Contributing musicians:

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Jack Nitzsche, Nicky Hopkins, Nick De Caro, Shirley Watts.

Track List:

Yesterdays' Papers
My Obsession
Back Street Girl
Connection
She Smiled Sweetly
Cool, Calm And Collected
All Sold Out
Please Go Home
Who's Been Sleeping Here?
Complicated
Miss Amanda Jones
Something Happened To Me Yesterday

Credits:

Arranged By – The Rolling Stones
Artwork [Drawings] – Charlie Watts
Photography By [Cover] – Gered Mankowitz
Producer – Andrew Loog Oldham
Written-By – Jagger-Richards

What are your thoughts on this album?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-06-12 13:58 by DandelionPowderman.

While it's nice to have Backstreet Girl and Please Go Home, something is sorely missing...

What is missing?

Nothing missing in your post, but I miss RT & LSTNT. Usually I prefer the UK editions.
Who's Been Sleeping Here deserves more praise, especially the "old british brigadier" line

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Nikkei
Nothing missing in your post, but I miss RT & LSTNT. Usually I prefer the UK editions.
Who's Been Sleeping Here deserves more praise, especially the "old british brigadier" line

Just teasing

No UK .... just 'cause it carries Please Go Homehomehomehomehome....



ROCKMAN

Really underrated album and I love it dearly for its quirky Englishness and personification of quaint and charming Swinging London.

But compare it to other albums that came out around that time: Revolver, Pet Sounds, Blonde On Blonde, Face To Face - I don't think it stands near any of those which all broke new ground in terms of sonic and lyrical invention.

Had it not been for Beggars Banquet then following Between The Buttons and Satanic Majesties the Stones could have been heading for the exit door.

I also really like Yesterday's Papers. It's a simple ditty, but the instrumentation is fascinating. Harpsichord or what is that?
Also the guitar break after the second verse is glorious in its sudden bluntness. Hits you unexpected.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-06-12 14:25 by Nikkei.

This album took me forever to get into. But suddenly – BANG! – it was under my skin. I understood the songs, the amateurish but daring production as well as natural extension of the key-Aftermath songs. One can also hear hints of what to come on Their Satanic Majesties Request on songs like Please Go Home, where psychedelic production techniques and sounds are tried out. The english music hall-influence is also evident on some songs, as well as pretty obvious lifting from songs by the Kinks (Connection and others).

Looking at the tracks individually we'll find some gems. Back Street Girl, Yesterday's Paper, Connection, All Sold Out, She Smiled Sweetly, Something Happened To Me Yesterday and Miss Amanda Jones. All great, great songs. IMO, many of those songs would have been huge hits with a more straight production.

Love this album. Listened to it cranked up yesterday. Probably the first Stones album with a punchy drum sound. Too bad it takes 50 percent of the soundscape sometimes

The strangest thing about the production is the drum sound. But that can be said for a lot of british 60s records. It's all ping pong.

This is the album I listened to night and day, day and night for years...

2 1 2 0

I don't like this album at all. In some ways, I even prefer Her Satanic, which has a number of songs which are terrible, but also a few songs which are a lot better (Citadel, 2000 light years, Rainbow).
And it's also clearly much worse than Aftermath, which is an album I like very much.
Somehow Between the Buttons just crosses the line from blues-based pop (Aftermath) without being too weird (Her Satanic) to stay in some vaudeville, ball-room pop with silly noises which I find overly annoying. "Connection" was sort of okay (although still weak) when Keith did it solo, but the rest I find rather annoying and I doubt even when produced and played differently would win much.
So, albeit not their worst album, in fact it's the album I listen to the least (at least their worst album has "One Hit" on it).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-06-12 18:03 by matxil.

The vinyl is in my collection with a great Charlie Watts cartoon on the back.
It has some really nice tracks worth listening.

