Between the Buttons =uk..

In the early/mid 1990s I fostered a serious Stones’ obsession. Back then you could get a pristine mono Decca from the 60s for £15-20 or less if you were lucky. I had a beautiful full set of UK releases 12”, 7” and EP.Between the Buttons was an attractive release, the iconic Gered Mankowitz photography of the band, looking wrecked at 530am after an all night session (music, presumably), Charlie’s wonderful cartoon on the back cover. But I never listened to it as I was obsessed with the rockier side of the band. It felt tame.I foolishly sold all of my Stones vinyl in the slump of the early 2000s. I just bought this album again on a whim, and it’s really really good. Forget the swagger of Sticky Fingers or the R&B of Out Of Our Heads. This is where Brian’s influence was at its most fertile. As Bill said, the Rolling Stones were Brian’s band. And BTB shows what they could have been if he wasn’t so damaged, if Nanker/Phelge had won instead of Jagger/Richards. The music is varied, light, dark, unusual, creative and exciting. Jaggers lyrics are as puerile as ever, but it’s a greatly overlooked album. The next album was an aberration, a foolhardy reposte to Sgt Pepper. Between the Buttons, as another reviewer points out, is the true predecessor to Beggars Banquet.Buy it.

Like other early Rolling Stones albums different UK and US versions of "Between The Buttons" were released, I'm listening to the UK version but if you're thinking of buying BTB then be aware that it's the American release that contains "Let's Spend The Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday" and not the UK version which has "Back Street Girl" and "Please Go Home" instead [on reflection that's not really a fair swap]."Between the Buttons" followed "Aftermath", the first Stones album to only feature originals and with Jagger and Richards song-writing maturing "Between the Buttons" has over the years been lauded by the rock cognoscenti for its inventiveness, but for "inventiveness" read "barminess" with Brian Jones playing just about anything he could lay his hands on (bar the electric guitar).Opener "Yesterday's Papers", alledgedly a pot-shot at Chrissie Shrimpton Jagger's then most recent ex-, is a clever little mod'ish pop-song but the funkier Northern Soul sound of "My Obsession" that follows is far better and could have influenced or been influenced by the Who. Third track, the ballad "Back Street Girl" is a waltz featuring harpsichord, vibraphones, recorder and accordion, it's a disrupter [I remember my surprise the first time I heard the Jam's "English Rose" on their "All Mod Cons" album] but funnily enough it's OK even if it's not really very rock 'n' roll; "Connection" in its Chuck Berry styling is though. With Jones supplying organ drones "She Smiled Sweetly" is another ballad and another that's pleasant enough even if it's not very special. The original side one finished with the vaudevillian "Cool, Calm & Collected" with Jones on dulcimer and Kazoo [!] and as I listen I'm reminded of the Kinks Dedicated "Follower of Fashion", if someone had edited out the childish ending that I'm sure seemed like a good idea at the time it would have been better.Side two opened with "All Sold Out", another piece of mid-60s pop, "Please Go Home" that follows is better with a chugging Bo Diddley beat, Ian Stewart on piano, and Brian Jones limited to whistling noises on his recorder, it's a throwback to the Stones early blues days and probably [IMO at least] the best track so far but ironically it didn't appear on the US release. "Who's Been Sleeping Here?" is perhaps an early sign of the Stones all conquering rock that was still a couple of years away and is my new favourite track so far. The opening bars of "Complicated" remind me of the Who's "My Generation" but what follows is more Kinks sophistication than the Who's smash and grab. "Miss Amanda Jones" though could only be the Stones as they collectively channel their inner Chuck Berry, it may be simple but it rocks harder than the rest of the album. Closer "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" at two seconds short of five minutes is the longest track here, but it's five minutes of vaudeville that I can do without [even if this time Jones is on tuba, trombone and trumpet] and has me banging my head in despair, side two was going so well up until this point.And that's it. It's better than its predeccessor "Aftermath" Jagger and Richards song-writing is far stronger. But this was 1967 when barminess unrestrained was encouraged and overrated; and while barmy and overrated aptly describe much of "Between The Buttons" worse was yet to come with the full blown barking excesses of "Their Satanic Majesties Request". In short: it's more often interesting than disappointing but it's not a Stones must-have.

