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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Aftermath

The Rolling Stones

1966

Buy At Rough Trade
Aftermath
Album Summary

Aftermath is a studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The group recorded the album at RCA Studios in California in December 1965 and March 1966, during breaks between their international tours. It was released in the United Kingdom on 15 April 1966 by Decca Records and in the United States on 2 July by London Records. It is the band's fourth British and sixth American studio album, and closely follows a series of international hit singles that helped bring the Stones newfound wealth and fame rivalling that of their contemporaries the Beatles. Aftermath is considered by music scholars to be an artistic breakthrough for the Rolling Stones. It is their first album to consist entirely of original compositions, all of which were credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Brian Jones emerged as a key contributor and experimented with instruments not usually associated with popular music, including the sitar, Appalachian dulcimer, Japanese koto and marimbas, as well as guitar and harmonica. Along with Jones' instrumental textures, the Stones incorporated a wider range of chords and stylistic elements beyond their Chicago blues and R&B influences, such as pop, folk, country, psychedelia, Baroque and Middle Eastern music. Influenced by intense love affairs and a demanding touring itinerary, Jagger and Richards wrote the album around psychodramatic themes of love, sex, desire, power and dominance, hate, obsession, modern society and rock stardom. Women feature as prominent characters in their often dark, sarcastic, casually offensive lyrics. The album's release was briefly delayed by controversy over the original packaging idea and title – Could You Walk on the Water? – due to the London label's fear of offending Christians in the US with its allusion to Jesus walking on water. In response to the lack of creative control, and without another idea for the title, the Stones bitterly settled on Aftermath, and two different photos of the band were used for the cover to each edition of the album. The UK release featured a run-time of more than 52 minutes, the longest for a popular music LP up to that point. The American edition was issued with a shorter track listing, substituting the single "Paint It Black" in place of four of the British version's songs, in keeping with the industry preference for shorter LPs in the US market at the time. Aftermath was an immediate commercial success in both the UK and the US, topping the British albums chart for eight consecutive weeks and eventually achieving platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. An inaugural release of the album era and a rival to the contemporaneous impact of the Beatles' Rubber Soul (1965), it reflected the youth culture and values of 1960s Swinging London and the burgeoning counterculture while attracting thousands of new fans to the Rolling Stones. The album was also highly successful with critics, although some listeners were offended by the derisive attitudes towards female characters in certain songs. Its subversive music solidified the band's rebellious rock image while pioneering the darker psychological and social content that glam rock and British punk rock would explore in the 1970s. Aftermath has since been considered the most important of the Stones' early, formative music and their first classic album, frequently ranking on professional lists of the greatest albums.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.45

Votes

11982
Genres
Rock

Reviews

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Thu May 13 2021
2

The sheer brilliance of Paint it Black brought this up to a 3, and the deeply rapey energy of Under My Thumb pushed it right back down.

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Fri Jan 15 2021
5

Not a fan of the beatles but fine

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Wed Jun 21 2023
1

If Mick Jagger has million number of haters i am one of them . if Mick Jagger has ten haters i am one of them. if Mick Jagger have only one hater and that is me . if Mick Jagger has no haters, that means i am no more on the earth . if world for the Mick Jagger, i am against the world. i hate #MickJagger till my last breath.. .. Die Hard hater of Mick Jagger . Hit Like If you Think Mick Jagger Worst singer & Dumb In the world

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Tue Oct 05 2021
5

I would love to suck on the vinegar tits of Mick Jagger. All that leathery goodness. Ooooh mama. Pour a bottle of Head and Shoulders shampoo on my thighs and slap me silly. Yee haw!

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Tue Feb 15 2022
3

i mean it’s the rolling stones so of course they’re influential but not their best work. the songs were just incredibly repetitive to a very obnoxious point. nothing much to say other than that.

