A review of The Rolling Stones album release in 1967 – Between The Buttons.
The Rolling Stones – Between The Buttons (UK Version) (1967) — The Ultimate Music Library
*Great review of one of the band’s perhaps less well known albums, but well worth a listen.
These are my own considered three qualifications/prerequisites for this position, in British rock‘s top 5 front men:
These are my rules, so the guy has to be in a band, not a solo artist only. I shall state these in reverse, though ask me on any other day and I might have a different order.
5. Dave Coverdale lead singer of Deep Purple and Whitesnake. An archetypal front man with a great soulful voice, plus a great rapport with his audience.
4. Roger Daltrey, lead singer of The Who. Fantastic stage presence and looks with a powerful voice.
3. Robert Plant lead singer and a songwriter of Led Zeppelin. Powerful bluesy voice and front man with iconic looks.
2. Mick Jagger, lead singer of The Rolling Stones. Perhaps the original front man of British rock, commanding the stage with his unique antics. If longevity was the only proviso he’d be No. 1.
Once again, these are only my opinions. There great names I have left out.
*Music has always been very important to our culture, so we must encourage new talent.
So you were either a Beatles or a Stones fan, right? Well, I liked them both. I remember when the Rolling Stones eponymous 1964 album (Decca) arrived in our little household and was put on our cheap mono turntable. I was immediately transfixed by the music.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t really know whether the Stones were British or not. My mother certainly did not like the look of them! She preferred the Beatles, particularly John Lennon‘s humour.
I didn’t know what rhythm and blues was either. I just liked what I heard and played that record until it was virtually worn out! My favourite track, and still one of my favourite Stones songs, is ‘Route 66‘.
Written by Bobby Troup, this was also my first real exposure to the idea of America and Americana in music, about travel for travelling’s sake, not an easy concept to grasp when you are born and bred in an obscure town in eastern England which was so conservative it seemed like Queen Victoria had never vacated the throne.
I was especially entranced by the surging rhythm, evoking movement and travel, but also by the names of towns, cities and states along that famous route. Even now when I here the word ‘St Louis’ or ‘Missouri’, for example, it sends my imagination flying just as it did back then. Sad to say that I have still to actually set foot in the hallowed United States. The nearest I have been is viewing Buffalo across the Canadian Niagara Falls.
So my views have changed a bit over the years. Conservatism and tradition do indeed have a place after all, although I still have very fond memories of that crazy time, particularly the mid 60s, when the Stones were playing American covers so brilliantly.
Of course, messrs Jagger and Richards went on to be great song writers in their own right. Nevertheless, the Stones’ take on this classic, especially influenced by the purist insistence of the late great Brian Jones who did so much to create this superb band, has more than stood the test of time.
Ciscography 