The 500 - #357 - Between The Buttons - The Rolling Stones

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: # 357

Album Title: Between The Buttons

Artist: The Rolling Stones

Genre: Pop Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Baroque Pop

Recorded: RCA Studios, Hollywood, LA

Released: January, 1967

My age at release: 1

How familiar was I with it before this week: Several Songs

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Ruby Tuesday

"Beatles or Stones"? I was first asked that question in Grade 9 by an older classmate whose name has since been lost to history. Until then, I didn't realize this was a question up for debate. However, the searing scrutiny with which the teen inquisitor posed the question was undeniably intense. The adolescent tension was palpable. Clearly, much hinged on my response.

"The Beatles", I said definitively, the tone of my voice working overtime to hide my uncertainty. To be honest, I was 13 and would have preferred to answer The Monkees whose television program from the late 60s was in syndication, airing weekday afternoons. In retrospect, it might have been the better answer -- light, witty and disarming.

The Monkees' TV show logo

"Good", he replied, "The Beatles is the correct answer. The Rolling Stones suck." Reluctantly, I agreed, and my opinion was locked in for most of high-school. Eventually, I came to my senses and I've been a fan of The Stones since. In fact, Exile On Main St. (#7 on The 500) is one of my favourite records of all time.

Exile On Main St. Album Cover

What is it about teenage kids and tribalism? As a teen I was fiercely loyal to the bands, sports teams, movies and television shows I loved. I still am. The difference is that I have lost my childhood capacity for hostility or anger toward those with differing tastes or loyalties. Now, I simply shrug and say, "Not my cup of tea."

Sociologists suggest that teen-tribalism is part a child's relationship to the world around.  As children move into adolescence they begin to experience more independence, authority and responsibility. The ties to their parents loosen and they begin to forge connections with their peers. As they begin to establish their identity and fit into their peer groups, teens' attitudes and opinions become increasingly polarized, including their relationship to music. There is no middle ground; everything is love or hate.

Admittedly, through my anti-Stones phase, I secretly enjoyed many songs, in particular Ruby Tuesday from the U.S. release of this week's record, Between The Buttons. The record marked the group's transition from blues rock to psychedelic rock and baroque pop.

Between The Buttons was released in the United Kingdom in January, 1967, and in the United States the following month. Each version had slightly different track listings, the U.S. version contained two of the biggest hits from The Stones, Ruby Tuesday and Let's Spend The Night Together. In the U.K., those two songs were released separately on a double-sided single.

UK Single release for
Let's Spend The Night Together & Ruby Tuesday

Rolling Stones' founder, and virtuoso musician, Brian Jones, was losing interest with the electric guitar and chose to play organ, marimba, vibraphone and even kazoo on this record. It was the beginning of the end for Jones. His drug and alcohol addictions were making him increasingly unreliable. The band he created would eventually dismiss him and he would drown in his swimming pool in July, 1969. Ruled a "death by misadventure", the coroner's report indicated that his heart and liver were enlarged due to drug and alcohol abuse and that these likely played a role in his death. He was 27.

Brian Jones (1965)

There is a persistent theory that Jones was murdered by builder Frank Thorogood, who was doing construction work on his property and was the last to see Jones alive. Thorogood allegedly confessed to the murder to another Stones’ employee. An investigation by the Sussex Police Department dismissed the allegation and stand by the coroner’s verdict. However, conspiracy theorists still believe the investigation was mishandled, as was dramatized in the 2005 film, Stoned: The Wild and Wycked World of Brian Jones.

Promotional poster for Stoned (2005)

Beatles or Stones? If asked to choose I remain Team Beatles; however, I love The Stones nearly as much.

How about you?