Which album do you feel is superior and why? You can make a case for the US versions and the UK versions.

that's a tough one, always preferred the UK versions both for material and pressing quality (in the old days anyhow) but for me a dead heat. If I absolutely had to pick one I would go with Aftermath, after my math class with spliff in beak

jb

I always consider the UK version the actual one. The one that is a pure album IMO.

Aftermath is highly regarded by many. It has a few classic tracks on it. Brian was good over the whole record. It was the first all Jagger/Richards album. It is a very special album. That Side 2 is really something from "Flight 505' to 'What to Do'. The album is thin on guitars. Maybe this was the first time that Brian was just too busy on other sounds to bother with guitar, and Keith had not quite realized this yet. The fuzz bass rules on this album. "Its not Easy", "505", "Thumb".
I am not sure what I feel about "Goin Home" - it sure is long. But I bet they had done those jams and outros many, many times on various songs. I can certainly get down with it. I just don't see it as a milestone of anything really.

But somehow I have always preferred "Buttons". BtB was my first Stones album ever. For a good while it was my ONLY Stones album. That is not the only reason I love it. I like it because of the obscure songs. To me this is the album that leads right up to "Performance". It makes perfect sense. The songs are not too well known, and they are a bit dark. Here are the kooky experiments that worked. "Cool Calm" and "Something happened"; the brooding "She Smiled Sweetly". I think "All Sold Out" and "My Obsession", and "Complicated" too, are some of the grungiest songs they ever did. There are melodic, possible singles too: "Back Street Girl" and "Yesterday's Papers". Commercial short rockers "Connection" and "Miss Amanda".
It is also interesting to note how they were now working in the studio at crafting songs. When hearing outtakes of "yesterday's Papers" - the early version, and then compare it to what it became.

Two lovely albums. The flow on Aftermath is a tad better, and the songs a little stronger, imo. However, the best stuff on BTB (Back Street Girl, Connection, All Sold Out) is up there with the best songs they ever did.

I also like the sound on Aftermath better (Under My Thumb and Lady Jane are perfection, recording-wise, for 1966).

Aftermath gets my vote.

What was groundbreaking about Going Home was it was the first time that I know of you heard a rock singer beating off in anticipation of getting home to do his girl. Took me years to put that together, much like it took me a long time to realize "baby better come back maybe next week cause you see I'm on a losing streak" referred to a girls period.

Yeah not much of a recommendation for the record, but I thought I was pretty amazing back in the day that they would devote so much time on the record to that song.

jb

Slow learner ....



ROCKMAN

Aftermath is fantastic. It's very pop, but still with a strong hint of their blues background. "Goin Home" is a bit weak, very far away from that other large blues-jam-song "Midnight Rambler" of a few years later. All the other songs are wonderful ("Out Of Time" is a bit too long maybe).
Favourites: Lady Jane, Doncha Bother, Flight 505, High and Dry, I Am Waiting (!!!), and the last three: Take It Or Leave It + Think + What To Do (which somehow I see as a triplet).

Between The Buttons is awful. I tried many times listening to it but I never make it through. Terrible. I have given up on it and never listen to it anymore. Silly instruments, too much "experimental Beatles imitations", too pop, too silly. In the list of their three worst albums, I would say this is the most mediocre and in a way the least listenable (Satanic is 50% their most embarrasing, but the other 50% is very good, and DW is also terrible but on the other hand it has One Hit and Sleep Tonight).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-01-11 12:40 by matxil.

On the American albums I grew up with there are 5 great songs,Lady Jane,Paint it Black,Under My Thumb and Lets Spend the Night TogetherandRuby Tuesday ..So Aftermath wins3-2

I Am Waiting is not great?

Both albums are pretty good considering it's not the real Rolling Stones.

I prefer Aftermath, although it's not an easy listen, especially considering the thin sound, after the first three, rather powerful sounding albums. Not everything is equally great and I can see why they hardly play anything off this record live.

Between The Buttons I consider to be the first disappointing Stones record. The sound is a bit better but the songs aren't, alas. Exceptions are Yesterday's Papers, Amanda Jones, Back Street Girl, Please Go Home, Complicated and All Sold Out (but hey, that's half of the record so it's not that bad after all).

I have no opinion on the US versions as I don't regard them as original albums.

