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BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
Fifteen Reviews - Overall Average Rating - 8.6 Tongues
(We are accepting fan reviews for this album once again, for a limited time)
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
by by devilsadvocate
June 29, 2009
Rating:
Between the Buttons is another unjustly neglected
album. It has classic cover photography by Gered Mankowitz, who did a lot of
work with the boys. The sound inside is more "pop" than that of most Stones
albums, but the boys could pull it off in any genre. Just like Aftermath the
year before, Between the Buttons is a testimony to Brian Jones' musical
versatility, a versatility which, at the time, set the Stones apart from any other rock
band.
Nowhere is this versatility more apparent than on "Ruby Tuesday", one of the
most beautiful songs ever written. Of course the recorder plays a huge part in the
song, but this is also quite likely Mick Jagger's best vocal performance of any Stones
song. His restrained, sensitive and tasteful vocalization is absolutely perfect for
the lovely lyrics and melody.
Every single song on this album is catchy and fun to listen to. "Cool, Calm
& Collected" may very well have the best ending of any song, with the band
picking up the pace gradually until it reaches an absolute frenzy during the
fade-out. I always get a kick out of that. Other songs that stand out are
"Connection", "Complicated" and "Miss Amanda Jones".
My only problem with the album is that the wonderful "Get Yourself Together" was
left off the album. This catchy rock tune richly deserved to be included, and there
was plenty of room for it. But it ended up a highly sought-after bootleg song
instead.
There are no duds on this album. Overall, a very good (and different) effort from
the Stones.
To listen to some sound clips from
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS or to buy it click: Between the Buttons (US Version)
or Between the Buttons (UK Version)
More fan reviews:
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Kryp
June 28, 2004
Rating:
Not the first Stones album I would buy but it is definitely one of my favorites because it
is the closest thing to 60's British pop music that the Rolling Stones ever did. I
recommend the UK version because it includes the marvelous "Backstreet Girl" and
chances are that you already have one of the many greatest hit packages that includes
"Ruby Tuesday" and "Let's Spend the Night Together". This is an
interesting album from start to finish and well worth purchasing over another greatest
hits package. Charlie Watts drumming is a tour de force effort and worth it for that
reason alone.
My favorite songs are "Yesterday's Papers", where Mick cruelly tells his
girlfriend, Chrissie Shrimpton that he is breaking up with her. "Complicated" is
hard to listen to without getting the urge to dance. "Something Happened To Me
Yesterday" is done in an old music hall style and it's funny to listen to the overt
LSD references knowing that the censors didn't get it. This album also has my favorite
picture of the Stones on the cover looking like they were freezing their arses off except
for
Brian, who is either totally stoned or just being an ass trying to ruin the picture. Not
the typical Stones album but more enjoyable than the self conscious Majesties.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Noah Stern
June 14, 2004
Rating:
This album is awesome. It starts off with the 2 most well known tracks & the 2 best
songs on the album. 'Let's Spend The Night Together' is probably just a little bit better
than 'Ruby Tuesday', with it's awesome "ba-ba-ba-ba" backing vocals, & it's
piano & organ groove. Another classic is the closing track with it's 50's style
trumpet & trombone. It's a beautiful British pop song. Yet, there is still 1 more
classic ('Who's Been Sleeping Here'). It's a Dylanesque because, of the way Brian plays
the harp, & Mick does a good Dylan vibe. It also has a pretty sad feeling to it if you
listen closely. There are 4 other great tunes, & 3 average or mediocre tunes on the
album, but that is not as important as what I'm going to mention now. Okay, the reason I
didn't give this album a 10 is for only one reason. Nobody seems to notice, who reviews
this album, that 'Cool Calm & Collected' stinks. I'll give it a 3.9, & the reason
I even rated it is because of the piano playing by Jack Nitzche. First of all, I don't
like how Mick says "cool, calm & collected" in his British accent, &
you'd think it's a good thing, but after a while it starts to get on your nerves. Second
of all, Brian Jones thinks that it's cool to make Indian Independence Day Blues(sitar,
