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.

On 20 January 1967, Decca Records issued The Rolling Stones' 5th studio album BETWEEN THE BUTTONS in the UK. After issuing AFTERMATH nine months earlier which was the first written completely by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard(s), the duo perform the same songwriting function here. "Let's Spend The Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday" were concurrently released as the band's latest single. UK practice meant that it would remain independent from the album, while the US mentality was to kick off two songs and slap the single on to ensure sales (that's why "Paint It, Black" appears on the US AFTERMATH in the place of "Mother's Little Helper"). Avoid the US versions of both albums like the plague. They are not what The Rolling Stones and producer Andrew Loog Oldham had in mind when they created them. BETWEEN THE BUTTONS reached a strong # 3 in the UK (its American counterpart hit # 2). The Monkees inconceivably were what kept the infinitely superior Stones out of # 1. "Yesterday's Papers" was a brisk, trippy and sophisticated opener, with Brian Jones (who was starting to fall away during these sessions) on marimba. "My Obsession" is a fantastic and ingeniously abstract recording with Charlie and Keith as the focal points (on rigid and deliberately off-time and drums and Keith with his electric stun guitar effects - something that you can actually hear on this remastered CD which sounds WAY better than the 1986 version). "Back Street Girl", one of the castaways for the US album (it ended up on the loose ends compilation FLOWERS later in 1967), is one of the major highlights here with its parisienne waltz style with well played accordian. Great track. "Connection" is a brilliant example of Brit Rock in the mid-60's and still a band favorite today. It's short, catchy and infectious and you'll be hitting repeat on that one many times. "She Smiled Sweetly" (which apparently the band will revive for their upcoming tour) is distinguished by the church organ played by Keith. "Cool Calm And Collected" was a comedy number full of kazoos, banjos and a sped up ending with the band laughing at its end. Not the best cut here, but still fun to listen to. "All Sold Out" is more solid Brit Rock with Charlie's drums as the focal point. "Please Go Home" (again pushed onto the US FLOWERS album) is a Bo Diddley-ish song in the tradition of "Not Fade Away" - not the high point of the album, but still nice. "Who's Been Sleeping Here?" is a Dylan pastiche with its jangly piano and harmonica à la "Like A Rolling Stone". Beating Dylan at his own game is usually tough but this track pleases. The band return to their usual style with "Complicated" which is distinguished by its distorted lead guitar line (reminiscent of "Satisfaction"). Great and fun track. "Miss Amanda Jones" is more uptempo rock and "Something Happened To Me Yesterday" is a return to the music hall variety sound of "Cool Calm And Collected", though the subject matter is about taking acid. Keith even sings a few lines (sounding nowhere near his raspy self now). All in all, BETWEEN THE BUTTONS was, and still is, a great Rolling Stones album. It has always been considered inferior to AFTERMATH, and while the number of phenomenal songs are less forthcoming here, there's more clunkers on AFTERMATH, making BETWEEN THE BUTTONS the more balanced album. I love this album. The Stones were in the middle of the psychedelic period here - culminating in THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST, after which they returned to R&B. This may not be the best album the Stones ever did, but it is a piece of history and recorded by a band that was at the peak of creation and innovation.

Disclaimer: This review is *not* primarily a review of musical quality. Between the Buttons UK is one of my favorite albums, and if sound quality/etc. don't bother you, it should hopefully rank amoung your favorite Stones discs. That said, this is a reissue and--frankly--a long awaited one, so it must be judged in part as such.

As with many 60s groups, the Stones had their albums configured differently in the US and UK. Between the Buttons was no exception, with the US version losing "Please Go Home" and "Back-Street Girl" and gaining their current hit, "Let's Spend the Night Together/Ruby Tuesday," and suffering a slight reconfiguration in track order. ABKCO initially issued only the US version on CD, but for this reissue campaign--for reasons known only to them, although said reasons probably include a heck of a lot of green--they declined to "combine" the two albums, instead issuing both. Curious.

That said, to me, Buttons is the strongest of their pre-Beggars efforts, combining a pop sensibility with some excellent arrangements, and--unlike on Majesties and Aftermath--there don't seem to be any obvious "throwaways" here.

ABKCO's first CD version of Buttons was, in a word, horrific. What had once been a nice, wide stereo album was now a bizarre mixture of stereo, folded stereo, and near-mono tracks, with sub-par quality to boot. This new version is a definite upgrade, but is almost as frankensteinian as its predecessor; in short, it sounds like every track was worked on separately, without any consideration to the whole. Some tracks sound massively altered ("My Obsession" and "Miss Amanda Jones") while others sound comparitively untouched ("Connection" "Complicated"). If you're sensitive to these things, expect to be thrown off a bit. Also, while the stereo spectrum is much wider than on the old ABKCO disc, there is some folding in present, not to mention odd uses of noise reduction (the aforementioned "Miss Amanda Jones.")

The verdict? Great album, and this version will be just fine for the uninitiated. It's also a wonderful upgrade from the ABKCO disc. But if you're one of the lucky owners of the London Records disc that was in-print in Europe before 1995 (and Japan before 1997), think twice about upgrading, even with the correct UK tracklisting at stake; the London disc remains the best reference version of this album on CD.

This Rolling Stones CD is an SACD release, meaning it will play on your home stereo -- but NOT in your PC. Major record labels are pushing SACD as an "improvement" over standard CDs, because they're hoping it will become the new format of choice for music lovers -- music lovers that don't want to listen to music on their PCs, that is, and don't want to play music in an Ipod or a portable MP3 player, or burn backup copies of their CDs. Record labels have even hired "grassroots" marketers to post messages on boards like this one, hailing the achievements of SACD. Don't believe them. Do NOT buy any of the Rolling Stones remasters series releases if you're a user that likes to listen to music on a PC or turn your tracks into MP3s or make back-up copies of the music you buy.

"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!