Between the Buttons is the fifth British and seventh American studio
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
by
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
and was released on 20 January 1967, in the United Kingdom and 11 February 1967, in the United States as the follow-up to the ambitious
Aftermath.
Recorded in two spurts, in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
in August 1966 and
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
that November,
Between the Buttons caught The Rolling Stones at a period where they were moving more into arty territory and away from their R&B roots.
Between the Buttons is the fifth British and seventh American studio
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
by
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
and was released on 20 January 1967, in the United Kingdom and 11 February 1967, in the United States as the follow-up to the ambitious
Aftermath.
Recording and releases
Recorded in two spurts, in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
in August 1966 and
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
that November,
Between the Buttons caught The Rolling Stones at a period where they were moving more into arty territory and away from their R&B roots. With the release of
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
'
RevolverRevolver is the seventh album by English rock group The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966. Many of the tracks on Revolver are marked by an electric guitar-rock sound, in contrast with their previous, folk rock inspired Rubber Soul. It reached #1 on both the UK chart and U.S...
,
The Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band. Formed in 1961, the group gained popularity for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing, and romance...
'
Pet SoundsPet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band The Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966, on Capitol Records. It has been widely ranked as one of the most influential records ever released in western pop music and has been ranked at number #1 in several music magazines' lists of...
and
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
's
Blonde on BlondeBlonde on Blonde is American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's seventh studio album, released May 1966 by Columbia Records.The album is believed to be the first significant double album in rock music, its length forcing it to two LPs...
, as well as their own
Aftermath and the accompanying singles during 1966, the parameters of rock music had been expanded considerably.
Much like
Aftermath,
Between the Buttons saw some differences in its UK and US versions. The UK edition (how producer
Andrew Loog OldhamAndrew Loog Oldham is an English producer, impresario and author. He was manager of The Rolling Stones in the 1960s, and was noted for his flamboyant style.-Biography:...
and The Rolling Stones intended it) was issued in January 1967 on
Decca RecordsDecca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades...
, concurrently with a separate single, "
Let's Spend the Night Together"Let's Spend the Night Together" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and originally released as a single by The Rolling Stones in 1967...
" b/w "Ruby Tuesday". Because of common practice in the British record industry at the time, the single did not appear on the album. Generally well-received (although the critics took note of their influences),
Between the Buttons reached #3 in the UK.
In the US, "
Let's Spend the Night Together"Let's Spend the Night Together" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and originally released as a single by The Rolling Stones in 1967...
" and "Ruby Tuesday" were slotted onto the album, with "Back Street Girl" and "Please Go Home" getting the boot (these would be included on the following US release,
Flowers). With "Ruby Tuesday" reaching #1,
Between the Buttons shot to #2 in the US, going gold.
Additionally,
Between the Buttons would prove to be the last album produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, with whom The Rolling Stones would have a creative falling-out in mid-1967. Indeed, Oldham's influence is more evident here than on earlier albums, as he employs
Phil SpectorHarvey Philip "Phil" Spector is an American pioneering record producer and songwriter who was convicted of murder in 2009....
-like layering on "Yesterday's Papers", "My Obsession", and "Complicated" and uncredited background vocalists (including, possibly,
Graham NashGraham William Nash is a British singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer.- Music career...
) throughout. Brian Jones continues his experiments in exotic instruments on this album, playing
harmonicaThe harmonica is a free reed wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes. The pressure caused by blowing or drawing air into the reed chambers causes a reed or multiple reeds to vibrate up and down creating sound...
,
recorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
,
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, organ and electric dulcimer]. Keith Richards busies himself with distinctive guitar work on "My Obsession", "Connection", "All Sold Out", "Please Go Home" and "Miss Amanda Jones".
In the years following its release,
Between the Buttons somehow became overlooked. Today, however, many critics and fans have come to appreciate the album's eclectic qualities and a wealth of obscure gems, making it a unique album in The Rolling Stones' released catalog, one that more or less abandoned the Stones' blues based style and featured more consistent songwriting than their previous efforts.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 355 on Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
In August 2002 both editions of
Between the Buttons were reissued in a new remastered CD and
SACDSuper Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical audio disc format developed by Sony and Philips Electronics, the same companies that created the Compact Disc. SACD is designed to provide high-resolution audio in both stereo and surround sound modes...
digipakDigipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI Media, a MeadWestvaco, Inc. resource, which acquired the original trademark holder, IMPAC Group, Inc., in 2000...
by
ABKCO RecordsABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is a New York headquartered independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the...
.
British track listing
All songs by
Mick Jagger and Keith RichardsThe songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, known as Jagger/Richards is a musical collaboration whose output is primarily part of the catalogue of their group, The Rolling Stones....
