Aftermath (1966)
1.Paint it Black
2.Stupid Girl
3.Lady Jane
4.Under My Thumb
5.Doncha Bother Me
6.Think
7.Flight 505
8.High and Dry
9.It's Not Easy
10.I Am Waiting
11.Going Home
 
Wow. The band that had steadily
climbed it's way to the hearts of millions of rebellious teenagers
across the globe managed to take a huge step forward with this 1966
release featuring all original material. The music here is so fresh, so
varied, so accessible that it's so easy to see in retrospect how special
this band was. Musically, this album is all over the place yet never
disconnects from its audience.
There are so many well known cuts here, that the more obscure stuff
tends to, unfortunately, get lost. Guitarist Brian Jones was already
developing a reputation as an instrumentalist extraordinaire, yet most
of the band pitch it to fill the music with a wide variety of
conventional and unconventional music. They start of the disc with the
heavy sitar-pouncing Paint it Black which aids in the
symbolization of the turbulent latter half of the decade to come. A few
tracks later, they almost go in the entirely opposite direction with the
pittering, safe-sounding Under My Thumb that is probably the
"nicest" thing the band has ever recorded. What shows off the strength
of this album is that these are two the most popular tracks on the
record, and they tend to bookend everything else in between.
"Everything else in between" is simply brilliant. Sometimes the band's
misogyny wears a bit thin on a song like Stupid Girl, and
Think would sound more at home on any of their earlier albums.
The good news is that even these songs are well received. The band even
manages to pull off an 11 minute plus song in Going Home that
never once sounds too long. Did artists record 11 minute songs back in
those days? Make sure to check out the harpsichord laden Lady
Jane as well as the Country-Western High and Dry. A very big
notch in the belt.
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