I prefer AFTERMATH over BETWEEN THE BUTTONS. Both are fantastic albums but BTB is a little too pop for my taste as a whole. Having grown up on the US versions of the album, I actually much prefer the UK version of AFTERMATH. While the US version does have "Paint It Black," the three songs cut from that version makes a difference in the overall quality of the AFTERMATH representation.

I like Flowers more than BTB.Aftermath is the better album



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-01-11 00:29 by Taylor1.

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jbwelda
What was groundbreaking about Going Home was it was the first time that I know of you heard a rock singer beating off in anticipation of getting home to do his girl. Took me years to put that together, much like it took me a long time to realize "baby better come back maybe next week cause you see I'm on a losing streak" referred to a girls period.

Yeah not much of a recommendation for the record, but I thought I was pretty amazing back in the day that they would devote so much time on the record to that song.

jb

You're completely right back then it was ground breaking song the duration of the song was also exceptional .....I remember that my sister listing to this song in here bedroom with here girlfriends with all the lights out ....just to get in the right mood

__________________________

2Stoned -- Andrew Loog Oldham ………..



ROCKMAN

Aftermath for me.

2Stoned -- Andrew Loog Oldham ………..



ROCKMAN

So. I only own the american versions (because you get more tracks if you add the Flowers album, which i consider a hybrid between a compilation and proper album)

the highlights are

Aftermath:

Paint It Black
Lady Jane
Under My Thumb
(Going Home is a semi highlight)
(I Am Waiting is a semi highlight)

Between The Buttons:

Lets Spend The Night Together
Yesterdays Papers
Ruby Tuesday
Connection
Who's Been Sleeping Here?
Something Happened To Me Yesterday
(Cool, Calm & Collected is a semi highlight)


Buttons wins by 6,5-4

It would have been a lot closer with the uk versions.

Aftermath wins for a variety of reasons including a better title, though the cover photo of Between the Buttons is fantastic - Brian looks quite demonic.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Aftermath for me every time.

I like Buttons... but Aftermath was an album made by a band still drawing largely on their Blues and American roots influences.

Buttons had a strong " English 60s Pop" influence...which has never been my bag.

For me it picked back up with Beggars, when they were starting to be more of a Blues rooted Rock band...much more my cup of tea.

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Erik_Snow
Both albums are pretty good considering it's not the real Rolling Stones.

Which albums are the real Rolling Stones?

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GeorgV

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Erik_Snow
Both albums are pretty good considering it's not the real Rolling Stones.

Which albums are the real Rolling Stones?

They were never the same after Chapman was fired?

This is too hard to choose: Both albums have special flair and a sound of their own.

Aftermath for me although BTB is excellent too. Both albums are a great representation of their time and place ie London 66

Brian’s contributions on the English version of BTB seem minimal.And the songs he does contribute to other than Yesterday’sPapers and whose been Sleeping Here are mannered and boring..He contributes more to even Beggars Banquet.For me ,BTB is the Stones worst album of the 1960s.

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Taylor1
Brian’s contributions on the English version of BTB seem minimal.And the songs he does contribute to other than Yesterday’sPapers and whose been Sleeping Here are mannered and boring..He contributes more to even Beggars Banquet.For me ,BTB is the Stones worst album of the 1960s.

Organ on She Smiled Sweetly, Banjo on Cool, Calm and Collected, recorder on All Sold Out, harmonica on Who's Been Sleeping Here, organ on Complicated, brass/mellotron on Something Happened To Me Yesterday.

Take away those contributions and you'll find it's not really "minimal" after all

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GeorgV

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Erik_Snow
Both albums are pretty good considering it's not the real Rolling Stones.

Which albums are the real Rolling Stones?

Wanted to ask you the same question.
Do you mean, that they drifted away too much from the Blues?
I think that by making Aftermath that they really took a chance and, thank the mighty, it worked. They knew they could really do it all by themselves and not only that, they also knew they could tackle any style on the road ahead.
They already knew they were a great (imho the best next to The Who) live band, so both talents took them, so far, all the way to 2020 ...

If this was really a boxing match it’d be stopped in the first round. Aftermath by a knock out!

Goin’ Home tips the scales. 11+ minutes, that’s ballsy.

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jbwelda
that's a tough one, always preferred the UK versions both for material and pressing quality (in the old days anyhow) but for me a dead heat. If I absolutely had to pick one I would go with Aftermath, after my math class with spliff in beak

jb

This.

The UK versions of both occupy their own chamber in the pantheon of great Stones.