Aftermath (The Rolling Stones album)

Aftermath
Studio album by The Rolling Stones
Released 15 April 1966 (1966-04-15)
Recorded 3–8 December 1965, 6–9 March 1966
Studio RCA Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre Rock, pop
Length 53:20
Label Decca (UK)
Producer Andrew Loog Oldham
The Rolling Stones British chronology
Out of Our Heads
(1965)Out of Our Heads1965		 Aftermath
(1966)		 Between the Buttons
(1967)Between the Buttons1967

Aftermath, released in April 1966 by Decca Records, is the fourth British studio album by the Rolling Stones. It was issued in the United States in June 1966 by London Records as the group's sixth American album. The album is considered an artistic breakthrough for the band: it is the first to consist entirely of Mick Jagger–Keith Richards compositions, while Brian Jones played a variety of instruments not usually associated with their music, including sitar, Appalachian dulcimer,[1] marimbas and Japanese koto, as well as guitar, harmonica and keyboards, though much of the music is still rooted in Chicago electric blues. It was the first Rolling Stones album to be recorded entirely in the US, at the RCA Studios in California, and their first album released in true stereo. It is also one of the earliest rock albums to eclipse the 50-minute mark, and contains one of the earliest rock songs to eclipse the 10-minute mark ("Goin' Home").

In August 2002 both editions of Aftermath were reissued in a new remastered CD and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records, with the UK version containing an otherwise unavailable stereo mix of "Mother's Little Helper".[2] In the same year the US edition of Aftermath was ranked No. 109 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[3] The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[4]

Creation

According to Bill Wyman in Rolling With The Stones, the album was originally conceived as the soundtrack for the never filmed feature Back, Behind And In Front. The whole deal fell off, though, when Jagger met with the potential director, Nicholas Ray, but didn't like him. These recording sessions were also very busy for the group, as they recorded 20 Jagger–Richards compositions while in Los Angeles. They were also much more comfortable during that album's sessions, as they had room and time for experimenting and polishing the arrangements, something they weren't able to do on earlier albums due to the "rushed" way these sessions were done.

The main engineer for the album was also pivotal in making the group feel comfortable during the sessions as he, according to Wyman, let them experiment with instrumentals and teaming up with session musicians like Jack Nitzsche to variegate their sound. Wyman also stated that he and Brian Jones would pick up instruments that were in the studio and experiment with various sounds for each song. This album is also notable for being the first LP to feature completely original material for the group, as Jagger and Richards were growing not only as songwriters, but as arrangers as well. In 2003, Jagger recalled that Richards was writing a lot of melodies and the group would perform them in a number of different ways which were mainly thought out in the studio, as opposed to the strict arranging and recording planning of other groups of the epoch.

Brian Jones was very important in shaping the album's tone and arrangements, as he experimented with a vast array of ethnic instruments such as the marimba, sitar, Appalachian dulcimer and organ, which contrasted with the folk, pop, country, blues and rock compositions, thus resulting in a diverse mix of musical styles. Aftermath was also the first record on which the majority of the guitar playing was left to Richards due to Jones' multi-instrumentalism, a habit that served as an intense training period for Richards' craftmanship which culminated in his playing almost all of the guitars on Let It Bleed.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic (UK)[6]
AllMusic (US)[7]
Blender[8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]
MusicHound[10]
NME7/10[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Music Story[13]

At the time of its release, Aftermath was well received. Keith Altman of the New Musical Express stated that "those masterminds behind the electric machines – The Rolling Stones – have produced the finest value for money ever on their new LP."[5] In retrospect the album is considered a milestone in the group's career. In his review for AllMusic, Ritchie Unterberger praises the combination of influences, but nevertheless opines that "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." Writing for MusicHound, Greg Kot highlights Jones' musical contributions while identifying Aftermath as the album that marked "the entry of these erstwhile blues traditionalists into the album-rock pantheon alongside Dylan and the Beatles, with its canny use of sitar, marimba, and dulcimer".[10]

On its top 10 Rolling Stones albums list, NME listed Aftermath at no. 6, while stating that "1966’s ‘Aftermath’ saw the Stones at once rejecting and redefining rock’n’roll lore. The first all-originals Stones album, it's so classic-packed their reputation as sub-Beatles hopefuls never recovered."[14]

Release history

As with all the Stones' pre-1967 LPs, different editions were released in the UK and the US. This was a common feature of British pop albums at that time – the same practice was applied to all the Beatles' releases before Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band – because UK albums typically did not include tracks that had already been released as singles.

British version

The original British version of Aftermath was issued in April 1966 as a fourteen-track LP. Issued between the non-LP single releases of "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "Paint It Black", Aftermath was a major hit in the UK, spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the UK album chart.

