FLOWERS



U.S. compilation album, consisting of greatest hits, songs unreleased in the US, as well as unreleased songs from 1965-67.

Label: London Records
Release date: July 15, 1967

Tracklist:

Ruby Tuesday
Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?
Let's Spend the Night Together
Lady Jane
Out of Time
My Girl
Back Street Girl
Please Go Home
Mother's Little Helper
Take It or Leave It
Ride On Baby
Sittin' on a Fence

What are your thoughts on this compilation?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016-06-22 14:54 by DandelionPowderman.

Great album thanks to Sittin on a fence and My Girl...

2 1 2 0

I never understood why somebody decided to put Ruby Tuesday and Let's Spend The Night Together on this LP only a few months after those songs were on BTB.

Replace them with "Who's Driving Your Plane" and "What To Do" and this would have been a perfect supplement for the US-market.

In Germany this LP was much more a compilation as most of the songs had been already released on AfterMath and BTB.

Anyway, neither fish nor fowl, a rather strange release but a lot of fine tunes on it.

Quote
silkcut1978_
I never understood why somebody decided to put Ruby Tuesday and Let's Spend The Night Together on this LP only a few months after those songs were on BTB.

They were put on because I don't believe they were on all versions of BTB.

My Girl, I'll agree is pretty lame.

But it is a great release because of:

Back Street Girl
Mother's Little Helper
Take It or Leave It
Sittin' on a Fence

I just love that guitar pick in Sittin' On A Fence!

«I never understood why somebody decided to put Ruby Tuesday and Let's Spend The Night Together on this LP only a few months after those songs were on BTB»

They might have wanted to maintain the «greatest hits»-aspect of this compilation, even though there were unreleased tracks on it as well.

Out of Time! Nuff said

On the 7th day God created The Rolling Stones

Wasn't it directed at the American market originally? Hence those tracks from European
albums that were not on the US-version?

Funny about this album is that most songs can be considered to be "pop songs", but unlike
other examples from the mid-60s, none of these songs sound like anything the Beatles,
Kinks or Dylan did at the time.

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

Flowers LP was a reaction to the American "Summer of Love" in 1967.

This was a marketing decision by the American record company (or Allen Klein) and was not prepared by the Stones.

It was more or less a rush release and was assembled from released tracks which had not appeared on US LP's, non-LP singles, unreleased tracks which were left-over from the "Could You Walk On Water" project and a few previously released tracks which more or less fit into the 'hippy' times.

The Beatles had issued Sgt. Pepper on June 1st. The Stones would not have anything new in that vein until 6 months later...These were the days when bands were expected to produce product a couple of times a year. But the Stones had nothing ready to fill the pipeline that summer...

"What to do" was recorded in 1965, so it sounds like the first golden era really. It sounds a bit retro, Flowers sounds rather sleek; and as we know, the USA releases were different. Backstreet girl had not been released yet in the US, another great song on Flowers. A very good album for however it came about.

Quote
silkcut1978_
I never understood why somebody decided to put Ruby Tuesday and Let's Spend The Night Together on this LP only a few months after those songs were on BTB.

Replace them with "Who's Driving Your Plane" and "What To Do" and this would have been a perfect supplement for the US-market.

In Germany this LP was much more a compilation as most of the songs had been already released on AfterMath and BTB.

Anyway, neither fish nor fowl, a rather strange release but a lot of fine tunes on it.

Sad Day and Long, Long While should have been included as well and they could have dropped Lady Jane another repeated track.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-06-22 20:04 by boogaloojef.

One of my favorite RS albums - purchased it the first week it went on sale - Back Street Girl and Sitting on a Fence are just lyrically fantastic!!!

I'm sure most know that the faces on the cover were from the Euro Aftermath cover. I remember reading a story about how Mick and Keith joked about Brian's flower not having any leaves on it.

First chance ta hear Stones Ride On Baby .... eeeeeenough said



ROCKMAN

Ahhh, now that's one of my favorite compilations (my favorite being Hot Rocks).

At one point, I'd only play the Big Hits compilation and then this one back to back. In retrospect, makes a lot of sense as there's not much of gap in terms of recording between the two.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-06-23 01:51 by nightskyman.

Quote
thkbeercan
Flowers LP was a reaction to the American "Summer of Love" in 1967.

This was a marketing decision by the American record company (or Allen Klein) and was not prepared by the Stones.

It was more or less a rush release and was assembled from released tracks which had not appeared on US LP's, non-LP singles, unreleased tracks which were left-over from the "Could You Walk On Water" project and a few previously released tracks which more or less fit into the 'hippy' times.

The Beatles had issued Sgt. Pepper on June 1st. The Stones would not have anything new in that vein until 6 months later...These were the days when bands were expected to produce product a couple of times a year. But the Stones had nothing ready to fill the pipeline that summer...

Different from what I have read in numerous books and articles.
"Flowers" was assambled by Andrew Oldham with Mick and Keith as consulents.
The story about Mick and Keith arrangeing the photos so Brian got the flower without leaves, is well-known. So The Stones did fully appreciate the release and was invovlved in it.

