Aftermath (UK Version LP)

Remastered 11 song USA version of their classic 1966 album with different cover artwork than the British version. Tracks were recorded during two three day marathon sessions at RCA in Hollywood in December 1965 and March 1966. The album opens with "Paint It Black", which spent two weeks at number one in the summer of 1966. The cohesion and overall sound and feel of the album was in no way harmed by the inclusion of "Paint It Black" as it was recorded at the same March 1966 session in Hollywood as much of the rest of the album. Bill plays the bass pedals of a Hammond B3 organ by pummeling them with his fists and Brian plays sitar, both of which add to the unique sound of this standout track. Other key tracks include "Lady Jane", "Under my Thumb" and "Stupid Girl". Jack Nietzsche and Ian Stewart share the keyboard duties and Brian Jones plays a whole variety of instruments including an Appalachian dulcimer on "Lady Jane".

For this 1966 album, one Stone asserted himself even more than Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who for the first time wrote all the album's songs. Brian Jones is all over the opening "Paint It Black," which remains a dark classic more for its spooky sitar than for Jagger's dated psychedelia. Jones's marimba boosts the R&B-derived "Under My Thumb" and his harpsichord somehow makes the subject of "Lady Jane" more interesting. Though Charlie Watts's jazz-derived fills and Bill Wyman's bass continue growing into rock's greatest rhythm section, a disturbing misogyny creeps into Jagger's class-conscious lyrics, especially on "Under My Thumb," and "Stupid Girl." --Steve Knopper