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Fri Oct 22 2021
2

Shame that some of the more exciting instrumentals from the Stones have to be paired with their most alarmingly misogynistic lyrics

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Wed Oct 13 2021
3

The beginning of the Stones really sounding like the Stones. Recording is still a little rough, although Brian Jones' use of whatever instruments were around lifts the sound into something fresher than most of their contemporaries. Going home is waaaaay too long, just a noodly blues jam. It shows the beginning of their dynamic playing style and playing off each other, but I'm not sure we needed 11 minutes of a under baked idea. I think I prefer either their earlier less polished and more bluesy records, or their later material where they are more confident in their own thing. And the misogyny is staggering. Women are either berated and belittled, subjugated, or raised onto pedestals (setting them up for failure?) I'm really not sure I could listen to this frequently.

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Tue Dec 15 2020
4

Between the feeling that this is the best Stones album I've listened to so far and my recent turnaround on Steely Dan, I've a suspicion that I'm simply getting back into a rock mood. But a couple songs into the B side (of the UK release, Paint It Black is a great song but not worth shortening the tracklist for marketing [I listened to it after finishing the UK version]) I was nodding my head to Out of Time. This one doesn't blend in the same way I complained Beggars did, and seems more interesting than Sticky Fingers in every category.

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Wed Mar 10 2021
5

Love this album. Hadn’t listened to it in awhile.

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Mon Jan 25 2021
5

Can't go wrong with the stones!

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Wed Sep 15 2021
5

The beginning of something special

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Thu Sep 16 2021
5

Amazing that this album came out around the time of Rubber Soul. It shows a similar experimental style and has such breadth while staying distinctly Stones. Jagger and Richards wrote all these songs (no covers) and this album shows how good they were.

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Tue May 17 2022
5

This is where the Stones really start to step it up and creatively branch out in the recording studio. Undoubtedly inspired by The Beatles "Rubber Soul" doing the very same thing the year before. I mean, The Stones started recording this album 3 days after "Rubber Soul" was released. I don't think that was a coincidence. They were in a sort of musical "space race" with The Beatles at the time. Beatles comparisons aside, this is a great album, and where they really start to come into their own as songwriters. They certainly have a distinctly darker perspective - which can sometimes come across as overbearing and sometimes as refreshing, depending on my mood. Although "Mother's Little Helper" was one of the first Stones songs I really fell in love with, I think I prefer the US version for its inclusion of "Paint It, Black." What a way to open an album.

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Fri May 12 2023
4

The algorithm has brought this not longer after ‘Let it Bleed’ and ‘Bring it all back home’, and has me thinking about what makes a record dated, like this one, and near-contemporaries, like the other two, not. It’s the difference between being planted into a past moment by a work, where it feels live, and looking back at that moment - it’s the distance. Forgive me; this doesn’t explain why I think ‘Aftermath’ is a relic, whereas ‘Let it bleed’ is resurrection on tape (sorry Ian Brown). Might be a materialist matter: this record contains novelty techniques that few would use now: stereo flourishes that do little other than call attention to themselves, dulcimer faux-baroque, recorded-in-an-oil-drum echoes, and unrelenting misogyny. The fuzz-bass on ‘Under My Thumb’ is brilliant, though! Still a great album. And once I start concentrating on Watts’ drumming, it’s happy trance time!

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Thu Mar 10 2022
3

Lest tounes connues sont très bonnes, mais le reste est juste dun bon rock bien simple.

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Mon May 23 2022
3

it's the stones - what more can i say? vocals go from playful to calming, incredibly solid guitar played in interesting ways. lots of awesome harmonica! great song structures and writing in general. very warm sounds, obviously a sense of nostalgia stemming from how timeless and iconic this band's sound is. "lady jane" is beautiful and i love the harpsichord. "under my thumb" has a great lead melody and a driving rhythm that immediately causes foot-tapping. "out of time" is great. the vocals are great and the harmonies make me smile. cute bell sound and great bassline. fun rolling drums and off-beat guitar, a really nice song. really consistent and easy to listen to - to the point where some songs blur together, although perhaps with repeated listens they might start to stand apart. first impressions led to no immediate stand-out songs.

