Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Confident Stones create underrated classic
Between the Buttons is the Rodney Dangerfield of Stones albums. COnsidered inferior to Aftermath and a stepping stone to their mature sound, it's never gathered as much praise as most 60's Stones albums. That's about to change. Between the Buttons is less startling than Aftermath simply because of the huge creative leap Jagger & Richards made with that record. In terms of the quality of the songwriting Between the Buttons is a bit more consistent. It's also got ragged and humor both missing in large part on Aftermath.Both are classic albums but comparing them is like comparing vintage wines; each has it's individual flavor and it all comes down to a personal preference. I love Aftermath to death, but Between the Buttons is more sly and sneaks up on you. Although the original UK version was missing the single Let's Spend the Night Together and Ruby Tuesday, the quality songs on this album more than make up for that absence. Still, it would have been nice (and less greedy on Abkco's part)to include the single as bonus tracks. It's pretty clear why this wasn't done. When you have grade A choice meat, why foul it up by including another similar dish? Regardless, the sound quality is spectacular for both the UK and US versions of the album. The only difference is that the UK album doesn't have the single release from the same time frame and the US version had a couple of album tracks booted off. My suggestion is to find a friend who has the US (or UK version) and buy the corresponding release from overseas. You'll have access to all the tracks that way.
Rating: - Button Up With The Stones!
"Between The Buttons" is easily one of The Rolling Stones best albums. Like most Britsh LPs from the '60s (before The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper and The Stones' "Satanic Majesties") "Buttons" has been issued on both sides of the Atlantic with different contents. With ABKCO's Stones' restoration project, you can choose between the US and UK versions of "Between The Buttons". The UK version of this album is the definitive one and is the one to go for. While you lose the hits "Ruby Tuesday" & "Let's Spend The Night Together" you'll gain by getting "Back Street Girl" and "Please Don't Go" which are two of the best Stones' LP cuts (and you can get "Ruby" & "Night" on any Stones compilation). "Buttons" catches The Stones at the beginning of the psychedelic era with exotic instumetation (harpsichord, marimba, banjo, kazoos) enchancing the groups sound without overwhelming it (as they would on "Satanic Majesties") and shows some the funniest ("Cool, Calm & Collected", "Something Happend To Me Yesterday"), caustic ("Yesterday's Papers" , "All Sold Out") and melodic ("Back Street Girl", "She Smiled Sweetly") songs that The Stones ever recorded. The remastering here is excellent and is far superior to the CD issued in the '80s. In short, one of the greatest albums of the '60s has finally been done justice. Button up!
Rating: - This Is It! - The Real Thing At Last
This is the remastered January 20, 1967 - U.K. Decca release as the Stones intended it. To further explain:With the release of the remastered super audio CDs (SACD) of the Stones ABCKO catalog (which includes all the early Decca/London material), there are now 2 different Between The Buttons releases available, the original UK version that was released on January 20, 1967 and the US version that was released on February 10, 1967. There are now 2 US versions, the original CD release (which is the same mix as the original vinyl release) and the remastered version, which has much better sound, although some reviewers are commenting that not all tracks have been mixed to the same quality level. In addition, the UK and US versions include different tracks. The Stones designed the UK release, which did not include the just released single Let's Spend The Night Together and Ruby Tuesday. The American record execs removed Back Street Girl and Please Go Home to make room for the two single cuts. To clarify: There are 3 Between The Buttons releases:
January 20, 1967 - U.K. Decca (remastered on SACD)
.....does not include Let's Spend The Night Together and Ruby Tuesday
February 10, 1967 - U.S. London (remastered on SACD)
.....does not include Back Street Girl and Please Go Home
February 10, 1967 - U.S. London (not remastered)
.....does not include Back Street Girl and Please Go Home Back Street Girl and Please Go Home were released in the U.S. on the Flowers album on July 14, 1967. Let's Spend The Night Together and Ruby Tuesday were released on an album in the U.K. on Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) on September 12, 1969. This is the remastered super audio CDs (SACD) of the Stones ABCKO catalog (which includes all the early Decca/London material. ABCKO acquired the Stones' catalog after Allen Klein became their manager in 1965. The resulting legal battles produced releases that the Stones opposed (they took out full page adds asking fans not to buy them), including the controversial Metamorphosis releases (which are now available on CD for the 1st time ever). But the sad fact is that the Stones lost control of their great early material. With the remastered SACD releases, we at last have some idea of what they really sounded like in the studio. I guess if we had these 40 years ago they would have ended up Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the Universe instead of just the Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the World. The Between The Buttons tracks were recorded in 1966 as follows: Aug 3-11, 1966 at RCA Studios in Hollywood
.....Who's Been Sleeping Here?
.....Miss Amanda Jones
.....Connection
.....Back Street Girl
.....All Sold Out
.....Please Go Home
.....Let's Spend The Night Together
.....Something Happened To Me Yesterday
.....Cool, Calm, Collected
.....Complicated
.....Yesterday's Papers
.....She Smiled Sweetly
.....My Obsession
Nov 9-26, 1966 at Olympic and Pye Studios in London
.....Ruby Tuesday
.....final mixes were done on all the Aug RCA Studio tracks as well Tracks recorded at the Aug RCA sessions but not released on Between The Buttons were:
.....Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?
.....Who's Driving Your Plane (also released as Who's Driving My Plane)
Tracks recorded at the Aug RCA sessions but never released were:
.....Panama Powder Room
.....Godzi
.....Get Yourself Together
.....Something BB
Tracks recorded at the Nov Olympic/Pye sessions but not released on Between The Buttons were:
.....Dandelion
Tracks recorded at the Aug RCA sessions but never released were:
.....Trouble In Mind
.....English Summer An interesting note is that English Summer was intended as a UK single release, but it was put on hold (and never released) when Brian, Mick, and Keith's arrests began in the summer of 67. We Love You was released instead. It was recorded with Nicky Hopkins, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney as a thank you for fan support during the trials. This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own collection.
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