The Rolling Stones Album: “Between the Buttons [Remaster]”

Don't get me wrong, the music on this CD is superb (hence the 5 star rating) but when The Rolling Stones and Andrew Loog Oldham (producer) made these recordings in the latter half of 1966 and sequenced it for release, THIS is not how the envisioned it. Their authorized version was issued in England on January 20, 1967 with "Let's Spend The Night Together" & "Ruby Tuesday" as their current single SEPERATE from the album (common UK practice at the time). In North America, they were shoehorned onto BETWEEN THE BUTTONS and in their place, "Backstreet Girl" & "Please Go Home" (both, especially the former, fine songs) were knocked off and put onto the loose ends US-compiled FLOWERS album in mid-1967. Buy the UK version. It's what the band intended, and besides, you can hear "LSTNT" & "RT" on FORTY LICKS, HOT ROCKS, THROUGH THE PAST, DARKLY & THE SINGLES COLLECTION. And chances are that you'd already have one of those above mentioned hits collections if you're shopping for their proper studio albums. Hope this helps. :-)

This is probably the best of the Stones' three albums released between June 1976 and June 1977, with "Flowers" and "Aftermath" following. The songs are incredibly creative, with great variations in arrangements and mood, from the sexual rocker "Let's Spend the Night Together" to the truly romantic "She Smiled Sweetly" and the music hall romp of "Something Happened to Me Yesterday." It's also one of Jagger's most impressive vocal performances, with nuanced, risk-taking interpretations.

"Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday" were released in the U.S. as the A- and B-sides. Because of the sexual lyrics of Let's Spend the Night Together, " "Ruby Tuesday" got more airplay and reached #1 on Billboard. Both songs represent the best of the Stones, and were included on the later "Flowers" LP. The great `Night' benefits from Jagger's impassioned vocals, rocking guitars and piano, and the doo-wop background at the break. The drumming is sometimes unimaginative though, but that's a minor problem. "Ruby Tuesday" is one of rock's greatest lyrical achievements, and, again, Jagger is completely triumphant." Brian Jones' recorder solo is just one of many examples of multi-instrumental texture on the album.

"Yesterday's Papers" is even better than remembered. It's fairly prosaic lyrically, but the minor key, unusual arrangement, and a great riff on marimba make this another great. "Connection" is also a bit simple, but has great drumming and drive, as well as the fun of all those "ion" rhymes: "direction," "injection," "infection," etc. "She Smiled Sweetly and "Cool, Calm, and Collected" are among Jagger's finest vocals. On the former, he sounds vulnerable, even grateful, and he sings it straight in a simple, low-toned voice. The Dylan-esque quality is notable as well as the churchy Hammond organ meshing with the almost reverential tone. Definitely a departure for the Stones. The latter song typically criticizes a woman, but there's a very playful quality in both Jagger's voice and the instrumentation and playing: a banjo/sitar, ragged piano, harmonica, and kazoo. (There's also some fun, purposefully bad notes by Richards, and a sped-up ending) It's a fantastic combination of the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Bonzo Dog Band, and echoes England's great music hall tradition. The same mix permeates the wonderfully playful "Something Happened to Me Yesterday," one of their most underrated songs (and even more reminiscent of the Beatles).

The remaining songs are more typical (but still excellent) Stones fare, with "Amanda Jones" standing out for its harmonies and driving rock/pop attitude. "All Sold Out" (dig those "hey hey!" background vocals) and "My Obsession" (great bass riff, drumming, and probably Nicky Hopkins on piano) feature Keith Richard's biting guitar licks. They barely qualify as solos, but they give a taste of things to come. "Who's Been Sleeping Here" echoes Dylan both vocally and musically (It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is obvious) and, though Jagger's vocal is uneven, the mix of acoustic and electric guitars is very appealing. Only "Complicated" is a disappointment. The best of these songs predate and, arguably, rival the creativity of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper." The album definitely evokes 1960's London, but the sound is transcendent.

Comprised entirely of original material, "Between The Buttons" was released in early 1967 to mixed reviews.

Some critics, and part of the record-buying public as well, felt that the Rolling Stones had made a mistake in abandoning their raw, bluesy origins in favour of pop songs, Dylan-emulations, and psychedelia, and "Between The Buttons" is certainly the least R&B-influenced album the Stones had delivered at the time.

But it has a lot of qualities as well, and it went a long way towards establishing Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as versatile songwriters who could do a lot more than just cover Bo Diddley and write basic, three-chord rock songs.

The best-known songs on this superior US-edition are "Let's Spend The Night Together", a classic piano-driven rocker, and Keith Richards' quasi-"power ballad" "Ruby Tuesday", but songs like the mean-spirited "Yesterday's Paper", the catchy pop-rockers "Connection" and "Something Happened To Me Yesterday", and the grand "Who's Been Sleeping Here" are of high quality as well, showing how much the songwriting abilities of the Glimmer Twins had evolved.

A couple of these songs are a little too psychedelic for my taste, and I sometimes find myself wishing that the Stones would have stuck to being the Stones rather than attempting to be the Kinks.

But most of what's here is very good, and certainly worth your while. "Buttons" is hard to categorize...it is quite different from what most people would expect from the Rolling Stones, and those who prefer them in their hard rock-guise may be somewhat disappointed.

Still, "Buttons" also shows the breadth and depth of the Stones' collective talents, and while it's not consistently great there are several highlight here which any self-respecting Stones fan absolutely must hear.

3 3/4 stars. I'm not sure how to spell "breadth".

Between The Buttons is an early Rolling Stones recording with a more mature pop style. Yes there are some rocking guitar moments. However this one of the few Stones recordings which emphasizes the vocal harmonies and piano embellishments more.

Each of the band members make some noteworthy contributions. Charlie Watts' drumming is extremely steady and quite creative particularly on songs like All Sold Out and My Obsession. Love Bill Wyman's fuzz bass on that tune and in other spots. Brian Jones flute tones to Ruby Tuesday as well as the guitar tones on Who's Been Sleeping Here stand strong. Keith Richards' voice is definitely more evident in the mix on harmony vocals. He even gets his first solo lead vocal cameo on the rollicking Something Happened To Me Yesterday. His organ contributions to She Smiled Sweetly are very distingusihable. As for Mick Jagger, his voice is in fine form throughout. Sometimes loud, other times soft, but certainly captivating.

Besides the band members, the songs are extremely well written. Its not just rhythm and blues. Its carefully crafted tunes with catchy hooks galore. A strong Beatles influence exists here plus some cabaret stylings on a couple of tunes.

Truthfully this is not as hyped as Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, or Let It Bleed. However, quality-wise, Between The Buttons is on the level of these great discs with some special touches that make this recording unique.

This CD captures a very early sound.

Cool, Calm and Collected has a rich sweet but powerful melody to it

Something Happened to Me Yesterday is a unique piece too.

On the whole it's a unique sounding CD of The Rolling Stones that I recommend.