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Sat Dec 17 2022
3

Les Rollign Stones sont surcôtés, mon ouvrage publié aux editions Demery, est toujours disponible dans toutes les librairies. Une réedition est d'ailleurs dans les tuyaux.

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Sat Dec 17 2022
3

Ça nasille du début à la fin, et ce n'est pas pour me déplaire. J'ai d'ailleurs beaucoup aimé cette fin d'album où l'on découvre Mick Jagger et David Bowie tout nus dans le même lit, nous affirmant à maintes reprises que ce n'est pas ce que nous croyons.

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Thu Jan 21 2021
5

really good album. It aged very well!

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Sun Jun 27 2021
5

Best Stones' record and one of best rock albums of all time. Just perfect, from start to finish

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Sat Feb 27 2021
5

The classic Brian Jones era Stones release. Gorgeous mid 60’s classic

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Tue Jun 01 2021
5

Pure Stones. Breakthrough album. THank you.

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Mon Oct 04 2021
5

love several songs on it, it's not boring, pretty good album

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Tue Oct 05 2021
5

Paint It Black and Under My Thumb you say? Yes, of course I am giving it a 5. Bet Charlie Watt hated it though, absolutely hated the Stone that fella, absolutely loved the jazz.

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Tue Nov 09 2021
5

So good! Great early Stones!

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Fri Dec 31 2021
5

Great listen, happy this one came appeared.

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Tue Jan 25 2022
5

I really liked the album. Chill but upbeat music, cool music!

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Fri Apr 22 2022
5

Its probably top6 Stones albumes 4 m3

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Sun Apr 24 2022
5

Love it…60’s music at it’s finest, and it only gets better

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Mon May 09 2022
5

6th May 2022 Listened while working in the front room before going camping for the weekend with sav and sally in tonbridge. Classic, blues roots on their shoulders with Jagger yelping and squealing at his best.

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Tue Aug 09 2022
5

Innovative, an instant classic with so many signature and hummable hooks. The opening track with it's eastern influence is arresting to the ear.

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Fri Aug 19 2022
5

Never listened. Some meh songs in there but love the sound. You can def see the jazz and blues "influence" they borrowed from here.

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Tue Sep 13 2022
5

Never listened to the Stones much, but this was great! Old school rock and roll

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Wed Sep 21 2022
5

Fantastic album, so many good tracks, catchy lyrics, great melodies

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Tue Sep 27 2022
5

excellent sound, great masterpiece.

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Sat Oct 08 2022
5

Good stones album some of my favorite stones songs

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Mon Oct 10 2022
5

The Stones have always been the bad boys against the Beatles loveable mop-tops image. I'm finding i'm steering more to the dark side now......... This album is full-force and full of powerful hits, sneering lyrics, cold dark imagery. All these years later it can still evoke anger and controversy. The album begins with the newer progressive works and then finishes with the older style blue/pop numbers they were known for. This was a turning point.

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Thu Oct 13 2022
5

Aftermath shows a much more mature Rolling Stones who have found their sound and are moving beyond their roots as a straight blues band. The songwriting is better, the playing is tighter, the music is more exploratory, and the album is incredibly cohesive. Even their long jams are better structured and more interesting.

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Sat Oct 22 2022
5

Great, the ending song "Going Home" made me give five star.

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Fri Nov 11 2022
5

Such a killer record. Always worth coming back to this one.

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Fri Dec 16 2022
5

Uit de tijd dat het nog een stel jonge gasten met een boel branie waren. Het klinkt na meer dan 50 jaar nog altijd fris. Het heeft stijl, het rockt, het is creatief, het komt aan. Goed gedaan van de heren.

