Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
1966
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.
WikipediaThe 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.
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!
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.
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.
Shame that some of the more exciting instrumentals from the Stones have to be paired with their most alarmingly misogynistic lyrics
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.
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.
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.
Best Stones' record and one of best rock albums of all time. Just perfect, from start to finish
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.
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.
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.
Innovative, an instant classic with so many signature and hummable hooks. The opening track with it's eastern influence is arresting to the ear.
Never listened. Some meh songs in there but love the sound. You can def see the jazz and blues "influence" they borrowed from here.
Never listened to the Stones much, but this was great! Old school rock and roll
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.
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.
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.
"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.
2nd guy in looks like Mark Hamill Paint It, Black: hey i know this one, good start. added to my old music and borderlands playlist
Pretty goods. Very versatile sound. They feel genre-fluid within just this album
Thought "Mother's Little Helper" might be feminist-adjacent, then "Stupid Girl" came on and dismissed the notion. And Under My Thumb. Jfc. The rest of the album was good though. I love British rockers and the Rolling Stones are fun.
Going home's a bit long isn't it? Stormer, but every now and again I thought of Jagger and felt a bit sick.
Classic 60s/70s rock, nice bunch of well-known Stones' songs. Overall good.
Not really many notes. They sound like the beatles, and i thought it was strange that the UK release had 4 more songs and took off Paint it black, which was the biggest hit they've ever had.
Very enjoyable. Always liked Paint it black but never listened to the rest of the album. I should listen to more Rolling Stones.
I’m a Stones fan, but admittedly have not listened to this album in its entirety. Under My Thumb has always been a favorite of mine, it other stand out tracks include Mother’s Little Helper, Doncha Bother Me, and Out of Time. Not their strongest album, but still an entertaining listen and I love how the instruments are panned to either the left or right in these older recordings.
It’s really good music. Well made. Just a little slow overall for my liking. It’s music I’d listen to again though if I were in the right mood.
Necesitaría que Paco Navarrete me ayude a entender algunas cosas pero es sin duda un gran disco. 4.01 apenas pero vale. La que menos entiendo es la de 11 minutos que seguramente fue todo un gesto de valentía de los vatos pero ... No sé
Was just reading on Wikipedia that A) this came out right around the same time as the Beatles’ Revolver and B) the UK track listing is crazy different from the US. No “Paint it Black” in the UK! What’s up with that?? Anyway, “Under My Thumb” and “I am Waiting” are songs I still enjoy on the 8,000th listen so they had to be doing something right on this thang. But that last track… why is it the last track of all these albums is a let down?
Good album, but there are probably 10 better Stones albums than this one.
elles ne sont pas toutes bonnes mais on sentait qu'il y avait de l'avenir
US version — Solid. Obviously Paint It Black and Under my Thumb as standouts, personally I enjoyed “Think”.
Excelente disco de una de las mejores bandas. Rítmico, con voz, enérgico.
Az dziwne, ze dopiero teraz turlajace kamienie sie pojawily na listowiu, a z tego co pamietam to byla pierwsza kamieniowa plyta jaka maialem okazje przesluchac w calosci zapoznajac sie z kamieniowa dyskografia i chociaz jest to jeden z najbardziej popowych krazkow jakie skrecili, to jednak byl to przelom w dziejach karierowych bandy, a co ciekawe po tym wygraniu publiki popowym rokiem lub rokowym popowaniem na modle bitelsowa po trochu, postanowali jednac odejsc od tego brzmienia w strone odwazniejszych eksperymentow, ale przechodzac do samej plyty, hamerykanska wersja ktorej tym razem sluchalem to 42 minuty przy 11 trakach, ktore troche gina wsrod pozniejszej dyskografi stonesow, bo zazwyczaj kojarzy sie dwa traki z tej plyty, otwierajacy paint it, black, czyli dosc niezbyt popowy material traktujacy o grzebaniu ukochanej, wiec juz sama tematyka lirczna niezbyt popowa, ale jeszcze mniej popowe brzmienie ma sam kawalek poprzez swoje zmiany tempa na melodii, ktora jest robiona na sitarze i prawdopodobnie