Flowers (Rolling Stones album)

"Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday" had just appeared on the US version of Between the Buttons five months prior, which led to some criticism over their selection. Three of the songs had never been released: "My Girl", "Ride On, Baby" and "Sittin' on a Fence", the first of which was recorded in May 1965 during the sessions for "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", and the other two of which were recorded in December 1965 during the first lot of Aftermath sessions. The title is reflected in the album's cover, with flower stems underneath the portrait of each of the band members. Bassist Bill Wyman claims that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards deliberately arranged the stem of Brian Jones's flower so that it had no leaves, as a prank. The portraits are from the British version of Aftermath. Flowers reached number three in the US during the late summer of 1967 and was certified gold. In August 2002 it was remastered and reissued on CD and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records. == Critical reception ==

Because of its assorted compilation, Flowers was originally disregarded by some music critics as a promotional ploy aimed at American listeners. He wrote in 1970 in The Village Voice: In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger gave Flowers four-and-a-half out of five stars and said that the music it compiles is exceptional enough not to be dismissed as a marketing "rip-off": "There's some outstanding material you can't get anywhere else, and the album as a whole plays very well from end to end." Tom Moon gave it five stars in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) and wrote that "it holds together as one of the Stones' best records, a concept album about the social scene that gathers around five rich young men with an appetite for sex, drugs, and gossip." Many critics and fans do not consider Flowers to be a proper studio album as some of the tracks had been released on albums in the US before. The issue of different tracks on UK and US album versions was common in the 1960s and plagued many bands including the Beatles. The Rolling Stones' next studio album, Their Satanic Majesties Request, and all subsequent studio albums have the same tracks on them regardless of where it was released. ==Track listing==

All songs by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except "My Girl" by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White. ==Personnel==

Credits are from the original 1967 US LP liner notes, the 2002 ABKCO CD booklet (where applicable), and Philippe Margotin & Jean-Michel Guesdon's All the Songs, except where noted otherwise. The Rolling Stones • Mick Jagger – lead vocals, backing vocals, tambourine, percussion • Keith Richards – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals; bass guitar ; bowed double bass ; piano • Brian Jones – electric guitar, acoustic guitar; organ ; alto recorder ; Appalachian dulcimer ; Mellotron ; electronic oscillator ; vibraphone ; marimba ; koto ; harpsichord ; autoharp • Bill Wyman – bass guitar, backing vocals; plucked double bass ; bells ; castanets • Charlie Watts – drums, percussion; maracas Additional musicians • Jack Nitzsche – piano ; harpsichord • Ian Stewart – piano • Nick DeCaro – accordion Additional personnel • Andrew Loog Oldham – producer • Dave Hassinger – engineering • Glyn Johns – engineering ==Charts==