The Rolling Stones’ Most Polarizing Album: 'Now!' vs 'Flowers'

The real fight between The Rolling Stones, Now! and Flowers isn’t about quality — it’s about what a Rolling Stones album should be. Now! is pure, unapologetic R&B energy, recorded in 1964–65 before the band’s songwriting fully took off. Fans who love the early “blues purist” era adore it; others find it too derivative of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters to stand with their later work. The polarization here is mild — mostly between casual listeners who skip it and die-hards who rank it among their best.

Flowers is a different kind of lightning rod. Released in 1967 as the band transitioned from R&B to psychedelic rock, it’s a US-only compilation that jams together album tracks, single B-sides, and two songs exclusive to the record (“Ruby Tuesday” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together” are also on *Between the Buttons” US version, so it gets messy). Some fans see it as a necessary artifact that captures the weird, transitional moments of 1966