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Tue Jan 03 2023
5

"Aftermath" is the fourth British and sixth US studio album by The Rolling Stones. It was recorded in California and with their previous success allowed The Stones more recording time. It is also considered their artistic breakthrough with all original compositions credited to Jagger and Richards. Many think artistically influenced by what The Beatles were doing. Lots of background on this album. The music itself goes outside of their previous Chicago Blues and R&B styles into pop, folk, country, pyschedelic, baroque and Middle Eastern especially with Brian Jones' use of the sitar, dulcimer, Japanese koto and marimbas. Lyrically, Jones and Richard explore themes of love, sex, desire, power, dominance, hate obsession and modern society. Some of the lyrics, even at that time, were viewed as misogynistic. One of the reasons was the women with whom Jagger, Richards and Jones were involved with and included love triangles, bad relationships and drugs. There were two different versions of the album released; due the US market, the US version is shorter. It also contains the song "Paint It Black" which the UK version does not. This album was also a big commercial success both in the UK and US. Since the randomizer showed the UK album cover, I listened to that version. The album begins with "Mother's Little Helper" about a housewive's dependence on drugs to get her through the day. Needless to say not the last drug song The Stones would write. That Eastern guitar riff. Rolling bass. "Stupid Girl" is about a bad relationship Jagger had and some put in the misogynistic category. The organ and electric piano are prominent. The third song "Lady Jane" continues the change of styles with this one more baroque pop. Jones' dulicer and Richards' acoustic guitar at the forefront. Hey, a romantic courtship..something positive. And then we come to one of the more challenging drinking game-songs around in "Under My Thumb." One must take a drink of their cocktail of choice every time Under My Thumb is said, which is 14 times. No, I didn't do it today....yet. Great groove. Jones' marimbas. Jagger still seeking revenge from a bad relationship. The first two songs on the second side, "Flight 505" and "High and Dry" return The Stones to more of the blues form. Poor Mick as he continues his women misery in "Out of Time." Brian Jones also continues his brilliance with the use of marimbas and a vibraphone. Maybe my favorite song on the album. I don't know exactly what Jagger is singing about but "I Am Waiting" is another great example of The Stones going into different styles: folk, baroque pop of sorts. I don't remember hearing "I Think." I must have. It is probably their most simple and straight-forward rock-pop song on the album. Great song and actually charted in the UK. I once owned (the US version) this on cassette, long gone now. I need to own this again. I know I didn't appreciate it at the time but the change of styles and especially Brian Jones are both fantastic. A must listen.

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Tue Feb 07 2023
5

For me great combination of their bluesy-music they started with and the later style as in Beggars' Banquet.

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Mon Feb 20 2023
5

first truely great stones record

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Fri Mar 17 2023
5

"Going Home" made me love the album. I can hear how the musicians feel the pleasure of playing the song. It's interesting to read about the history of the Aftermath. I didn't know that there were such big differences between UK and US markets.

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Tue Apr 04 2023
5

Love most of the Stones music and this album has some greats for sure! The production of this recording has some fun stereo imaging emphasizing instrumental separation! Cool stuff!

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Sat Apr 29 2023
5

A 5 for the UK version ("Mother's Little Helper" & "Out of Time") & a 5 for the US version ("Paint It Black.").

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Mon May 15 2023
5

Can listen at any time. All great. All.

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Sat Jul 15 2023
5

Legendary album, wasn't sure if I should listen to the U.K. or U.S. version, so I listened to them both. A lot of the Stones' best known songs are on here, and the rest could be blues classics in their own right.

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Tue Aug 01 2023
5

Wonderful album! I was raised on Beatles records, not Rolling Stones records, so it's great discovering an early Rolling Stones classic. I listened to the U.K. version as well.

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Mon Aug 21 2023
5

So... Which version should be rated here? The US album, with the iconic "Paint It Black"? Or the UK L.P., which doesn't have that hit single, yet harbors the equally iconic "Mother's Little Helper" and "Out Of Time"? Fortunately, both versions include the bittersweet melody of "Lady Jane", the long yet fascinating blues dirge of "Goin' Home" and the stellar hooks of "Under My Thumb". I guess I should probably take a star away from the LP because of the misogynistic lyrics of that latter song. Yet I always take the contentsof those lyrics content as the self-delusion of the immature male protagonist singing them. And so I refuse to take those words very seriously. Maybe I'm in the wrong here. And maybe it's because the album is so good musically speaking that I can't face the truth. In that case, I'm probably as self-deluded as the young man in that song. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5, then. Number of albums left to review: 463 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 254 (including this one). Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 125 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 160

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Sun Aug 27 2023
5

Album 148 of 1001 Rolling Stones - Aftermath Rating : 5 / 5 Favorite Track : Paint It, Black I like the classic Stones. Their early years are my favorites. This is the first with all original tracks, including 2 of their bigger hits. Never go wrong with early Stones.

