene

Arizona Daily Wildcat Singled out: To keep up with the Verve, you'll have to shell out close to $60 for these CDs. The "two-part single" could only be a bargain at half the price.

It wouldn't be so bad if these were domestic releases we were talking about, but for the most part, artists put their B-sides on import-only singles, which cost a good deal more here than they do overseas - usually around $10 apiece.

For someone exposed to the world of import singles for the first time, it can be a frustrating and wallet-draining experience. Especially with the recent trend of the "two-part single." Basically, this is when the same single is released twice, "part one" and "part two," each part containing different B-sides. To get all the new songs, you have to buy both compact discs, bringing the cost per single released up to about $20.

UK labels release the two-parters because as far as the British charts are concerned, they're both the same single. In other words, you buy The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" parts one and two, and it counts simply as two copies of "Bittersweet Symphony" sold for the charts, thereby moving it up twice as fast.

And The Verve is a perfect example of this phenomenon. The band has released three singles from their latest album, Urban Hymns, on a total of six CDs. Divided amongst the discs are nine new songs, two remixes, one demo and previously released material. So, what you get amounts to less than an album's worth of new songs for close to $60.

If every CD had two or three new songs, it would be hard to complain, but with some containing only one unreleased track, the self-serving reasons for not just putting all the B-sides on one single are all too clear. Especially since not all labels are guilty of this: Creation UK, for example, hardly ever pulls this scam. Amongst their acts are Oasis and Super Furry Animals, both of whom consistently release only one part singles, and always with two or three new songs on each one.

Some acts, like Hurricane #1, release two-parters but put all the new songs on one and the remixes on the other, so if you don't want the remixes, you still only need to buy one.

When a band puts out a two-part single with three new songs between them, splitting up remixes and radio edits to fill the space, it's just plain frustrating, especially for the true fan, who knows better than anyone how he's being cheated by something he loves.