A marvellous release, filled wih a decent aray of pop-rock and folk-inspired tunes. Certainly, it's, to an extent, of it's time, but Between The Buttons still holds-up as a particularly enjoyable listening experience. I'm familiar with both the U.K. and U.S. editions and rate them equally. In my opinion, it's a more satisfying release than it's predecessor, the somewhat darker Aftermath.

This is the best track listing between UK and US versions. It just flows perfectly.
The singles Let's Spend the Night..., Ruby Tuesday & Have You Seen... can be listen seperately on the Singles collection box set.

There are instrumental tracks of most of the songs available on bootlegs to enjoy just the instrumental arrangements.

Also the hi-res version from the excellent Bob Ludwig remaster is stunning.

There are instrumental tracks of most of the songs available on bootlegs

YEAH!!! me fave is the Yesterday's Papers instrumental....lurv it



ROCKMAN

Quote
Nikkei
The strangest thing about the production is the drum sound. But that can be said for a lot of british 60s records. It's all ping pong.

Me too. I discovered the Stones in 1970. Absorbing the back catalog was a real treat, playing the albums over and over again until they were a very part of you. Each album was had its own unique perspective and must be listened to on its own terms. Buttons is terrific not only in the overall context of the band and its time, but also in and by itself. Critique this and complain about that - hell, it's a Stones album and that old vinyl disc brought me hundreds of hours of delight!

The album between Aftermath and Majesties...are those the buttons then?

I heard it for this short review once again after decades. To be honest: Terrible, horrible, awkward, like "Their Satanic Majesties" no Rolling Stones album. The guitars are almost entirely disappeared. The only track that reminds me that there was a great Rhythm and Blues band from 62 until 65 is Miss Amanda Jones. This Pop-product is only topped by the even worse Their Satanic ...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-06-27 12:46 by RobertJohnson.

I've yet to see any proof from the time or within a few years following it linking Nicky Hopkins to playing on this album.

Stu, Jack and Brian are all shown playing piano during the sessions, but not one photo of Nicky. Jack flew to London for the sessions at Olympic in November - December. No need for him to be there if a Nicky is playing.

Nicky's own words from a 1967 Beat Instrumental article point to We Love You being his first appearance on a Rolling Stones release.

From nickyhopkins.com, but I wonder if there's some sloppiness going on there.

«In 1966 CBS released his all-instrumental solo album The Revolutionary Piano Of Nicky Hopkins and the same year saw him recording for the first time with the Rolling Stones»

But this sort of contradicts it a bit:

«His tours with the Rolling Stones included the legendary 1972 visit to the USA and after being credited on Beggar’s Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street and Jamming With Edward his growing fame led to another recording contract with Columbia».



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-26 13:19 by DandelionPowderman.

Quote
DandelionPowderman
From nickyhopkins.com, but I wonder if there's some sloppiness going on there.

«In 1966 CBS released his all-instrumental solo album The Revolutionary Piano Of Nicky Hopkins and the same year saw him recording for the first time with the Rolling Stones»

But this sort of contradicts it a bit:

«His tours with the Rolling Stones included the legendary 1972 visit to the USA and after being credited on Beggar’s Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street and Jamming With Edward his growing fame led to another recording contract with Columbia».

Yeah, but that's from a website now, Nicky himself has contradicted his own 1967 self.

We are talking about a mere 2 months of difference between the sessions for Btb's and TSMR. Easy for memories of such a short time merging in to one another.

Syncronicity is alive and well. I just got done driving cross a mountain in pitch black night with 'Buttons" blaring.
"Buttons" was my very first Stones album. Inherited from someone in my family. It had just been laying around always, I think. So for a long time ( because I was still too young to buy own records) this was my Stones.
It has a special place for this alone. BUt I think every reviewer also sees it on it's own. Always gets the "British Sound", "Pop", "Kinks", "Pre Satanic" key words.
All this applies. I don't agree at all that the guitars 'The guitars are almost entirely disappeared.'(quote) Every song is guitar based. They are just used very differently. What takes backseat is the R&B influence.
But, this is part of an artist's development; and stretching their creative muscles. It has to be so. Maybe, maybe, at worst, it can be seen as a stepping stone. Towards another sound. But even stepping stones to me are their very own entity.
Without the maturity, and the seasoning that "Buttons" and "Satanic" gives the writers and the band, there would be no 'Banquet', no 'Let it Bleed'.