Track listing

All tracks written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Mother's Little Helper"2:44
2."Stupid Girl"2:56
3."Lady Jane"3:08
4."Under My Thumb"3:41
5."Doncha Bother Me"2:41
6."Goin' Home"11:13
Side two
No.TitleLength
7."Flight 505"3:27
8."High and Dry"3:08
9."Out of Time"5:37
10."It's Not Easy"2:56
11."I Am Waiting"3:11
12."Take It or Leave It"2:47
13."Think"3:09
14."What to Do"2:32

North American version

Aftermath
Studio album by The Rolling Stones
Released 20 June 1966 (1966-06-20)
Recorded 3–8 December 1965, 6–9 March 1966
Genre Rock, pop, rhythm and blues, psychedelic rock
Length 42:31
Label London (US)
Producer Andrew Loog Oldham
The Rolling Stones American chronology
December's Children (And Everybody's)
(1965)December's Children (And Everybody's)1965		 Aftermath
(1966)		 Between the Buttons
(1967)Between the Buttons1967
Singles from Aftermath
  1. "Paint It, Black" / "Stupid Girl"
    Released: 7 May 1966

The American version featured different cover art and a shorter running order that eliminated "Out of Time", "Take It or Leave It", "What to Do", and "Mother's Little Helper". All four tracks were later issued in the US on other compilations, and "Mother's Little Helper" was also issued as a single in 1966, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard charts.[15] In their place, the album substituted their current No. 1 hit "Paint It, Black". The revamped Aftermath still reached No. 2 in the US, eventually going platinum.[16]

Track listing

All tracks written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Paint It Black"3:22
2."Stupid Girl"2:56
3."Lady Jane"3:08
4."Under My Thumb"3:41
5."Doncha Bother Me"2:41
6."Think"3:09
Side two
No.TitleLength
7."Flight 505[1]"3:27
8."High and Dry"3:08
9."It's Not Easy"2:56
10."I Am Waiting"3:11
11."Goin' Home"11:13

Other songs

Title Length Notes
"19th Nervous Breakdown" Single
"Sad Day" "19th Nervous Breakdown" B-side
"Long Long While" "Paint It, Black" B-side

Could You Walk on the Water

Several of the songs on the album were initially meant for the US release Could You Walk on the Water. This LP was rejected by Rolling Stones' American record company, London Records, who instead opted for the greatest hits package Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass). The track list for the shelved album includes "Take It or Leave It", "Mother's Little Helper", "Think", "Goin' Home" (short edit) and "Doncha Bother Me". Of these, all five would be released on the UK version of Aftermath, three on the US version. Of the remaining tracks, "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "Sad Day" were released as a single, "Sittin' on the Fence" and "Ride On, Baby" were later to be released on the US album Flowers, along with "Mother's Little Helper" and "Take It or Leave It". "Looking Tired" remains unreleased to this day.

Personnel

As per the British release:

The Rolling Stones

Additional personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1966 UK Albums Chart 1[17]
1966 Billboard 200 2[18]
1966 French SNEP Albums Charts 25[19]
Preceded by
The Sound of Music by Original Soundtrack		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
30 April – 25 June 1966 		Succeeded by
The Sound of Music by Original Soundtrack

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1966 "Paint It, Black" UK Singles Chart 1[17]
1966 "Paint It, Black" Billboard Hot 100 1[15]
1966 "Mother's Little Helper" Billboard Hot 100 8[15]
1966 "Lady Jane" Billboard Hot 100 24[15]
1990 "Paint It, Black" UK Singles Chart 63[17]
2007 "Paint It, Black" UK Singles Chart 70[17]
2010 "Paint It, Black" Billboard Rock Digital Songs 25[15]

Certifications

Country Provider Certification
(sales thresholds)
United States RIAA Platinum

References

  1. 1 2 Mick Jagger interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  2. ↑ Walsh, Christopher (24 August 2002). "Super audio CDs: The Rolling Stones Remastered". Billboard. p. 27.
  3. ↑ "Aftermath". Rolling Stone. January 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  4. ↑ ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  5. 1 2 "Aftermath". www.timeisonourside.com. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  6. ↑ AllMusic review (UK)
  7. ↑ AllMusic review (US)
  8. ↑ Blender review Archived 16 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ "The Rolling Stones Aftermath". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  10. 1 2 Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 950. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  11. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Aftermath CD Album" > "Product Reviews". CD Universe/Muze. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Rolling Stones: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived version retrieved 22 December 2016.
  13. ↑ http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A64.htm
  14. ↑ "The Rolling Stones' Top 10 Albums – Ranked | NME.COM". NME.COM. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Billboard Singles". All Media Guide / Billboard. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  16. ↑ "RIAA searchable certification database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "UK charts rchive". chartstats.com. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  18. ↑ "Billboard Albums". All Media Guide / Billboard. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  19. ↑ Tous les Albums classés par Artiste Archived 26 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine., Note : user must select The Rolling Stones in the list
  1. ↑ http://www.rollingstones.com/
  2. ↑ Stone Alone - Bill Wyman
  3. ↑ Rolling With The Stones - Bill Wyman
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