Product Description

It's difficult for American listeners to remember this, butlike the recordings of the Beatles and nearly all other British groups of the '60s, the Rolling Stones' first several albums did not make it across the Atlantic in one piece. Prior to ABKCO's comprehensive 2002 reissue program, the US versions of the Stones' early albums were the de facto standardson CD, but particularly in the case of 1966's AFTERMATH, the UK album was very different.
The track lineup is shuffled and expanded to create a much different mood. "Paint It Black" is gone, replaced as the opening track by the snotty social commentary of "Mother's Little Helper", which--when followed by "Stupid Girl", "Lady Jane", "Under My Thumb", and "Dontcha Bother Me"--is like a pentathlon of punky misogyny capped by the grinding blues jam "Goin' Home". Side Two is more emotionally varied but just as musically far-reaching, adding the poppy "Take It Or Leave It" and "What To Do" to analready strong set of tunes centred on the stunning full-length version of "Out of Time" that for some reason had neverbeen released in the United States before this belated reissue.

Track Listing

1. Mother’s Little Helper
2. Stupid Girl
3. Lady Jane
4. Under My Thumb
5. Doncha Bother Me
6. Goin’ Home
7. Flight 505
8. High And Dry
9. Out Of Time
10. It’s Not Easy
11. I Am Waiting
12. Take It Or Leave It
13. Think
14. What To Do

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78910 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording remastered, Hybrid SACD

Customer Reviews

Don't like reviewing
I'm not going to write a long, pretantious rewiew because I really don't like this sort of very PERSONAL point of wiev that reviewing records means, and besides, the evening is getting late here in Halmstad, Sweden, and unfortunatly I will be awoken early tomorrow because I'm going to pick up a friend at the station.

I'm just going to make one thing clear:

Brian Jones DOESN'T play sitar on "Mother's Little Helper" ! I've heard far too many people who declare that. I agree with that it sounds like a sitar, but it's actually an electric guitar, probably played through a Leslie organ-speaker/amp or something weird like that, adding that shimmering, psychedelic mood to Jones' guitar. If you want to hear some real superb sitar work from Jones, listen instead to "Paint It, Back".

All I want to say about 'Aftermath' is that it is a great album, worth 4 stars, or, depending on which mood you're in, 4 ½.(Once again, this is according to ME; I want to make clear that this isn't a "public opinion" or something silly like that...)

Well, I'm sorry for bothering you. I'm just tierd and concerned about my soon-wasted love life. Thanks for having me, love.

The First Truly Great Stones Album
I think it's fair to say that to a point 'Aftermath' is greater than the sum of its parts.
That's not to say the songs are necessarily inferior but it's the culminative effect of the broad soundscope created primarily by Brian Jones that is perhaps its greatest strength. Brian dabbles with all types of sounds including rarely played instruments such as the dulcimer, marimbas and sitar to create arguably the most colourfully varied sound to be found within the entire Stones catalogue. Brian (and the Stones) never choose the obvious as a number of these songs could just as easily have been arranged to accommodate more traditional 'rock' arrangements. 'Lady Jane' with its dulcimer and harpsicord instrumentation could just as easily be mistaken for a 16th century Elizabethan ballad.
'Aftermath' does contain more than its fair share of great songs, however, in particular 'Mother's Little Helper', 'Lady Jane', 'Under My Thumb', 'I Am Waiting' and 'Out Of Time' - each one of them highlighting a different aspect of the range of Brian's instrumentation. It's not quite the typical Stones sound that one unacquinted with their albums would be familiar with but it's nonetheless crucial in understanding what the Stones are all about.
It's probably true to say there are a few fillers ('It's Not Easy', 'What To Do' etc.) and the eleven minute 'Going Home' doesn't seem to go anywhere but these songs fit into such a seductive whole that it hardly matters.
Many present day Stones fans long for the return of virtuoso guitarist (and Brian Jones replacement) Mick Taylor to help them reconnect with their primary influence the blues, but upon listening to this album it would be perhaps a good idea also for the Stones to reconnect with some of the more unusual influences Brian Jones brought to the group.
'Aftermath' is certainly the Stones first great album and a reminder that there needn't be limitations in what popular music can aspire to. There certainly wasn't at the time of the album's release back in 1966.

the stones cut the musturd
the rolling stones first album of original material and what an album this is, people have said that's there's lots of fillers here but i don't hear none, all i hear is the stones having a good time with there blues/rock, jagger comes up with some great lyrics and MR.Richards creates some fantastic music and there's some great harmonica playing in here too, some songs sound like bob dylan songs just loads better,
this album is needed for any stones fan, it's a great trip down memory lane back too the good old days when music was good and real, after this album stones when on to make loads of other masterpieces and this is there first one in my opipion