(Album) Flowers

Flowers

Released
June 26, 1967

How do I classify this? And where do I start?

Flowers is technically a compilation album, but it’s more than that. Not only does it contain unreleased songs from the Aftermath sessions, it contains songs only released on British editions of albums. It’s an album to tie up loose ends, and that’s just fantastic. It only took until 1967 for this to happen. I think the most important part of this album is that every album after this remained the same between regions. And that’s just wonderful.

An Ode to Loog

Many other things happened. In the Rolling Stones timeline of albums, this is the very last album to be produced by Andrew Loog Oldham (and that’s only because it’s an album of old recordings), a relationship that started with The Rolling Stones, staring Oldham and the Stones’ business manager Eric Easton as producers, before The Rolling Stones No. 2 became Oldham’s lead producer role.

The producer job was his first. Before the Rolling Stones, he was more of a publicist, promoting both Dylan and The Beatles in 1963. Oldham was also the one to sign the Stones up to Decca, trying to get an “anti-Beatles” band (and rightfully so, since Decca turned down The Beatles.)

Outside the band, Oldham lived on drugs and had a bad-boy reputation, as in he had a bodyguard to threaten people. The drugs part of Oldham’s life was one of the reasons for his departure with the Stones. Before his official departure, however, he had sold all his management position to Allen Klein, the master of stealing everything The Stones wrote pre-1971 and then defrauded The Concert for Bangladesh GEORGE HARRISON TRIED TO PUT ON A NICE CONCERT AND IT IS STILL ONE OF THE BEST AND YOU DID THAT.

How do The Rolling Stones see Andrew Loog Oldham now? According to credible source Wikipedia, who’s page on Andrew Loog Oldham is filled with missing citations, has this quoted from The Rolling Stones’ website, a quote that I couldn't find:

“Accounts regarding the value of his musical input to The Stones recordings vary, from negligible to absolute zero.”

The album has several things to note in it’s selection of music:

• Songs from British albums that didn't make it anywhere else in the American catalouge.
• An alternate mix of Out of Time, originally released in 1966.
• Songs from the Aftermath sessions saw their first release: My Girl (with strings overdub in 1966), ‘Take It or Leave It”, “Ride On, Baby” and “Sittin’ on a Fence”
• Brian Jones, master of exotic instruments, on a Koto.

So I’ll be writing some things on the new songs, and even less on the already-reviewed songs.

Ruby Tuesday

It’s on this album to draw attention. Both released as a single and in the American edition of Between the Buttons. Still as beautiful as before.

10 / 10

Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?

Less popular than Ruby Tuesday, although on the album for draw value. Originally released on September 23, 1966 in the UK, 24th in the US, and again on Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass). Still hard rocking. With those little trumpets.

8 / 10

Let’s Spend the Night Together

I guess I should expect this: it’s not a new album. It’s a compilation of good songs. At this point, however, maybe these songs are the main draw, and the “new” songs are a “thank-you” for buying. I was thinking it’s the other way around. Originally released in 1967, and then again in America on Between the Buttons. A bit weird separating this and Ruby Tuesday in exchange for a lesser known Have You Seen Your Mother, especially since these two were double A-side and fresh. The song, of course, is still the same.

9.5 / 10

Lady Jane

My sweet dulcimer. Released on both regions of Aftermath, and again on July 2, 1966 in the US as a b-side.

8 / 10

Out of Time

Originally released on Aftermath, this song (apparently) has a different mix than Aftermath. But it’s ok, because the US never got this song on their Aftermath. So now we have two versions of this out there, but it’s fine because the original mix was two minutes longer. The one thing I didn't like about the original was that it ran too long, and here we go, The Stones do know what’s right. So guess what, I’m giving this a higher rating. Because I like it.

9.5 / 10

My Girl

Now, My Girl is a great song for soul and blues artists. I like this song from Otis Redding. I like it from The Temptations. I don’t like Phil Collins’ version of it. The Stones version is pretty good. Thanks to headphones, the strings really do seem out of place. But other than that, I think the Stones did a good job on this cover. And that’s saying something because I've always seem to hate on their soul covers. There’s enough blues on this for the Stones to make it work. Jagger doesn't overdo it, and the backing vocals just add that soul flavor to it.

8 / 10

Backstreet Girl

Released on the British Between the Buttons, and brand new to the United States. This is a song I had trouble explaining last time, but I like how the mix of soft acoustic guitar and accordion brings in ease of mind. And Jagger is just soft and wonderful.

9 / 10

Please Go Home

Coming out of Backstreet Girl we go into another Between the Buttons, new-to-US song, but this time a hard rocker with tremolo guitar and ghostly echo vocals every time the title is sung. Some say the Stones’ first taste of psychedelic rock, but I say not yet.

8.5 / 10

Mother’s Little Helper

Great idea to throw this in here to keep interest in the album. I know my interest was starting to wane. On paper though, it does seem weird to separate it from it’s single brethren on the A-side, but I think it really draws out the power of this song.

10 / 10

Take It or Leave It

British Aftermath release, and it’s only here to tie up loose ends and to remind people this existed. Because I forgot. It’s aged well, and the organ keeps the song up to par with their current product, even if it is pushed to the back. The guitar has been doing much of the same as the rest of the songs without a big guitar part. But those drums or nice. (this larger talk was brought to you because I wrote nothing on it back in Aftermath. I am sorry.)

8.5 / 10

Ride On, Baby

This song makes more sense on this album than it would on Aftermath somehow. Probably the harpsichord. And speaking of exotic instruments, here’s the Wikipedia list for Brian Jones’ instruments on this song: Harpsichord, Marimbas, Autoharp, Congas, Rickenbacker 360/12, backing vocals. For that effort alone, this song deserves more than a throwaway release on Flowers. But to fit everything together with a rocking drum beat, it’s a shame it wasn't released earlier.

9.5 / 10

Sittin’ On a Fence

Originally given to Twice as Much, which they released in 1966 for a top 40 hit. It’s a very simple song, with the lead acoustic, played by Jones, copying the vocals of Jagger while doing it’s own thing, before giving way to a harpsichord because the limit for harpsichord hasn't been crossed yet. Other than that, it’s a nice acoustic piece to end the album.

9 / 10

107.5 / 120

Now time for my only complaint: this album is a US only release (until 2002.) That means that despite the catching up it attempts to do, it creates more missing songs for the UK.

But let’s look past that, like we've been doing for the rest of these albums that differ between US and UK. For a compilation album, it’s a must have. The Stones more recent hits, mixed in with “new” releases and semi-hits (Songs that weren't really hits per say, but songs that were delicately put together and that have enough power to hold up.) Tie this up with Big Hits and you've got a fantastic set of Stone songs, and enough to cover the entire Stones catalogue up to this point without buying actual albums.

And why wasn't You Better Move On not on here.