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
Genre	Rock, blues rock, baroque pop
Length	53:20
Label	Decca (UK)
Producer	Andrew Loog Oldham
The Rolling Stones British chronology
Out of Our Heads (1965) Aftermath (1966) Between the Buttons (1967)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic (UK)
Allmusic (US)
Blender

Aftermath, released April 1966 by Decca Records, is the fourth British studio album by the Rolling Stones. It was released in the United States in June 1966 by London Records as their sixth American album. The album is considered an artistic breakthrough for the band, being the first full-length release to consist entirely of Mick Jagger/Keith Richards compositions. Brian Jones played a variety of instruments not usually associated with rock music—including sitar on "Paint It, Black" and "Mother's Little Helper", the Appalachian dulcimer on "Lady Jane" and "I Am Waiting", the marimbas (African xylophone) on "Under My Thumb" and "Out of Time", harmonica on "High and Dry" and "Goin' Home", as well as guitar and keyboards. Much of the music was 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. 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".

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 albums prior to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band—because UK albums typically did not include tracks that had already been released as singles, and because British pop albums generally included 13 or 14 tracks, while American albums usually featured 11 or 12 tracks.^{[citation needed]}

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.

A recording of the song "Take It or Leave It" was released by The Searchers on a single a few days before this album.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. 

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mother's Little Helper"	2:45
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.	Title	Length
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

American release

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, blues rock, baroque pop
Length	42:31
Label	London (US)
Producer	Andrew Loog Oldham
The Rolling Stones American chronology
December's Children (And Everybody's) (1965) Aftermath (1966) Got Live If You Want It! (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. 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.

In 2002, the US edition of Aftermath was ranked No. 108 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. 

Side one
No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
7.	"Flight 505"	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

Personnel

The Rolling Stones

• Mick Jagger – lead vocals, harmonica on "Doncha Bother Me" (along with Brian Jones), percussion, lighting
• Keith Richards – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Brian Jones – electric, acoustic, and slide guitars, harmonica, backing vocals, marimbas on "Under My Thumb" and "Out of Time", bells, Appalachian dulcimer on "Lady Jane" and "I Am Waiting," sitar on "Paint It, Black", koto on "Take It Or Leave It", tenor saxophone on "Flight 505", keyboards on "It's Not Easy", "What To Do", "Out of Time" and "Take It or Leave It", percussion
• Charlie Watts – drums, percussion
• Bill Wyman – bass guitar, backing vocals, organ, piano on "Doncha Bother Me"

Additional personnel

• Jack Nitzsche – percussion on "Goin' Home", electric piano on "Stupid Girl"
• Ian Stewart – piano, organ

Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1966	UK Albums Chart	1
1966	Billboard 200	2

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

Certifications

Country	Provider	Certification (sales thresholds)
United States	RIAA	Platinum

External links

• Aftermath (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
• Link to Patti Smith piece for Creem, January 1973, detailing her response to the Rolling Stones and Aftermath