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Sat Sep 16 2023
5

Some classic songs here. Some exotic instruments. Nice sound.

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Mon Sep 18 2023
5

Cool album, with some of the Stones darker more experimental stuff on there.

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Thu Sep 21 2023
5

A mix of 60’s pop shuffles with some delta style blues.

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Wed Sep 27 2023
5

4.5 stars. Fantastic album. Classic rock defined. Standouts are "Paint It Black" and "Under My Thumb".

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Mon Oct 09 2023
5

This is quintessential 1960's rolling stones The opening with Paint it Black in the US version is widely different with Mother's Little Helper in the UK version. I think I like the UK version better.

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Sat Oct 14 2023
5

This is one of those albums I've kind of heard already, because it's full of bangers that have appeared *everywhere* over the years. Heard in the order they were designed to, it becomes even more apparent just what a revelation this must have been upon release. The Stones have always been cool to me, and this just cements that coolness even further.

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Thu Oct 19 2023
5

Such a great and innovative album of solid stones.

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Sun Oct 22 2023
5

Pegou-me totalmente ao começar com Paint it, Black. Melhore expressão do rock produzido pelos Stones.

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Tue Oct 31 2023
5

Easy 5, pas besoin de trop réfléchir. C'est bien d'un bout à l'autre, c'est varié, vraiment absolument rien à redire.

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Tue Oct 31 2023
5

I've never considered myself a Stones fan, but that may have changed after listening to this album. I loved it all. Obviously, I was familiar with Paint it Black, but I also feel like that song in particular was a bit ahead of its time. I had no idea the song was that old. And it certainly stands out on this album, IMO. That said, the whole album was quite enjoyable. I'll probably listen to this again.

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Sun Nov 12 2023
5

The first super solid stones album with wonderful Brian Jones contributions.

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Mon Nov 13 2023
5

I also want to paint it black.

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Fri Dec 08 2023
5

Favourite Rolling Stones album so far

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Wed Dec 13 2023
5

A really enjoyable album, I liked the style of music. My favourite songs from the album were Paint it black and Doncha Bother Me.

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Mon Dec 18 2023
5

great album Paint It Black !!!!!!!!!

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Tue Dec 19 2023
5

Crazy how much they sound like The Rolling Stones from the get go

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Wed Dec 20 2023
5

The Stones become the stones. The evolution is almost complete on the Aftermath of the British Invasion album. You can hear the American soul and R&B influence, the British cool of Brian Jones and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' rage and energy. All bundled up and ready to go. Great songs that set them apart from the other British acts and catapult them into the land they will occupy and dominate.

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Fri Jan 05 2024
5

Loved the Stones’ oldies. Didn’t recognize the first few songs.

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Thu Jan 11 2024
5

The Rolling Stones has always been a band with a couple of nice songs but never a band where I sat down to listen to a whole album. I see now that this was wrong. Aftermath is a wonderful album, one of their first as far as I know. There is a wonderful freshness in the songs and it contains quite a lot of their well known pieces. Even if only for this album, taking part in this journey of 1001 albums has paid off.

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Sat Jan 13 2024
5

Such a great album. The Stones moving out of the early stage and starting to experiment.

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Mon Jan 15 2024
5

I must admit, the Rolling Stones were not a must listen for me when I was younger. I grew to appreciate their music as I got older. I sort of think they need to stop now, like most bands after 50 years of playing. With that said, I still think that Lady Jane is such a great listen, and this is an overall stellar album. Peace.

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