Someone was definitely playing piano, a session guy. "Sleeping Here", "Cool Calm", "Obsession".

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DandelionPowderman

Quote
Nikkei
Nothing missing in your post, but I miss RT & LSTNT. Usually I prefer the UK editions.
Who's Been Sleeping Here deserves more praise, especially the "old british brigadier" line

Just teasing

I have always loved that song, I have put it on every Deep Cut or Closet classics compilation CD I have ever made.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-26 18:02 by virgil.

Quote
virgil

Quote
DandelionPowderman

Quote
Nikkei
Nothing missing in your post, but I miss RT & LSTNT. Usually I prefer the UK editions.
Who's Been Sleeping Here deserves more praise, especially the "old british brigadier" line

Just teasing

I have always loved that song, I have put it on every Deep Cut or Closet classics compilation CD I have ever made.

I like it, too! I had to look up and see if I'd said otherwise earlier, hehe Solid, Dylan-esque track.

Quote
His Majesty

Quote
DandelionPowderman
From nickyhopkins.com, but I wonder if there's some sloppiness going on there.

«In 1966 CBS released his all-instrumental solo album The Revolutionary Piano Of Nicky Hopkins and the same year saw him recording for the first time with the Rolling Stones»

But this sort of contradicts it a bit:

«His tours with the Rolling Stones included the legendary 1972 visit to the USA and after being credited on Beggar’s Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street and Jamming With Edward his growing fame led to another recording contract with Columbia».

Yeah, but that's from a website now, Nicky himself has contradicted his own 1967 self.

We are talking about a mere 2 months of difference between the sessions for Btb's and TSMR. Easy for memories of such a short time merging in to one another.

Hopkins was working on TSMR in May 1967 when they started on TSMR. The BTB sessions started in August 1966 and were mainly finished up in November.

Hopkins recorded on 2 tracks in December.

I used to hate BTB. But over the years I've grown to like it.

It's their, at the time, 'not Stones' album. It's beyond what AFTERMATH had achieved, which was quite a definitive sound for the band, in terms of exploration.

BTB was a bit wigged out. She Smiled Sweetly. Yesterdays Papers. Cool Call Collected. All Sold Out (which weirdly sounds like a really fast first version of Parachute Woman in places and also, hilariously, sounds like a huge influence on Queens Of The Stone Age).

But no where near as wigged out as what was to happen with the next record.

It also had some elements to it that one could arguably hint, maybe - a big maybe - at the future of punk rock, with My Obsessions, Miss Amanda Jones and Please Go Home. Possibly even Complicated.

Overall, the songs are very busy. It doesn't seem like an album that could be toured unless, even then, they slowed some things way down, since there are some very fast and agitated tracks.

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GasLightStreet

Overall, the songs are very busy. It doesn't seem like an album that could be toured unless, even then, they slowed some things way down, since there are some very fast and agitated tracks.

I think it sounds more agitated than it is because of the production. I think that was a real mistake on ALO's part. It sounds sort of shallow, if that's the word. I've read that he was going for a sound similar to the Kinks, and I guess he succeeded, but I don't think it does the material justice. There are some very good songs on it that have pretty much fallen by the wayside. I wish he had recorded it like Aftermath.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-26 20:02 by blivet.

video: [www.youtube.com]

I love this album. I'd only been exposed to the U.S. version for very many years so RT and LSTNT;
so those two were always very special treats for me...very much so...
Very much personal investment and response to RT, but LSTNT was so SUPER
Mega-Huge also; that Sullivan appearance with these two just indelible so my Between The Buttons experience has always included those...


