Today I picked up the "Between The Buttons" SACD used from the record store I work at. I've never owned an album by the Stones but it had 'Ruby Tuesday' and 'She Smiled Sweetly' on it which was enough to finally convince me to pick it up.

After listening to it and consulting online, I discovered it was the US release. Nowhere on it did it say whether it was UK or US, so I assumed there weren't different releases out there. Furthermore, I assumed that, because they were remastered re-releases, they would have gone with the original UK tracklisting.

My friend Brian came over and I talked with him about it and he informed me that he has a remastered SACD re-release of Buttons, UK edition. Which just led me to question why the hell they'd remaster and reprint both different versions and make both available to the same market. What it all boils down to is this: I don't know whether it's worth the trouble to sell the US version and look for the UK version, then continue buying UK versions where existant, etc.

Sooo...

Question A) In the grand scheme of things, which are the better buy for the avid collector and fan: UK or US?

Question B) Are albums like "Flowers" worth picking up, at all? AllMusic says that specific album is just a hodge-podge of different songs and many don't consider it to be a real album at all.

Question C) If I don't have any albums by the Stones, where should I start? The beginning?

In other words, should I look for the "England's Newest Hitmakers", UK version, remastered, re-released SACD version of the album and then continue on from there?

I really love the Stones and own a couple of the SACDs you're talking about (Between the Buttons US, Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed). If you had bought it new in the store, it would have had a sticker on it proclaiming it a US/UK release. The main reason I chose it was for the addition of the singles in the US addition 'Ruby Tuesday' and 'Let's Spend the Night...' both of which are absent from the UK addition. So basically if you bought for Ruby Tuesday, then hang on to it the US release because it isn't on the UK version.

As for whether you should keep buying the Stones catalogue, it all depends on what you like and what kind of completist you are. I own the two Hot Rocks compilations and that satisfies my desire for the early singles. I'm mainly a fan of Beggars Banquet to about Some Girls.

alongdrive, the 63-66 era Stones is essentially them being the best white boy blues cover band on the planet. It's a lot of R&B in the Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley vein with some pop ballads thrown in(Play with Fire, Heart of Stone).

I'm a HUGE Stones fan. One of the few bands that I can find no fault with. Even the worst of the early 80's stuff I chalk up to heroin addiction or coke abuse, which makes me like even more in a perverse way. Not because it's good music but I just have a romanticized view of them.

I have the London Years collection which is every single with the B-side of those early years even though I have many of those early records. It's the best comprehensive collection of this peroid. I think Aftermath is where they really found their own voice and was the apex of that period for them. The 67-69 era is where they went pop and psychedelic and made some interesting non-blues based stuff, i.e.- the peroid that epa can kind of stomach.

After that Beggar's Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street formed IMO the best 4 album run in rock history. If you don't like any of these chances are you won't go any further with the Stones. If you made a singles collection of these albums you would be missing the point. They all work as whole albums where the deep cuts are even better than the singles IMO. I can't tell you how many drunken late nights were spent with these albums. I would say start with one of these and if you like go further.

After that the 70's are more hit than miss. Some Girls is great and I think It's Only Rock N Roll is very underrated. Tattoo you is good too.

I like them the most because no matter how much music I consume and how many great albums I hear in varying genres I still listen to these and they remind me of a great time in my life.

This may be my longest post on Obner ever.

Yeah I was debating answering this one, but you did quite well and saved me the trouble. I would add that Black and Blue is underrated and Bridges to Babylon has some hidden gems.

And I have a sickness.....

I actually picked up Black and Blue recently for $6 new and really enjoyed it. Memory Motel is such a great song, as is Fool to Cry.

i'm kind of feeling like eventually i will own everything the stones ever did. i'm on a binge right now.

does Hot Rocks II have stuff that wasn't on the propper albums?

Me too.

Rick Derris summed it all up pretty well I think. I had a dilemma similar to alongdrive's starting about a year ago when I decided I really needed to finally own some Stones records.