kazoo, harmonica). Well Brian, honestly, that's the worst combination of instruments in
rock & roll history, man. It's also 1 of the worst songs in rock history, in my
opinion. The final complaint that I have about the song is that at the 3-minute-mark it
starts to get faster & faster, until it fades away. Most of the rest of this album is
great & I love it.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Nick Millward
November 29, 2003
Rating:
In the summer of 1966 the Stones were in the daunting position of playing catch up to the
other two units of the "Holy Trinity". Dylan's landmark Blonde On Blonde
released in the spring and the Beatles' Revolver, hitting shelves the same month Buttons
was being recorded (no doubt the Stones being privy to an early listen), set the bar
rather high. Two singles from Buttons match up and possibly surpass anything from
those other albums: "Ruby Tuesday" and "Lets Spend the Night
Together". "Ruby" for its pop beauty and "Night" for its sheer
audacity. Other tracks transparently mimic Dylans' "thin wild mercury sound"
like 'She Smiles Sweetly'. 'Something Happened To Me Yesterday' is a hybrid child of
'Yellow Submarine' and 'Rainy Day Women #12&35'. 'All Sold Out' is the most prescient
recording of future acid rock guitar soloing. 'Cool Calm Collected' seems to be the most
badly dated embarrassment- a half-thought filler of clumsy psychedelia. Between the
Buttons is an apt title being the only style of its kind between the albums of
R&B cliches to the menace of the darker hard rock to come.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Shannon
April 14, 2003
Rating:
I want to start off by saying that I'm only 15. But I love Classic Rock and the Stones are
my second favorite band (The Beatles are my #1). I bought this album after getting all of
the BIG ones (Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, etc.) and I just don't
understand why no one ever talks about it as one of the best. The moment I put this in, I
forgot all of my troubles and had a great time rocking out to some really interesting
music. This album has so much going on throughout it that it will always be interesting.
Who expected that kazoo on "Cool, Calm, Collected"? I won't go into how much I
like every single song, just name my favorites and why I like them. "Ruby
Tuesday" is one of the greatest songs of all time. It is just really pretty with
Brian's recorder and that amazing chorus. "She Smiled Sweetly" is also very nice
because it has great vocals and good arrangement. "All Sold Out" and "Miss
Amanda Jones" are both great rockers that make you want to dance. But my favorite
song on this album is "Something Happened to Me Yesterday". I like it because it
is really interesting with a lot going on in the horns. I also like how both Mick and
Keith sing. And the end is classic. Buy this album if you like rock music and want to hear
something a little bit different from other Stones records.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Thijs den Otter
April 11, 2003
Rating:
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS is a very neat album. As I understand it, not every critic
liked this one when it came out, but this one proved to be solid as a rock through the
decades.
'Let's Spend the Night Together' and 'Ruby Tuesday' are the albums true classics. The
first one always makes me smile because of the ridiculous Ed Sullivan-recording. 'Ruby
Tuesday' is one of the greatest ballads in pop history. I used to have my doubts about
some of the fillers on this one. Still, the more I listen to this album, the more I like
them too. 'All Sold Out' is a good old fashioned rock 'n roll song, just like 'Miss Amanda
Jones' and 'Connection'. All in all, BETWEEN THE BUTTONS is the last 'old
fashioned' album by the Stones. The records that were made in the era right after this one
are the greatest in the catalogue, but this one is a good finisher for the 'Newest Hitmakers-era'.
And the finisher on this one - 'Something Happened to me Yesterday' is perhaps the
funniest song by the boys. A great album!
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Ben
December 19, 2002
Rating:
Let's look at Between the Buttons, a murky dark blue or overcast album, like it's
cover. A sickly Brian looking like stewed lemons or hair like meat in the wind. Mick
tired, perhaps; Keith getting cool with the shades but not yet full force modern in style;
these are the early experiments with fuzz pedals. Keith mentions this; the full
barrelhouse of "Down the Road Apiece" is replaced by the tentative shaky riffs
built around a fuzztone riff from Keith and a drum beat from Charlie.