By the way, it's possibly the greates of all Stones compilations.
It's pure pop all the way, but it works and it's a great way of getting to know the band.

By the way, it's possibly the greatest of all Stones compilations.

No the UK version of Hide Tide Green Grass towers way over it ...



ROCKMAN

Quote
Rockman
By the way, it's possibly the greatest of all Stones compilations.

No the UK version of Hide Tide Green Grass towers way over it ...

Different strokes...right? ;-)

Quote
boogaloojef

Quote
silkcut1978_
I never understood why somebody decided to put Ruby Tuesday and Let's Spend The Night Together on this LP only a few months after those songs were on BTB.

Replace them with "Who's Driving Your Plane" and "What To Do" and this would have been a perfect supplement for the US-market.

In Germany this LP was much more a compilation as most of the songs had been already released on AfterMath and BTB.

Anyway, neither fish nor fowl, a rather strange release but a lot of fine tunes on it.

Sad Day and Long, Long While should have been included as well and they could have dropped Lady Jane another repeated track.

You're right, I forgot that Lady Jane was on the US Aftermath as well.

@Dandy: still I don't think of Flowers as a compilation in first place. It's the same mishmash of songs like December's Children or other early US-releases. They reached out for whatever was left in the pot of songs that weren't released in the US up to this point. They only failed by including 3 songs that were available before. But 9 (new and none LP-tracks) out of 12 isn't too bad, isn't it?

For the rest of the world it was a compilation of songs mostly widely available - with only 3 new songs on it.

Why on earth they cut down Out Of Time to a 3 minute pop-song is beyond my imagination.

Quote
Rockman
First chance ta hear Stones Ride On Baby .... eeeeeenough said

Word!

Quote
silkcut1978_

Quote
boogaloojef

Quote
silkcut1978_
I never understood why somebody decided to put Ruby Tuesday and Let's Spend The Night Together on this LP only a few months after those songs were on BTB.

Replace them with "Who's Driving Your Plane" and "What To Do" and this would have been a perfect supplement for the US-market.

In Germany this LP was much more a compilation as most of the songs had been already released on AfterMath and BTB.

Anyway, neither fish nor fowl, a rather strange release but a lot of fine tunes on it.

Sad Day and Long, Long While should have been included as well and they could have dropped Lady Jane another repeated track.

You're right, I forgot that Lady Jane was on the US Aftermath as well.

@Dandy: still I don't think of Flowers as a compilation in first place. It's the same mishmash of songs like December's Children or other early US-releases. They reached out for whatever was left in the pot of songs that weren't released in the US up to this point. They only failed by including 3 songs that were available before. But 9 (new and none LP-tracks) out of 12 isn't too bad, isn't it?

For the rest of the world it was a compilation of songs mostly widely available - with only 3 new songs on it.

Why on earth they cut down Out Of Time to a 3 minute pop-song is beyond my imagination.

Lots of people don't, but it's a compilation just the same, albeit a different and clever one.

great compilation, fits in with the times and perfect for someone discovering the stones and these times who hasnt already bought the studio albums.

I bought Flowers (U.S. version) and loved every track. The entire album. Still do. I also bought Hot Rocks (their biggest seller ever to this day) and High Tides and Through The Past Darkly etc...Flowers is rough tough and then amazingly beautiful. love it. A total classic. I didn't know about the UK track listing at the time. Gosh when I think back that's a lot of compilation albums for the young band they were at the time, but I was hungry for all of it, and spent a lot of time with each of them. Flowers came out with some of it's scrappy edgy material during the summer of love '67. Perfect.

Christgau in the Village Voice about the release (acc to wiki)
"With its dumb cover art (as bad as the Mainstream Big Brother jacket, only bad on purpose), its cheap song selection (half repeated from previous albums), and its incongruous use of the already meaningless 'flower music' idea (although it did sound at first as if nasty Mick had given up 'hard rock,' now didn't it?) the tendency was to half-dismiss it as another London Records exploitation. Only later did we realize how strong and unflowery the new songs were, and only now do we suspect that perhaps Flowers can be construed as a potshot at Sergeant Pepper itself, as if to say, 'Come off this bullshit, boys. You're only in it for the money."

I know "Please Go Home" was released on BTB UK release but it wasn't on the USA release, that's a good hard rocking song and I think brings up BTB quite a bit.

Quote
Rockman
First chance ta hear Stones Ride On Baby .... eeeeeenough said

Yes!

Here is the alternate cover.

IMHO....This album has the very best song order. I could listen to it over and over. It takes me back to my youth, as an aspiring guitarist trying to figure out the songs with my friends. The mistake in Sitting on a fence that they left on the song.

Never saw the alternate cover ^^ Thanks Booga.


Ever notice Brian has the only stem with no leaves...hummmmmm

A fantastic compilation. I have this on vinyl Japanese import, and it is stellar. So much variety and amazing song writing. They were firing on all five cylinders. One of my most sentimental favorites.

Please Go Home is the best track on this bizarre comp! And the first time I heard the tune.

If You Let Me from Metamorphosis was another candidate for a song from this period that could have been included instead of the repeated tracks.