Side one
- "Yesterday's Papers
Yesterday's Papers is a song by The Rolling Stones from their 1967 album, Between the Buttons. It was the opening track on the UK version of that album, and was included on the US version. It is an example of the Stones' interest in psychedelic rock at the time...
" – 2:04
- "My Obsession" – 3:17
- "Back Street Girl
"Back Street Girl" is a song by the British rock band The Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It first appeared on the UK version of their 1967 album Between the Buttons but was not included on the US version, being replaced by the hit singles "Let's Spend the Night...
" – 3:27
- "Connection" – 2:08
- "She Smiled Sweetly" – 2:44
- "Cool, Calm & Collected" – 4:17
Side two
- "All Sold Out" – 2:17
- "Please Go Home
"Please Go Home" is a song by the British rock 'n roll band, The Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and was recorded in August, 1966. It first appeared on the UK version of Between the Buttons but was left off the US version in favor of the two hit singles, "Let's...
" – 3:17
- "Who's Been Sleeping Here?" – 3:55
- "Complicated" – 3:15
- "Miss Amanda Jones" – 2:47
- "Something Happened to Me Yesterday
"Something Happened to Me Yesterday" is the closing track of English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones' 1967 album Between the Buttons....
" – 4:55
American track listing
All songs by
Mick Jagger and Keith RichardsThe songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, known as Jagger/Richards is a musical collaboration whose output is primarily part of the catalogue of their group, The Rolling Stones....
Side one
- "Let's Spend the Night Together
"Let's Spend the Night Together" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and originally released as a single by The Rolling Stones in 1967...
" – 3:36
- "Yesterday's Papers" – 2:04
- "Ruby Tuesday" – 3:17
- "Connection" – 2:08
- "She Smiled Sweetly" – 2:44
- "Cool, Calm & Collected" – 4:17
Side two
- "All Sold Out" – 2:17
- "My Obsession" – 3:17
- "Who's Been Sleeping Here?" – 3:55
- "Complicated" – 3:15
- "Miss Amanda Jones" – 2:47
- "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" – 4:55
Personnel
- Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is a Golden Globe and Grammy Award winning English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, occasional film producer and actor, best known for his work as lead vocalist and frontman of The Rolling Stones.The Rolling Stones started in the early 1960s as a...
– vocalsSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist...
, percussionA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...
, and harmonicaThe harmonica is a free reed wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes. The pressure caused by blowing or drawing air into the reed chambers causes a reed or multiple reeds to vibrate up and down creating sound...
- Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones was an English musician and one of the founding members of the rock group The Rolling Stones. Jones was known for his use of multiple instruments, his flamboyant attire and his recreational drug excesses.- Early life :Jones was born in the Park Nursing Home in Cheltenham,...
– organThe organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet...
, vibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family....
, accordionThe accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox...
, harmonica, recorder, percussion, kazooThe kazoo is a wind instrument with a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when one vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton—a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane.-Playing:...
, saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
, dulcimerDulcimer may refer to two types of musical instruments:* Appalachian dulcimer, a fretted, plucked musical instrument which is also referred to as a "mountain dulcimer," "lap dulcimer" "hog fiddle," or just a "dulcimer"...
, marimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. Keys or bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones...
, thereminThe theremin , originally known as the aetherphone / etherophone or termenvox / thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928...
, harpsicord, guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
and vocals
- Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, record producer and a founding member of The Rolling Stones. As a guitarist, Richards is mostly known for his innovative rhythm playing. In 2003 he was ranked 10th on Rolling Stone magazine's "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of...
– guitar, vocals, bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
, pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, organ, and double bassThe double bass, also called the upright bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The name, "double bass," derives from the early use of the instrument to double—an octave lower where possible—the bass part written...
- Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is a jazz bandleader, record producer, commercial artist and horse breeder...
– drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...
- Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
– bass guitar, percussion, and double bass
Additional musicians
- Jack Nitzsche
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was an arranger, producer, songwriter and film score composer.- Biography :...
– piano, harpsichord, percussion, and hornThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
arrangementIn music, an arrangement is either a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet...
s
- Ian Stewart
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist and cofounder of The Rolling Stones. He was dismissed from the line-up in May 1963 but he remained as road manager and piano player.- Role in the Rolling Stones :...
– piano and organ
Chart positions
Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1967 |
UK Albums Chart |
3 |
| 1967 |
Billboard Pop Albums |
2 |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1967 |
"Let's Spend the Night Together" |
UK Top 50 Singles |
3 |
| 1967 |
"Let's Spend the Night Together" |
The Billboard Hot 100 |
55 |
| 1967 |
"Ruby Tuesday" |
The Billboard Hot 100 |
1 |