The majesty is still rooted in singles, where a "Ruby Tuesday" is rich with
emotion and full of a simple and rich 1960s or even timeless production; same goes for
"Let's Spend the Night Together" where a considerable amount of energy is
expended and dancing is made to happen with the many voices chugging the piano song along.
The shallowness of the album is that it is in transition, making pop experiments yet not
fully finding it fully committed primal groove, like "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
begins. The beauty of "Tuesday" , later "Dandilion" released around
this time, is fun and fresh and a note in passing between the early and later Stones. Mick
notes this link in his comment regarding the Godard filming of the recording sessions for
"Sympathy for the Devil" Mick notes he was happy Godard filmed "Sympathy
for the Devil" rather than a song like "My Obsession". I agree; though to
see that more spare production of the blue sessions of Between the Buttons might
have been interesting, somehow empty room with pedals on the floor.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By the chipper
June 2, 2002
Rating:
One of the most underrated albums of the '60's, this is remembered chiefly for the
inclusion of the double-sided hit single, "Let's Spend The Night Together" (one
of the most joyful songs about sex ever recorded) and "Ruby Tuesday", a pop
masterpiece featuring some lovely flute or recorder or whatever it is, courtesy of the
versatile Brian Jones. But there are plenty of less well-known treasures lurking here,
too. "Yesterday's Papers" is a swirling, Swinging London sort of tune, which
served as a musical "Get lost!" to Mick Jagger's ex-girlfriend, Chrissie
Shrimpton. "Connection" is a cheerful ditty about scoring drugs, a companion
piece to the Beatles' "Doctor Robert". "Complicated" and "All
Sold Out" are first-rate tracks, in spite of the muffled sound caused by one-too-many
overdubs from clueless producer Andrew Loog Oldham, who would never work with the Stones
again after this record. "She Smiled Sweetly" just might be the only love song
the group released during the '60's that wasn't bitter or ironic. Of special interest is
"Who's Been Sleeping Here?", which, with its surreal lyrics, world-weary vocals
and wheezing harmonica, is the most Dylanesque song in the Stones' catalog. There are also
two songs that show the influence of Ray Davies' infatuation with the British Music Hall:
the entertaining "Cool, Calm And Collected", with its madcap race to the finish
(complete with kazoo), and the less satisfying, somewhat hokey "Something Happened To
Me Yesterday", which is noteworthy for Keith Richards' first-ever lead vocal on some
of the verses. Rounding out the song list are "Miss Amanda Jones" (the album's
most energized rocker), and the tuneless filler "My Obsession". All in all, a
fine collection of songs, and a sort of bridge from their early days to Beggar's
Banquet and beyond.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By David Gomolinski
October 10, 2001
Rating:
Even if it's not a classic IMO, Buttons is an interesting album on the half way
between the pure rythm n blues early years and the psychedelic period . Half of the songs
are inspired by the American rock of the time (1967) and the others by the English pop
wave.
The "rock" part gives a solid base to this record."Let's Spend The Night
Together" which is featured on the US LP only, is a typical Stones hit of the
sixties. In "My Obsession" we can realize the influence of the drummer
Charlie Watts on the sound of the group (he's the most dominant Stone on the Gred
Mankovitz cover photography and also made the back cover drawings). The other rock songs
are "Connection" (My favorite from this album together with "Ruby
Tuesday"), "All sold out", "Please Go Home" (UK only),
"Complicated" and "Miss Amanda Jones".
The "psychedelic" part is a bit more confuse but not too bad. "Back Street
Girl" (only on the UK version but available on the American album Flowers),
the Mick's Buttons favorite, give a big contrast between a very sweet
melody and a very cruel text, "Who's Been Sleeping Here?" sound like a Beatles
songs (it reminds me "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"), "Something
Happened To Me Yesterday" sung by Keith and Mick, is probably the most Dylanic song
by the Stones but the most dominant track is without a doubt is "Ruby Tuesday" -
from the US version - not only because the song was #1 at in States but also because being
the first great ballad of the band and one of 3 or 4 greatest ever done by them.