"Between the Buttons" from 1967 is probably not just an overlooked transitional album; it is also one of the more uneven early Stones albums.Pschychedelia can be spotted on several tracks, while the group's original DNA, the R&B, plays a smaller role than before. In some of the lyrics, you can also feel an increasing influence from Bob Dylan; a trend that really blossomed on "Beggar's Banquet" from 1968. The group's all-round musician, Brian Jones, contributed with many different instruments to the album, which was the group's most multi-faceted to date.I call the album uneven because here we find some of the group's finest songs, but also a handful that comes close the "filler" category.The album opens nicely with "Yesterday's Papers", which may be remembered for the vibraphone that gives the track a great lightness. It’s a song somewhat related to "Stupid Girl" from "Aftermath"."My Obsession" is a slightly sketchy jazzy track; not a big number."Backstreet Girl" is a personal favorite. It is a very atmospheric, melancholy and melodic song with nice acoustic guitar. The group had increasingly begun to write songs with an almost folkish tone, with "As Tears Go By" and "Lady Jane" being some of the best known. The somewhat cynical lyrics may offend some listeners; Jagger's sometimes insensitive way of expressing himself can be seen on several other Stones songs - earlier and later.With "Connection" we are back in the slightly thinner department. A fairly short number; not decidedly weak but not much more than that either."She Smiled Sweetly" is the next ballad and the song is a beautiful melodic highlight on "BtB". A nice, almost dramatic structure, with a very rich organ. It is a bit special for a Stones recording that there is no guitar to be heard on the song."Cool, Calm, Collected" is a fun track that mixes different genres. There is a bit of vaudeville/music hall, jazz and psychedelia in a good mix that actually works very well."All Sold Out" is very classic Rolling Stones, and a track that could have been taken from "Out of our Heads"; very nice guitar playing from Keith Richards.The Bo Diddley inspired "Please, Go Home" is, on the other hand, mostly forgettable. The somewhat thin-boned song is not saved by adding some psychedelia to the vocals.On "Who's Been Sleeping Here" you get a nice foretaste of "Beggar's Banquet". Both musically and lyrically, the song could fit into this album, which many consider to be the group's most successful."Complicated" is musically in the family of "Stupid Girl", and classic Stone's style. Lyrically, Jagger is also in familiar territory when he describes his female acquaintances."Miss Amanda Jones" is a traditional rocker in the Chuck Berry style."Something Happened to me Yesterday" was supposed to describe an LSD experience. It's a musically multifaceted number that easily brings to mind contemporaries The Kinks, and that group's ability to integrate classic music hall into their music. A fine end to an overall solid Stones album.The American version of the album also contained the very beautiful "Ruby Tuesday", which is probably one of the finest things the group has ever recorded. Also the single "Let's Spend the Night Together" was on the American version. Funny to think that the lyrics to this track could cause controversy.In exchange for these two tracks, the Americans had to surrender "Back Street Girl" and "Please, Go Home", which instead appeared on "Flowers" later that year.

The only song I knew from this album before I bought it was the superbly gutsy opener, 'Yesterday's Papers'. As a fan of the Brian Jones era, the prospect of an album containing eleven Stones songs I'd never heard before makes me wonder why I've waited so long to buy it. Perhaps my inexplicable delay could be down to the eternal critical dismissal of 'Between The Buttons' as the point when the Stones lost their way. But losing their way from what exactly? Giving their audience more of the same? They've certainly done that for the past 40 years, but it's worthwhile revisiting a period when the Stones were spreading their musical wings and absorbing what was happening around them rather than looking back to old bluesmen.The Beatles, Kinks and Dylan appear to be the prime influences on 'Between The Buttons', with the recent release of 'Blonde on Blonde' evident in 'She Smiled Sweetly' and 'Who's Been Sleeping Here?'. But overall, I think this is the band's most recognisably ENGLISH album, their own answer to 'Revolver', if you like. And one element very present here that also permeated 'Satanic Majesties' is something that's conspicously absent from 'Beggar's Banquet' and 'Let It Bleed' - a sense of humour. It's present in 'Cool, Calm and Colllected' as the band speed up at the song's frenetic climax, and in Jagger's sign-off at the end of the Music Hall-meets-Dixieland Jazz closer, 'Something Happened To Me Yesterday', reminding the listener to wear something white if they go out at night, a witty touch that had no place during the band's headlong dive into Americana that coloured their musical palette from '68 onwards. They actually sound as if they're having fun and enjoying themselves on here - and why not?As with The Beatles, the stresses and strains of touring had come to an end and the Stones were able to take stock, survey the landscape they'd created, finally enjoy the material fruits of their labours, and begin to use the album as a freeform vehicle for their sonic explorations. But Brian Jones needed decent songs to justify his elaborate instrumentation, and there are some decent songs on this album, the best perhaps being the marvellous 'Backstreet Girl' - and how this song isn't more well-known is a genuine mystery.With one of the great 60s sleeves, capturing the band as five stoned wanderers in an atmospherically wintry London park, the contents are definitely worth checking out, especially the proper UK version without the two singles tagged-on. Any library of mid-60s British Pop, when the leading lights turned away from America and began to look closer to home for inspiration, is incomplete without this album to sit alongside the more celebrated examples of a brief but enduring sub-genre.

What a trial I had getting this CD. I must have ordered it 5 times before the correct version was sent. Received 4 of the US version having ordered the UK version each time. An excellent set of Rolling Stones songs at their quirky best. One of my favourite Stones albums.