The Rolling Stones – Between The Buttons

Really nice 70s stereo reissue featuring the original UK track listing. Sounds fantastic.

On mine, the inner sleeve contains a marking that says "N 33/77" . Does this mean the print run was only 77?

Not a 1967 release, somewhere in the 80ties I guess

While we were dreaming, The Rolling Stones took a body of work that could have been some of the darkest material they have ever written and spun gold though it. They gave the songs shimmering highlights, with a great pop feel, layered with intelligent memorable musical hooks, and some of the most obscure introspective lyrics to date ... lyrics that still call out, drawing me back in time. There was a playfulness found here, and was probably the last albums to be recognized as a true Rolling Stones release. The in which we discovered music during these years was very private, an aspect of music that seems to have been lost.

As one who was there when this album was released, I don’t feel that it was in anyway under rated. What I know is that people didn’t understand it, in much the same way folks did not feel comfortable with The Beatles’ “Revolver.” “Between The Buttons” was an extension in many ways from the darker “Aftermath” sessions. Yet even with more pop flavors, “Between The Buttons” suggested sexual ambiguity, drugs, mistrust of each other, betrayal, and the black shroud that would hang over The Stones for years to come. It was not a comfortable album, but it signaled so much of what was just over the horizon ... I have to it, I think this was one of their best releases ever.

And that album title, "Between The Buttons" … seems that when Andrew Loog Oldman pressed the boys about what the album was to be called, he was told, "We're sort of between the buttons," meaning that they hadn't made up their minds. Well, miscommunication often reveals beauty, and that my friends is how the title came to be.

Pressing & More: This pressing is remarkable, it's thick, palatable, and reveals much that seems to be lacking on other recordings. On the bottom left is what appears to be ink writing in the white area, this is part of the printing process, and shows on all jackets. What appears to be a sticker indicating coloured vinyl is not a sticker, this was printed directly onto the jacket cover.

*** The fun facts: This cover image was taken on London’s Primrose Hill at 5.30 in the morning, with Mankowitz back in the chair and brandishing a pot of Vaseline to get a tripped-out effect. The photographer was disappointed with Jones’s arsing about, but conceded that was the essence of the man, a rebellious streak that would eventually become a wedge within the camp of The Rolling Stones.

And who was Amanda Jones - Brian had had a dalliance with an exotic model named Amanda Lear (Jones). She also was the was the muse of the Artist Salvador Dali. It seems that Amanda was also a woman of mystery, and liked it that way. There was little information about her where she was born or her upbringing. Rumor has it that she may have been born in Southeast Asia. Her Father may have been a English or Dutch Soldier who was stationed in Asia. And that her Mother was of either Russian or Asian heritage. It’s claimed that Ms. Lear may have been born in November of 1950 However it has also been cited to have been November 1939. In the early 60's Amanda spent time in Paris and according to famed transgender model April Ashley she worked with Amanda at the infamous the Cabaret Le Carousel. It was there that Amanda met surrealist painter Salvador Dali who shaped her into what she is today.  Word has it that is also there that she originally caught the eye of Brian Jones.  Eventually Amanda ventured to London around1964 , where she soon turned to modeling; working all the runways for all the High Fashion Designers and becoming close pals with Penelope Tree . She became the darling of the discotheque crowd as in one the lines in the song "Miss Amanda Jones. " Other tell tale lyrics are "The girl behind is a bit unsure and it's time for coming out Miss Amanda Jones." Filmmaker Danny Garcia in doing research for his brilliant documentary “Rolling Stone: Life and Death Of Brian Jones” discovered some interesting facts. Apparently Amanda was sharing an apartment in London with Anita Pallenburg in 1965, where she then reacquainted her friendship with Brian Jones. When Anita Pallenburg left Brian to date Keith Richards, Brian started dating Amanda. According to another friend of Brian’s who was interviewed for Danny Garcia's documentary, was that Brian was intrigued and very attracted to the lovely Amanda. They were friends until the time of Brian's untimely death. In The 70’s she was chosen to be the cover girl of an album by Roxy Music For Your Pleasures Pleasure, at which time she started a wild affair with Bryan Ferry. They became engaged however the romance ended.

Apparently she also knew David Bowie and was asked to be the hostess on his “Midnight Special” floor show with him. Bowie is said to have serenaded her with the song “Sorrow. Amanda eventually married Alain-Philippe Malagnac who was the adopted son of French writer Roger Peyrefitte, their relationship being a subject of several of Amanda's art work.If I’m not mistaken, “Between The Buttons” will be the first of two albums which feature Charlie Watts as the main attraction on the cover ... sort of symbolic if you think about the music. Keith, Mick, and Brian have stepped to the rear, not only on the cover but on the record as well, letting Bill and Charley do what they do so consistently, while the rest of the boys try something totally different, taking the first steps into the psychedelic swirl of colours that were about to take over the world.

Review by Jenell Kesler