"Tuesday" is also one of the most important song for Brian Jones , he was the
uncredited co-writer and the co-singer. This was the last LP produced by Andrew Oldham. A
new future had to come (Who wants yesterdays papers?...)
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Scout
June 29, 2001
Rating:
Englands 'other' band, the Rolling Stones, emerged from the studio with Between the
Buttons. It was definitive proof the the youth rock movement was taking its first
turn into psychedelia. With the Beatles release of Revolver in the summer of
1966, and then, as usual the Stones "replied" a few months later. In the UK,
this album was much more psychedelic because it opened with 'Back Street Girl' instead of
"Let's Spend the Night Together" and the mind blowing 'Please Go Home' instead
of "Ruby Tuesday."
The cover photo by hip-English photographer Gered Mankowitz blurs mildly as if seen
through psychedelized eyes. The swaying of the times and the Stones decked out in their
hip mod-street wear. The Beatles may have had broader appeal at this time, but the Stones
spoke to you. The blues songs were hard hitting, the ballards soft and lilting. The
transition period for the Stones between the Ready Steady Go! phase to
"Jumpin Jack Flash" just over a year or so later is caught here on this album.
It was also a high water mark for Brian Jones, who would be dead less than two years
later. These guys were MODs, long before The Who and just cooler than The Small Faces, and
this album is the definitive piece of work from this period. Mick later commented that
"Back Street Girl" and "Connection" were the really only good songs on
it, but Mick says a lot of things about the band he fronts. Kickback and enjoy this
classic album......
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Alex Short
December 8, 2000
Rating:
This album is such a catchy poppy album, plain and simple. Who cares if it isn't as hard
hitting as say Sticky Fingers or Exile on Main Street. The truth of the
matter is that this is a good album. Besides, if some thought at the time of its release
that Between the Buttons was un Stones like, then they obviously weren't going to
be prepared for the bands next outing. Again like so many of the Rolling Stones 60s
records, the American and British releases differ from each other. The American release
had the hit singles "Lets Spend the Night Together" and "Ruby
Tuesday". Both excellent. While the British release had the country flavored rambling
of "Back Street Girl" and the psychedelic rocker "Please go Home', which
has some great Bo Didily riffing from Mr Keith Richards. You have pop classics on this
album such as "Yesterdays Papers" and edgy rock/pop fusions in the shapes of
"Connection" and the great "Miss Amanda Jones". The best of these
though, has to be "All Sold Out", it has an excellent pop hook. What the Stones
are all about in my opinion. But then comes songs like However the unlikable high
light on this album is the closing track "Something Happened to me Yesterday".
This is a duet between Mick and Keith and it has to be one of the best LSD fueled 60s
songs. So to some things up, this is a very good pop record, end of story.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Net Pimp
November 19, 2000
Rating:
Almost equal to Aftermath as a silent diamond in the rough, the Stones at their
most inventive style: casting their own style, but still being derivative of others until
later. Nonetheless, they drove a semi-masterpiece home here. The US version is a little
inferior to the UK version, but never mind that. The single track missing, in the US, was
the ditty "Backstreet Girl," a song of okay merit with a carousel like feeling
that gets a 7.5 in my opinion. It showed up in the US on the compilation Flowers.
