Disco de The Rolling Stones: “Aftermath [Remaster]”

This June 1966 album (USA release) was the first with all Stones-written material, and, as an archetypal album, contains the seeds of some of the best and worst moments of the ensuing decades. Mick Jagger is at his most self-assured to date, the varied instruments add texture and interest, and the somewhat underrated rhythm section provides a solid, driving foundation. On the other hand, certain riffs that were later overplayed creep in, a few songs are just average, and the Stones play one of their worst numbers in "High and Dry," marking a romance with country sounds that would produce extremely varied results over the years.

The CD opens with four huge hits, "Paint it Black," "Stupid Girl," "Lady Jane," and "Under my Thumb." With the exception of "Stupid Girl" (Jagger sounds somewhat tentative at first over a truly rocking background, then gains strength), these are among the best of their early work--and their early work is generally their best work. "Under My Thumb" is much tighter than "Stupid Girl," the rhythm is years ahead of its time, and Jagger is much more self-assured. "Paint it Black" and "Under My Thumb" benefit immensely from arrangements using sitar and marimba, and both feature superb vocals. The latter song ranks with James Brown's "It's A Man's World" as one of the greatest misogynistic songs of the period. This is perhaps a dubious distinction, but the song is incredibly impressive, and just an amazingly original effort within the R&B/rock genre. Jagger is deceitfully playful in his thickly accented "Lady Jane," and the imaginative use of Wyman on harpsichord enhances the effect. All of these songs show the Stones as a multi-dimensional band, definitely still blues and R&B based, but expanding into new territory.

The other songs are generally good, especially "It's Not Easy," "I Am Waiting" and the 11:35 minute (!) "Going Home," an almost unprecedented song in which Jagger completely nails the struts, panting, lip smacking, gutteral tones, and assorted other vocal sexual tools that became an important part of his persona. His singer-cum-vampire vocal is easily too long, but this cut sweats away and builds to a great crescendo. An overlooked gem. "Flight 505" has nostalgic value, but it lacks focus both in solo and ensemble playing. There are also some too-easy riffs that later became synonymous (in a repetitive way) with later guitar work. "Think, Think" plays it too safe; the Monkees could have done this. As mentioned above, the album also contains the awful, grating, "High and Dry." If you have a programmable CD player, you'll know what to do with this cut.

Personnel and other luminaries include:

I recommend "Flowers" over this CD, but Stones Fans will want to get both. NOTE: The "enhanced" (ABKCO) version of the CD does not play on my computer's (Dell Optiplex) CD drive.

People. One must read between the lines, or the buttons, so to squawk. Let's not quibble on this one, o.k? I am just beginning to come out of my New Year's comatose state. So.........let's see.

This is a wonderful c.d. Got it when it first came out on L.P. back in the changing 60's, and I was always impressed with the sound quality on it. Crisp, clear, every instrument coming out to greet you done in that inimitable 60's style stereo. Who could ask for more? And the diversity of the tunes! As the Beatles did with Rubber Soul, the Stones were onto the same track with this album. They went beyond popular artists to becoming recording artists. You may think they're the same - they're not. There is some real thought here on sound and song construction. A conscious effort. And it shows.

All the songs are unique and take on their own particular life. I think I'm at King Arthur's court while listening to "Lady Jane" and "I am Waiting". What is Brian playing? A dulcimer? I am at some country front porch while listening to "High and Dry" and flying into Newark Airport as "Going Home" comes across the headphones. As I said - diverse. And there is much creativity here, and in your mind, to keep you satisfied. And, unlike Mick, you can get some satisfaction here. Try creating your own scenarios as you listen.

I won't get into archival notes here. Too much work and others have done this for you in other reviews. I operate more on the emotional level. How the songs group, the underlying effect of the whole experience - the feeling upon listening. To me, that is the important thing. The great discovery in this recording is that the old adages disappeared. You didn't have to rock hard anymore. Rocking soft was another trail. And everything in between. The Stones got that key early. All songs very listenable - and the Stones are creating their own style of blues. Highly recommended!

Yes, I actually prefer the bastardized version to the UK. The running order makes alot more sense with "Paint It Black" kicking things off. I like all the songs on the UK (I too bought that in 2002 to get more bang for my buck) but the stereo separation was too extreme. The stereo here sounds more balanced. I find it odd that the two UK versions I have were done in Japan (Buttons & Aftermath)while most of the US versions were made in Germany. Today, I finally broke down to purchase the US Aftermath to find that this one was indeed made in the US. Can somebody shed some light as to why this is? All the discs were a marked improvement over the '86 releases. I would not trash the UK version of Aftermath-I realize this was the original running order & song selection in England & even the stereo argument is subjective. When I first played it in 2002- I liked the wider separation mainly because I was hearing instruments & vocals in the mix much clearer for the first time. However, now that the novelty has worn off, I find the US mix to have more punch. Either way- a tremendous album. I think I'll keep both. Who knows; I may want to hear the UK version from time to time but I definitely prefer the US version even if it is abridged. 5 Stars for either version regardless of your choice.

In this album we see ( hear ) the showcasing of Brian Jones' true versatility of musicianship. In "Paint It Black" it is he

( Brian Jones ) who plays the sitar. He also plays the dulcimer,

keyboards, and marimbas. The founding member of the Stones covered all bases on this except for lead vocals.

The 4 main tunes are "paint It Black", "Stupid Girl",the haunting "Lady Jane", and every mans dream song, "Under My Thumb". The other songs are marginally good except 2: "Flight 505" (too depressing)and "Going Home" ( too damn long 11:35 ).

A good investment if you are a fan or a collector. It is OK otherwise.

I know that the Stones started in 1963 but this is where they really get good. Aftermath and Between The Buttons are my two favorite album by them.

The album starts out with the middle-eastern rocker, Paint It Black, which is a signature Rolling Stones song with its trademark sitar by Brian Jones. Next comes the poppy Stupid Girl that is light-hearted and fun. Lady Jane is my favorite Stones song(along with Let's Spend The Night Together). It is a rare song by the Rolling Stones as it is a slow and heartfelt ballad and those are hard to find in the Rolling Stones catalog; sure there's Angie and Wild Horses but I mean a ballad more along the lines of The Beatles' Yesterday. Next comes Under My Thumb with its marimba sound that creates a unavoidable groove. The rest of the songs are good but not amazing except for Flight 505 and I Am Waiting, which is one of The Rolling Stones most haunting songs to this day. It's songs like these that really does make the Stones "The Greatest Rock 'N Roll band ever." Going Home is a good song but it does drag. I'll admit that it's grown on me since I first heard it where I hated it. All in all, good album but I agree with the review who recommended Flowers over this one. With Flowers, you get Lady Jane, the highlight of the album plus Let's Spend The Night Together, Ruby Tuesday, and much much more.