Maps of Music

Between the Buttons (1967)

Where the lyrics of Between the Buttons take you, and where it was really made.

Brian Jones often put his guitar down during these sessions and played vibraphone, electric dulcimer, theremin and brass instead.

Key places

Early sessions in Los Angeles (1966)

Recording site RCA Studios — Early sessions for the album ran from 3 to 11 August 1966 at RCA Studios in Los Angeles during the 1966 American Tour. Backing tracks for several songs were laid down here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sessions at IBC Studios in London (1966)

Recording site IBC Studios — After returning to London, the band continued sessions at IBC Studios from 31 August to 3 September 1966. 'Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?' was completed during this period. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Second block of sessions at Olympic (1966)

Recording site Olympic Studios — The second block of sessions began on 8 November 1966 at the newly opened Olympic Sound Studios in Barnes, London. The bulk of the album was completed here, alternating with Pye Studios until 26 November. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Between the Buttons is the fifth studio album by the Rolling Stones
• UK release on 20 January 1967; US release on 23 January 1967
• Reflects the band's brief foray into psychedelia and baroque pop balladry
• Among the most eclectic works in the band's catalogue
• Brian Jones often left his guitar to play vibraphone, electric dulcimer, banjo, kazoo, theremin and brass
• Additional keyboards by Ian Stewart, Jack Nitzsche and Nicky Hopkins
• Last album produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, who had managed the band and produced all their albums until then
• UK and US versions have slightly different track listings

Background

• Aftermath, the previous album, had already brought many new instruments into the sessions
• Early sessions at RCA Studios in Los Angeles, 3 to 11 August 1966, during the 1966 American Tour
• Band returned to London; sessions at IBC Studios from 31 August to 3 September
• Second block of sessions began 8 November at the newly opened Olympic Sound Studios in Barnes
• Oldham was preparing the US-only live album Got Live If You Want It! at the same time, a contractual requirement from London Records

Recording

• Recorded on four-track machines; earlier tracks were mixed down to free space for overdubs
• Jagger later felt the repeated bounces had lost the clarity of the songs
• Bill Wyman played bass on most tracks; Keith Richards played bass on three
• Piano was shared by Ian Stewart and Jack Nitzsche

Cover

• Photo shoot took place in November 1966 on Primrose Hill in North London
• Photographer Gered Mankowitz shot it at 5:30 in the morning after an all-night session at Olympic Studios
• A homemade filter of black card, glass and Vaseline made the band seem to dissolve into the surroundings

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1962 as an English rock band; their first stable line-up was Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts.
• Jones named the band after a Muddy Waters song; they were rooted in blues and rock and roll.
• Manager Andrew Loog Oldham encouraged them to write their own songs, and the Jagger–Richards partnership became their main creative force.

Members

• Current: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood (joined 1975).
• Former: Brian Jones (died 1969), Mick Taylor (1969–1974), Bill Wyman (1962–1993), Charlie Watts (1963–2021, died 2021).
• Steve Jordan became their drummer after Watts' death.

Career

• Hits included "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Paint It Black" (1966) and "Start Me Up" (1981).
• Their 1969 Hyde Park show and Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. are key points of their career.
• Formed Rolling Stones Records in 1970, whose tongue-and-lips logo became their band logo.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989; the band has sold more than 250 million albums.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Robert Christgau called the album 'among the greatest rock albums'
• Christgau later included it in his 'Basic Record Library' of 1950s and 1960s recordings
• AllMusic's Richie Unterberger called it one of the Rolling Stones' 'strongest, most eclectic LPs'
• Tom Moon wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that the album was 'lighter and thinner' than Aftermath
• Moon said Jagger and Richards were suddenly overdosing on pop melody after belatedly discovering it

Reappraisal

• Music scholars Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon observed baroque pop and music hall on the album
• Jim DeRogatis included it in his 2003 list of essential psychedelic rock albums
• David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called it 'a cheeky set of sardonic Swinging London vaudeville rock'

Records

• Reached number 3 on the British album charts
• Reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Top LPs chart and went gold in the US
• The American version was ranked number 355 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003
• It was re-ranked number 357 in 2012

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Jagger told New Musical Express that the rest of the album was 'more or less rubbish', and said only 'Back Street Girl' was the one he liked
• The title came from Jagger noticing the shiny buttons on Charlie Watts' shirt, after Watts asked Oldham what the album would be called
• Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys visited RCA Studios while 'My Obsession' was being recorded
• In Wes Anderson's 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums, the character Margot plays the album on a record player
• ABKCO reissued both UK and US editions in a remastered CD and SACD digipak in August 2002

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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