The first track, is a rocker without a guitar part! The romantic tension of "Let's
Spend the Night Together" has a riveting piano part from Jack Nitzsche. The backing
vocals are fun stuff too. The next track, the progressive "Yesterday's Papers"
is a solemn, dramatic song with wicked vibes and harpsichord. Sung with silent cunning
from Mick and the harmonies give the Beatles even a run for their money. Without
experimenting with studio effects and backward instruments (which they sadly only tried
once on the jumbled Their Satanic Majesties Request). "Ruby Tuesday" is
a haunting ode to a groupie who just disappeared, written by Keith and Brian, but of
course the A & R men didn't want to have people think Brian was a force in the group,
adding to his frustration and depression. "Ruby Tuesday" has a sweet flute and a
chilling piano, both from Brian. Plus, Charlie's drums are spot on glorious. It deserved
to be a transatlantic no. 1. They try countryish pop on the following song,
"Connection." It has sad lyrics about a hopeful guy trying to return to his girl
one day. "She Smiled Sweetly" and "Cool, Calm and Collected," are
typically British-influenced things that are stirring, but still not the best things off
the album. "Cool, Calm" is actually a little silly and a blemish on an otherwise
perfect record, a rock n' roll classic. "All Sold Out" is another psychedelic
routine that works out again. The fuzzy guitar of Keith's is pure maniacal genius. If you
consider that weird, try the stop-and-go of "My Obsession" with odd piano
accompaniment with a striking bridge. It is another good track from Keith and Mick's
newfound progressive outlook. One of the best spoofs of Dylan's type of dramatic folk-rock
(not his earthy, Hammond-organ drenched stuff, but his soulful ruminations like Blonde
on Blonde's "One of us Must Know"). Brian contributes a Dylan-esque wispy
harmonica (knowing his friend's unique style) and Stu plays piano like a Dylan record
would surely do. The song is indeed a rip-off but hell, Dylan must've not cared, since it
was a great tune. As well, psychedelic references are included. "Complicated" is
another above-average pop song. The harmonies are building up to the regal song that talks
about a respected, strange, yet dignified woman who's intent on getting her way (sounds
like a soulmate spinoff to "Well Respected Man" by the Kinks). One of their
finest Chuck Berry riffs opens "Miss Amanda Jones." Another feminist jibe, it
packs a rocking punch on an otherwise serious album. The weird, brassy "Something
Happened to Me Yesterday" is a cornball spinoff that is definitely LSD-inspired. An
odd one, but still interesting for its chutzpah value.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By christophoros
April 10, 2000
Rating:
As the cover already shows, this is the album for cold winter evenings, where a song like
COOL,CALM&COLLECTED can only be fine. I would even recommend it to the ones, who don'
t like the Rolling Stones and think of them as THE boring
always-playing-the-same-heartless-average-stadion-rock-band. This album is is more
oriented on British pop than on American rock and blues (except for maybe LET'S SPEND THE
NIGHT TOGETHER and CONNECTION, which I both like, though). Most of the songs are again
psychedelic tunes mainly influenced by Brian. MISS AMANDA JONES must have to do something
with him, as far as the satirical talent of the band goes. RUBY TUESDAY together with
ANGIE belongs to the Stones' best ballads. It's absolutely touching, even if it's one of
the classic songs from which I will never know what they are about completely. YESTERDAY'S
PAPERS, SHE SMILED SWEETLY and SOMETHING HAPPENED TO ME YESTERDAY also belong to my
favorites. The influence of the Beatles is hearable, and on the other side the European
version gets a bonus from me for being the Stones' most uncommercial album (no single!).
Great, that they played the music they were really convinced of without only thinking of
doing another SATISFACTION.
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Dan Hollombe
November 9,1999
Rating:
I like to think of this album as being sort of a companion piece to the Kink's "Face
To Face" which was released only two months earlier. Lots of good old rock 'n roll
combined with a healthy dose of melodicism & english whimsy. On no other album does
the group wear the influences of their contemporaries so unashamedly, and the
results are often spectacular. While "She Smiled Sweetly" and "Who's Been
Sleeping Here" were obviously influenced by Dylan songs ("Just Like A
Woman" and "Queen Jane Approximately" respectively), the melodies of both
of them are entirely original and every bit as good as the two that inspired them.
