Review Summary: The Stones in top form. Diversity, excellent songwriting and a unique atmosphere make this a must-listen!
Between The Buttons is a criminally underrated record, probably the most overlooked gem in their discography. The reason behind this is that the band on this album is experimenting
a lot. It is one of their more diverse albums and their traditional sound is minimized, giving the band another personality for the most part. Many dismiss this while just as many embrace it, but few can deny that the group is actually working here and not just cruising on auto-pilot (like the latter days).
Even more so than
Aftermath, they further strip down their influences and absorb the current trends of 1966 and as such, the album sounds like a collage of the Kinks, the Beatles and Dylan, but it isn’t an imitation throwaway; there is still plenty of the trademark Stones bite to be found both in the lyrics and the music. For instance,
Who’s Been Sleeping Here may be, lyrically, Dylanish to the core, but the sneering and intense vocal delivery is all Jagger. Also, when one stops and thinks about the actual arrangement, who else could master the steady drum section, the crazy harmonica, the tender acoustic guitars and the crystal-like piano lines as brilliantly as the Stones?
Speaking of arrangements, Brian Jones is at a high-point in his career as a multi-instrumentalist here. For example, he creates a sincerely romantic atmosphere with his ethereal, haunting recorder on the timeless
Ruby Tuesday, pounds the ringing organ in the climax of the anthemic
Let’s Spend The Night Together and even brings the kazoo in the studio for a laugh during
Cool, Calm & Collected!
Regarding the other members, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman create an incredibly unique, “mystical” rhythmic foundation on
Yesterday’s Papers, while not forgetting to enrich
She Smiled Sweetly with some simple, but utterly captivating interplay; Bill’s tone is a marvel to listen to! The only member downplayed here is probably Keith, preferring to accompany the songs rather than leading them. There are plenty of ingenious moments to be found throughout, but the highlights are the brilliant strumming and fills on
Connection as well as the energetic riffing on
Miss Amanda Jones.
The songwriting is typically superb; all of the tunes are incredibly penned, with enough hooks and melodies to fill a lesser group’s whole album. Thus, there are no weak spots here; every tune here is enjoyable, making the album one of the most consistent in the Stones catalogue. What is more, the finest tunes here are certified Stones classics; the leading single
Let’s Spend The Night Together/
Ruby Tuesday as well as
Yesterday’s Papers and
Backstreet Girl are pure pop perfection, easily battling the best pop efforts from the Beach Boys, the Beatles or the Kinks. The other classics have to be the wonderful
Who’s Been Sleeping Here? that may not surpass its lyrical influence (who could, anyway?), but still manages to be a mighty folk rock masterpiece that would sweat even the Byrds.
Whatever the supremacy of the album, there are still some little faults found in it.
My Obsession is, melodically, just as immaculate as the rest of the material, but the drumming arrangement is too quirky and weird to make the song resonate very much on an emotional level. As it is, it stands as a very good piece of music that has the potential to be fantastic, but doesn’t reach that level. Also, the production may be rich and detailed, but there are some missteps to be found. Exhibit A) listen to the “muted” acoustic guitar on
Backstreet Girl and compare it with the crisp and clear guitars on
Factory Girl from
Beggar’s Banquet. Exhibit B) listen to the somewhat thin drums on the majority of the songs and then peek at
Citadel from the next album. Big difference, right?
All in all, this is a fantastic album. The production may not be ideal in some places and there is a shortage of classics when compared to the 1968-1972 material, but the majority of the songs are all superb, sincere and energetic pop music that is impossible to dislike. This release may not be the Stones you know, but is it definitely a version of Stones you will definitely love.