I decided just to get the London Years box (which is great, but I never listen to the 3rd disc), and then get the UK version of every album released as two separate ones. Actually the only two albums that I ended up buying the UK versions of were Aftermath and Between the Buttons (which I just ordered). Aftermath UK is like 10 minutes longer than the US one, and as long as you can find some kind of comp with "Paint It Black" on it, there's no reason to get the US version.

So far I've gotten:
Aftermath (UK)
Beggars Banquet
Let It Bleed
Sticky Fingers
Exile on Main St.
The London Years Box

All are great.

Its when you find yourself listening to Hand of Fate or Hot Stuff, just because you like it, not because they're on the album, that you know you have crossed some kind of plane.

Rick pretty much nailed this one. And Hot Rocks II isn't going to give you any non-album cuts. Flowers is wrth owning for Have You Seen Your Mother Baby (Standing in the Shadows) alone, but you could probably go with Big Hits (High Tides and Green Grass) instead.

That song is also on The London Years, btw.

they should have put out the london versions of the albums with the american songs after as a bonus.

The thing you must keep in mind is that all of these are the ABCKO albums, which means they are owned by Allen Klein and not The Stones. So, he is going to do whatever he can to get more money out of you.

I'm waiting for Virgin to do some DeeeeeLuxe reissues of the 70s albums.

I'd love to hear some outtakes, alt versions, etc.. of the stuff on Sticky Fingers, Exile, Goat's Head, etc...

Yeah.

That should've been done with the first Clash album, too.

not that the stones are the most fan friendly band in the world (ticket prices?!?!) but hopefully those 70's albums are done like you said.

i'm sure there are hours of extra stuff to geek out over.


are any of the later period live albums worth hearing? some of them have interesting song choices.

Alongdrive- you are not alone! I was in pretty much the same situation. Where do you start w/ the Stones? Listen to Rick and get Beggar's, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile all at once. From there, I went on to Out Of Our Heads and Aftermath (both US). Us vs. UK--it's all about personal preference. If you're thinking about getting rid of Between The Buttons (US), I can take that off your hands...

There are songs on every album that I absolutely LOVE.

I would say that evrything up to and including Some Girls is essential + Tattoo You.

It gets subjective after that. If yr. a Stones freak/apologist like me, I'd say even Dirty Work is worth having.

Which albums are you curious about? list 'em and I'll post my takes.

I have them all through Tattoo You, at least main albums. My friend swears by the new ones but in no hurry to replace.

i'm curious about the later live albums, there seems to be lots of them.

Get Yer YaYas Out is the live one to have, but that's from 1969.

If you want anything from the later live stuff, pick up Four Flicks. It's relatively cheap ($30) and has TONS of good shit they rarely play, plus some hot bonus footage with Solomon Burke and some others.

So exactly which albums are available in UK and US versions anyway? Beggars, Bleed, and so on only have one format, correct?

So where did the differentiation start/stop?

I'm pretty sure Aftermath is the last UK/US split. Flowers was a US only comp, and everything from Satanic Majesties onward is one record for both shores

Goddamnit, I want to just go with the UK releases of Aftermath and Buttons because they came out first, so they seem like they should be the decisive tracklisting. But both of the UK releases of those albums are missing some of my favorite songs off the US versions.

Exactly!

Allen Klein wins again. All my stuff is from before these came out (shitfuck!) and I'm waiting for, as posted previously, so serious reissues to be done before I give these wankers any more of my money (I've given them SO much already. I literally bought an album a week for something like 18 weeks until I had it all, and I STILL don't have it all)

Okay, according to AllMusic, the following albums are available in UK and US formats:

England's Newest Hitmakers
No. 2
Out of Our Heads
Aftermath
Between The Buttons


But that's it. So maybe I should just avoid those ones altogether and pick up the others first?

Also, which albums were re-released in SACD? Not everything. I think one of the guys at my work said they only did the albums up until the late sixties, so Sticky Fingers is available, but Exile isn't?

Everything up to Get Yer Ya Ya's Out is available now as SACDs, I believe. The Virgin albums were all remastered in the early 90s but they aren't SACDs.