A Bit More Info

This is the July 2, 1966 American release, not the original April 15, 1966 UK release. This is also the original CD release, not the remastered SACD, which is much better. Most Stones fans consider this to be a vastly inferior album due to meddling by the record execs. At this time it was common for the execs to make decisions on what they thought would sell to the "American" market, which usually translated into holding back releases in order to create new packages to increase sales before the band faded into obscurity.

This American version replaced Mothers Little Helper with what was at that time a recent hit - Paint It, Black, while cutting Out Of Time, Take It Or Leave It, and What To Do.

Nearly everyone knows this music and now you can enjoy it the way it was meant to be heard. For the music itself, it's hard to improve on the review done of the UK Aftermath release by Brian Christie on Aug 29, 2002.

ABCKO acquired the Stones' catalog when Allen Klein became their manager in the 70s. The resulting legal battles produced releases that the Stones opposed (they took out full page adds asking fans not to buy them), including the controversial Metamorphosis releases (which are now available on CD for the 1st time ever). But the sad fact is that the Stones lost control of their great early material. With the recently remastered SACD releases, we at last have some idea of what they really sounded like in the studio. I guess if we had them 40 years ago they would have ended up Greatest Rock And Roll Band in the Universe instead of just our tiny little World.

All the tracks for Aftermath were recorded during 2 sessions at RCA Studios in Hollywood.

Dec 3-8, 1965 at RCA Studios in Hollywood
.....Doncha Bother Me (originally titled Don't You Follow Me for the unreleased album Could You Walk On The Water)
.....Goin' Home
.....Think
Mar 6-9, 1966 at RCA Studios in Hollywood
.....Paint It, Black
.....Stupid Girl
.....Lady Jane
.....Under My Thumb
.....Flight 505
.....High And Dry
.....It's Not Easy
.....I Am Waiting

The tracks recorded during these sessions that were not released on the UK version were Mother's Little Helper, Sittin' On A Fence, Sad Day, 19th Nervous Breakdown, Ride On Baby, Long Long While, Take It Or Leave It, What To Do, and both version 1 - the long version - and version 2 - the short version - of Out Of Time. In addition there were 3 tracks that have still never been released: Looking Tired, Aftermath, and Tracks Of My Tears.

This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own collection.

A Classic!

The Stones first album of completely Mick Jagger/Keith Richards compositions, and I say they did a great job. "Paint It, Black", "Lady Jane", and "Under My Thumb" are the greatest songs from this album. "Stupid Girl" was an excellent B-Side to "Paint It, Black". The rest of the tracks weren't released as singles or considered Greatest Hits, but they are still good. "Going Home" is REALLY long (11:35, to be exact), with the same groove for 8:00. (The other 3:00 are words, with a different groove to the other 8:00 of the song). It's still good, but it could be edited down to the 3:00 and fade out with the beginning of the long-lasting groove. Otherwise, "Going Home" is alright.

The UK version has more tracks and doesn't include "Paint It, Black". Instead, it has "Mother's Little Helper", "Out Of Time" (long version), "Take It or Leave It" and "What To Do". The UK version is equally as good. The best version would be the UK version with "Paint It, Black" as well as the other tracks.

Overall, this is a great album and I reccomend you get it.

Aftermath

The Rolling Stones finally delivered a set of all-original material with this LP, which also did much to define the group as the bad boys of rock & roll with their sneering attitude toward the world in general and the female sex in particular. The borderline misogyny could get a bit juvenile in tunes like "Stupid Girl." But on the other hand the group began incorporating the influences of psychedelia and Dylan into their material with classics like "Paint It Black," an eerily insistent number one hit graced by some of the best use of sitar on a rock record. Other classics included the jazzy "Under My Thumb," where Jones added exotic accents with his vibes, and the delicate Elizabethan ballad "Lady Jane," where dulcimer can be heard. Some of the material is fairly ho-hum, to be honest, as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were still prone to inconsistent songwriting; "Goin' Home," an 11-minute blues jam, was remarkable more for its barrier-crashing length than its content. Look out for an obscure gem, however, in the brooding, meditative "I Am Waiting."

Best of the Early Albums

"Aftermath" is my favorite Stones albums from the Brian Jones era.
I think it is more interesting, instrumentally, than anything they had done previously - or since - and it demonstrates just how important Jones was to the Stones.

Good, but lesser than the UK version

"Aftermath" is the first Stones album of 100% original material, and while that's certainly interesting, it is not necessarily a good thing.

Many of these songs are great, but there are a number of lesser tunes here as well, and a few good soul or R&B covers like the ones the Stones pulled out of their collective sleeves on their previous records could have replaced a couple of the "filler" songs and made this an even stronger album.



But "Aftermath" is still a great addition to anyone's Stones collection. Most of the lesser-known originals on "Aftermath", such as "Flight 505", "High And Dry", "Think", and "Going Home" (before it evolves into a long, tedious, psychedelic jam) are very enjoyable, even if they aren't as instantly memorable as "Satisfaction" or "Honky Tonk Women".



Remember, though, that the UK version of "Aftermath" runs more than ten minutes longer than its American counterpart, despite not having "Paint It Black" on it (singles were usually kept separate from LPs in England in those days). And it has four songs which aren't on this version, and should be preferred.

The Greatest Stones Album Ever!!

This is, in my opinion, the greatest Stones album The Rolling Stones ever put out. Yes, the sound is terrible. And SACD did a terrible job at remastering this, but its all about the music. And with such good music as this, you tend to forget about the terrible sound.



I prefer the Brian Jones period in The Stones, (1964-1969) and out of all those albums with Jones on board, this one stands out the most.



It opens with their classic, Paint It Black. There are rumors, The Stones were the first to use the sitar on rock and roll recordings. But I think The Beatles actually did it first. But I could be wrong....



Under My Thumb is one of the tightest songs, The Stones ever put out. And let's not forget about the non-hits. Stupid Girl is great! Flight 505, High And Dry, Lady Jane, and the longest rock song at the time, I'm Going Home.



This is a great album. The Stones were a good band, until they turned into a pop/rock band, in the 70's and 80's. This features them in their prime. The time period when they put out good records!