Still, looking long and hard at the UK Track listing, the original album as they, and production team, envisioned it...it would still work for me.
Yes, even with the criticism of the recording process and them experimenting
with varying styles....
...and that Buttons is pointedly NOT Banquet or Bleed certainly;
and I'm not even sure now to compare Satanic Majesties to anything too very much; such was it's originality...
...tho they are obviously using "Pepper" as a visual and aural inspiration...(and maybe a sardonic ironical twist in that 3D cover as well)...

(lol I really DUG IT when Zappa put that "We're Only In It For The Money" pardoy Pepper cover too)!

I'll never totally understand why some people do malign Buttons,
even Mick has been dismissive here and there in regard to the album....
...cause I've always really loved it. I DO like the whole album.

When it came out I had no problem with listening to it
ALL the way through time and time again very many, many times.
I just did this naturally, I was really comfortable with it
and just liked the whole thing. It was a HIT for me personally...

I would have NEVER done that for just two hits...no matter how hot.
and suffered through ten other songs...
Not at 16, which I was when this came along, nor now...

So probs my age at the time; and loving it; and them; well, it 'imprints' on ya in ways....a cool thing about music or 'art' for many fans.
And also the times, it came out sort of 'expressive and driving' to me
amidst a LOT of other ground-breaking stuff I LOVED in '67...
but a ton of Bombast, which I often adored, and this stood apart and refreshing
in that sense to me also,
when it was a contemporary release.

It was plenty dirty and rockin' enough; and for me, certainly on quite a good number of tracks.

....even after "Ruby Tuesday" and '..Night Together" were available
on Greatest Hits packages, I kept going back to Buttons...
It hit me hard at just the right time...so I don't have the dubious 'luxury' (no pun intended)
of having experienced it as a back catalog album, maybe having
heard all the super Banquet/Bleed/Sticky/Exiles tent poles first....
...
If that was the case maybe I'd have slighted it also, I'll never be sure...
...or at least be reluctant to view it as top tier stuff...
...
but I'm a big Kinks fan, as well as a big fan of Dylan and when Mick and Keith
were stylistically bringing English Music Hall, or plaintive little ballads, it was way OK with me...

...and placed along rolling and driving dirty little numbers like "Miss Amanda Jones" or "My Obsession" ('...mouth was soaking wet...'),
the start-stop stagger drum-drive of "All Sold Out."
"Back Street Girl" is great; and that makes the orignal UK album even better;
I like "Please Goes Home" too.

I think it's fine that this one is under-rated, part of the wonderful discoveries generations of fans can find and enjoy....
...but for me it was a foundational album, however a transitional and uneven one audibly,
comparative to the technological production capabilites that
American J. Miller would use on them, and with them;
and also add considerable direction and unity that happened in the band, for reason of Miller yes,
but also the band's own great growth, tilting on the point between hysterical adulation
and tons of very heavy pop hits; (some with remarkably heavy themes...)
...and really making full fledged 'adult' type hard-hitting, expansive; particularly creative rock and roll, exemplified by the 'golden period' right to come...

....I like the drive of Buttons. I like most all of it and always have.
In truth "Miss Amanda Jones," "All Sold Out," "My Obsession"; yep even "She Smiled Sweetly,"
"Connection," are all, in my estimation, super-fine songs and performances....and inspired ones;
Charlie and Bill are excellent throughout but that's pretty much a reliably 'known' on the record....
Mick sings great. I like it like it.

I love the comments here. I think most are nailing it as a legitimately worthwhile album. Aftermath was so totally thrilling...
...this DID seem a little 'odd' and scattered, even at the time to me...
admittedly so....but somehow that did not seem to keep me from enjoying it
over and over again; and really getting off on it. I still love it.
If fans call it 'un-even,' 'transitional,' 'rushed,' '4-tracks duped over too many times,' 'scatter-shot,' and etc..
...I couldn't really credibly disagree, or care to particuarly; it's just that it worked for me. I still love it
and hey, if you're on your bikes tonight, wear white.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-27 02:16 by hopkins.