czyms organowym, wlasnie dlatego stonesy sa klasa sama w sobie, ze nawet na swoim najbardziej popowym mateirale potrafia przemycic taka egzotyke, kolejnym mainstreamowym hajlajtem jest oczywiscie under my thumb, kawalek pisany przez jagera, ktory ponoc opowiada historie z zycia wziete mikowe, gdzie byl pod kniuckiem lub jak po polacku sie mowi pod pantoflem, czyli zycie w tyksycznym zwiazkowaniu, razem z stupid grilem tworza bardzo antyfeministyczny, albo raczej po prostu seksistowski vibe, ktory stonesy utrzymywaly przez cala kariere, ciekawego gema mozna sie takze doszukac na saym koncu plyty, ponad 10 minutowego bluesowego jama, czyli going home, jeden z pierwszych tak dlugich trakow na rokowej plycie, chyba ze dylan zrobil cos dluzszego szybciej, ale raczej nie przed 66, z ciekawostek, to wlasnie z tej plyty neil young pozyczyl sobie traka do swojego broowoed tuna z tonights the night, chodzi o utwor lady jane, ktory na tej spotifjajowej wersji jest wyjatkowo grany w mono, szkoda ze calej plyty tak nagranej nie mozna dostac, pozostaje soulseekowanie, jesli temu albumowi dam cztery gwiazdoje, to na nastepnych kamieniarzach poleca chyba same piatki, ale jednak mam do tego materialu zbyt duzy sentyment i wspomnien, zeby nizej go ocenic
nice music, no outstanders for good or bad but the last song is too long. good album overall
I’m a fan of the Rolling Stones, so it surprised me that I wasn’t familiar with this album title. Always good to learn something new! I think that “Paint it Black” is maybe the quintessential early period Stones song - adding “Under my Thumb” and “Lady Jane” solidify this as more than a one song wonder LP. The rest is good. Jangly 60s era guitars can be a bit grating at times, but Brian Jones makes it all OK. I think this is a solid 3.5. So that makes it a 4.
Mother's little helper was a great start to the album. Lotta Jagger's grunts. I love the sound of the time period, but not my favorite
US and UK versions are wildly different. I am confusion. Either way, I would definitely have been #teamStones. Great album. Out of Time is a forgotten gem.
I was listening to this with my kids, 12 & 15, and they were making fun of it for sounding like “cowboy music”. I don’t understand.
Wasn't sure which version I was supposed to listen to, the U.S. or U.K. listened to both and actually like the U.S. better. One thing I noticed is every band at the time really loved the sitar and the Stones were no different it makes its presence known on this album!
Sempre achei difícil relacionar Stones com Beatles, contudo esse álbum aproxima as duas bandas para mim. Algumas músicas poderiam facilmente ser dos Beatles com pequenos ajustes, como a primeira do álbum (Mother's Little Helper) e Flight 505.
I like how ethereal parts of this album sound and how it seems like they’re doing whatever they want and stretching themselves
I was surprised how much of this album sounds like early rock and roll. "Out of Time" is a good example of the older sound. "Goin' Home" gives a taste of the Stones' experimentation with the blues that I believe was part of the origin of the band. The more well known singles ("Mother's Little Helper", and "Under My Thumb") contrast with the rest of the album, having a more advanced sound of Rock and Roll that I most often think of when it comes to the Rolling Stones. This album is at the edge of being "okay", but I think I would listen to it again.
So there’s two versions of this album. Uk and US. US has paint it black which is a classic but it also has the high hat going constantly on high and dry. UK is a little long and ordered differently. Overall it’s a good early stones album where they still have the blues influences but not their best. I’d say both versions are a 7.7/10
This sounds like they have some more musical maturing to experience. It has good tunes but doesn’t hold a candle to sticky fingers or exile. I think the US release (with paint it black and without take it or leave it, out of time, etc) is probably better
This is something of a transitory album for The Rolling Stones, as they haven’t completely abandoned being the largely blues influenced band that they were for their early records, but they also aren’t the straightforward rock band we’ve known for decades at this point. Sort of their “Rubber Soul”, since they’re so frequently compared to their contemporaries the Beatles. Dug everything I knew from this album - “Mother’s Little Helper”, “Stupid Girl”, “Under My Thumb”, “I Am Waiting” - and most of the tunes that I was unfamiliar with, save for “Going Home” which goes on for far too long at nearly eleven minutes and arriving in the middle of this record (I listened to the UK version) is an albatross around its neck that prevents me from giving this a full 5 stars rating.
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Mother's little helper, Stupid girl, Under my thumb
Favorite band ever. Don’t listen to this era of their music as much but it holds up