"Cool, Calm & Collected" takes the same chord progression as the Castaway's
"Liar Liar" (C Eb Gm F) and gives it a honky-tonk/polka beat to magnificent
effect. What is that instrument that Brian's playing on the chorus anyway?..an electric
dulcimer? On "My Obsession" it would appear that "Paperback Writer" is
the most obvious influence with lyrics that are far less linear. "All Sold Out"
is the first in a trilogy of songs spread out over three albums with similar beats and
chord progressions ("Citadel" and "Stray Cat Blues" being 2nd &
3rd, respectively), and along with "Complicated" and "Miss Amanda
Jones," really makes a great argument to the effect that nobody, not even the
Kinks, Cream or Jimi Hendrix knew how to use a distortion unit with the same taste and
flair that the Stones did. On "Yesterday's Papers," Brian once again makes
superb use of the xylophone as he did on "Under My Thumb." Here, the minor-key
verses seamlessly flow into the major-key choruses. "Connection" is sort of an
"It's All Over Now, 1967 style," with a similar tempo and drumbeat. No question
that this was probably the song that gave birth to George Baker's "Little Green
Bag" three years later. "Something Happened To Me Yesterday" may be the
first song on any rock album to feature a tuba solo (The Hollie's "Water On The
Brain" and The Beach Boy's "Wake The World" would both come later). Then,
of course, there's the double A-sided single. While the verses of "Let's Spend The
Night Together" might have a melody line that is curiously similar to the
Beatle's "You're Gonna Lose That Girl," the combination of piano and organ give
this song a personality all it's own. Never has a one-note base line been used more
effectively than here. What is there left to say about "Ruby Tuesday" that
hasn't already been said? One of the three most beautiful singles of early 1967 (the other
two being "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Waterloo Sunset"). I should
also make
mention of the fact that the British version of this LP also contains two songs that would
later appear on "Flowers" in the U.S. "Please Go Home" features lots
of reverb effects on the vocals that are quite reminiscent of The Dave Clark 5's "Any
Way You Want It" while "Back Street Girl" is one of the Stone's rare forays
into waltz time ("Dear Doctor" and "We're Wasting Time" being
the only two others I can think of off hand). It features a beautiful concertina solo (is
there any instrument Brian Jones could not play!?) but watch out for Mick's vocal on the
word "Curtsy"...Hell, even the best of 'em hit a flat note every once in awhile!
My only complaint about this album is that they left off two of the best songs that
were recorded during the sessions, ("Ride On Baby" and "If You Let
Me") both of which would later emerge on future releases. If they could fit 14 songs
on the English Aftermath LP, including an 11 & a half minute cut, surely they could've
squeezed these two onto this one!
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
By Vladimir Mihajlovic
November 6, 1999
Rating:
Many Stones fans don't like this album and they think that it is too soft for the
Stones.This album is one of my favorite albums. The songs on it are great and very
relaxing. It don't rock hard like other Stones album but still it is great. Bill is great
on this album. His bass lines are fantastic, especially on Cool, Calm and Collected. Mick
also is great. He sings beautifully on Ruby Tuesday. Brian's and Keith's guitars are so
fine. Charlie is great, too. My favorite cuts of this album are Cool,Calm and Collected,
Ruby Tuesday, Let's Spend The Night Together, Something Happened To Me Yesterday and Who's
Been Sleeping Here. Ruby Tuesday is the best song on the album. It is beautiful. It is one
of the best Stones studio works. Let's Spend The Night Together is a great song but this
studio version is not something special like the live version from the 1981/1982 tour.
Cool Calm and Collected is fantastic, Bill shines on this song. Mick is great on
Who's Been Sleeping Here? I love the part with the harmonica. Something Happened To Me
Yesterday is a very funny song. It reminds me of The Beatles and that's the reason why I
love the song. Other songs on the album are also great especially Connection, My
Obsession, Miss Amanda Jones and She Smiled Sweetly.
Keno's mini review, song
list, lyrics and more info on BETWEEN THE BUTTONS
To buy
BETWEEN THE BUTTONS on CD,
click here: . For the remastered British CD version click
here: Between the Buttons (US Version) or
Between the Buttons (UK Version)
