Aftermath |
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Artist:
The Rolling Stones
By
Decca - Pop
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £5.00
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Disc 1:
| 1. Mothers little helper | | 2. Stupid Girl | | 3. Lady Jane | | 4. Under My Thumb | | 5. Doncha Bother Me | | 6. Going 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 |
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The Rolling Stones' First 'Proper' Album, 2010-04-08
Despite containing a smattering of prototype Jagger / Richards compositions, the first three Rolling Stones albums had consisted mainly of R&B covers and adaptations and by 1965 the Stones needed to evolve somewhat. This they did with the release of Aftermath (April 1966), a work that by dint of being completely self-penned and moderately ambitious took the band to a new level, though it would take a couple more years for the Stones to reach full musical maturity.
Aftermath can best be seen as an apprentice piece, a work in which the Stones began to explore musical possibilities but lacked the confidence to really make the most of them. It certainly contains a few tremendous songs but it also contains several that are forgettable at best (dire at worst), songs that the album could easily have done without. The Stones lacked a George Martin figure in the studio at that time who could have cast a critical eye and helped with arrangements, and it shows; Aftermath is bloated, sloppily produced and has a rough, unfinished feel to it. This album just could have been much leaner and much tighter.
That said, there are enough good tracks to satisfy. The metro chic of Under My Thumb and Out Of Time, both marked by the ambient sound of the marimba (a large xylophone), is complemented nicely by the brash and enjoyable sneer of Mother's Little Helper, an ode to Valium, the narcotic of choice for the bored 60s suburban housewife. The ethereal Lady Jane acts as a bridge to the more earthy songs that see us out. High And Dry is a short and neat little Woody Guthrie pastiche that is dwarfed in scale by Goin' Home, an eleven minute, largely improvised song that can be seen as a test piece for ideas that would flower more completely a couple of years ahead. I Am Waiting is arguably the best song on this album and is an eccentric and unusual acoustic ramble notable for its use of a dulcimer, a 'posh' stringed instrument here played by errant guitarist Brian Jones. All of the above songs are truly excellent.
Despite sounding rough and, at times, amateurish when compared to the band's first true masterwork, Beggars Banquet (1968), Aftermath is still an essential addition to any Rolling Stones collection because it was their first proper album. Though flawed, it contained more than enough to show that the band was brimming with musical ideas and well able to make the next step, a step that would actually prove to be rather tortuous. This album was an important release in its day and served as a significant link between the 'pop star' phase of the Stones and their second incarnation as a rock supergroup. It's worth pointing out too that Aftermath was a major commercial success, staying at the top of the UK Album Chart for months and going platinum in the U.S., though the American release had a shorter tracklist.
The beginning of phase two, 2009-11-19
The Rolling Stones' first album of entirely self-penned material also showcases both strands of their development from 1966 to 1972, their peak period. The louder, raucous element of their r&b is largely sacrificed here in favour of a more sophisticated approach to the genre, typified by the 11-minute 'Going Home'. Though this track doesn't match up to later classics such as 'Midnight Rambler' or 'Sympathy For The Devil', it points toward that kind of direction. On the other hand, gentler pop-oriented material such as 'Take It Or Leave It' (covered by The Searchers) and the spellbinding 'Lady Jane' presaged the direction taken on the next album, 'Between The Buttons' which ultimately led to the cul-de-sac that was 'Satanic Majesties'. Fortunately, the band got back on track with the superb 'Beggar's Banquet'.
On 'Aftermath', however, the blend of styles works largely because the material is so good. Even lesser known tracks such as 'I Am Waiting' have a distinct identity. 'Doncha Bother Me' and 'It's Not Easy' are welcome remnants of their early style, while the timeless classics department is represented by 'Under My Thumb' and 'Out Of Time'. The Stones also experimented here and there with their sound, particularly the bass which has a peculiar but highly effective resonance on tracks such as 'Under My Thumb'. 'Aftermath' also offers more quantity than previous releases, weighing in at 53 minutes, which is staggering considering that albums of the era were usually half an hour long.
Great album from the cover on in..., 2009-09-08
1966 was a great year for British pop music, and 'Aftermath' has to be one of the finest albums of that vintage year. The Stones were never great studio innovators - they never really had a George Martin to manicure their records, but in Brian Jones at least had a multi-instrumentalist who added texture to their straight-ahead rocking sounds by incorporating new sounds - marimba, harpsichord, for example, and added to an indisputably fine bunch of songs, produced a gilded classic. The charges of lyrical sexism are there, of course, with 'Stupid Girl' and 'Under My Thumb', but in tracks like 'Mother's Little Helper' showed themselves to be astute observers of their world at the time. Also, tracks like 'Lady Jane' - a courtly, if lyrically rather bittersweet item showed that the band could move away from the Blues and R&B musical shapes that they'd adhered to up until then. They also penned songs that became hits for others - Chris Farlowe's scorching orchestrated version of 'Out Of Time' was magnificent, and bests the Stones rather lean and spare version here. Other songs, like the fine 'Take It Or Leave It', were covered chart-wise by The Searchers (one of the few Stones covers that the band actually liked). However, 'Aftermath' is the best pre-'Beggars Banquet' era album - their first three were great, but 'Aftermath' shows the Jagger / Richards songwriting team flexing serious compositional muscle, and took on Lennon and McCartney at their own game. Great sleeve too (on the original UK version).
The Best of The Stones 60's Output, 2009-03-17
1966 was a good year, the Stone's Aftermath, was released in April, The Beachboy's "Pet sounds" came out in May and the Beatle's released "Revolver" in August that year - all classic water shed albums. Aftermath proved to be a major artistic breakthrough for The Rolling Stones thanks to the group's then musical leader Brian Jones and it was also their first album to consist of jagger/richards songs exclusively - with enough songs left over for the follow up albeit weaker "Between the Buttons".
And what great songs those first ones were and remain. "Under my Thumb", "Out of Time" (brilliantly covered by Chris Farlowe), "Stupid Girl" and "Think" in particular showing misogynistic signs of a sneering Jagger in lyrics aimed at his former model girl friend. With the exception of the following years "Their Satanic Majesties" this is probably the most musically experimental Stones albums instrument- wise thanks to Brian Jones' musicianship - sitar, dulcimer, marimbas etc. Aftermath is far the sharper of the two albums, far less self indulgent with perhaps the exception of the eleven minute long "Going Home". But remember, it's only a classic in its UK version - forget any American versions of any of the Stones albums. Note: The Beatles never allowed their albums to be messed up, shame on you Sir Mick!
Wrong track listings, 2008-11-05
In reply tothe comments of Tesorro from Spain, this is definitely not the original CD nor the original track listings. The track listings printed above are wrong. I should know. Influenced by his comments I just bought it and lo and behold it is the AMERICAN VERSION with Paint it Black but without Mothers Little Helper, Out of Time, What to do and Take it or Leave it. I'm so disappointed. My advice Leave it and get the original British version.
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0042288232421
Label: Decca - Pop
Manufacturer: Decca - Pop
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Decca - Pop
Release Date: 2006-08-10
Running Time: 53
Studio: Decca - Pop |
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