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| Brian Jones on sitar |
The first British Rolling Stones album that the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote every single track for was the April 1966 album, Aftermath.
This album came at time when other artists such the Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys were making landmark albums such as Blonde on Blonde, Revolver and Pet Sounds.
Aftermath was a album that could compete on that level-it featured musical eclecticism, the usual trademark Keith Richard guitar riffs and Mick Jagger's increasingly misogynistic dark lyrics. The musical variety on the tracks recorded for this album is amazing for such a short recording period. This was largely due to Brian Jones, and his remarkable ability to play a large variety of colorful instruments. Jones played Koto on "Take it or Leave It" and "Ride On Baby," Dulcimer on "Lady Jane", Sitar on "Paint it, Black" and "Mother's Little Helper" , Marimbas on "Under My Thumb", and "Out of Time" harmonica on "High and Dry", and harpsicord and bells on "Take It Or Leave It " as well as some as second guitarist. Truly a epic performance from Brian. The Aftermath sessions is the Stones best body of work outside their classic period of 1968-1972.
To make this album the Stones recorded 21 tracks at two marathon sessions at RCA studios in Hollywood in December 1965 and March 1966. Jagger and Richards had somehow managed to write 21 songs for album despite the fact that sessions for this album came only a few months after the last sessions for their previous album. Their prior albums had always featured a large a number of covers of songs written by other writers. They had grown quickly as songwriters. The original title for the album was to be Walk On Water If You Will, a reference to Jesus Christ that even the Rolling Stones could not get away with in early 1966. This projected album would have used material from the December 1965 session. More about aborted project can found here ... http://albumsthatneverwere.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-rolling-stones-could-you-walk-on.html
The British version of Aftermath was 53 minutes long, making it their lengthiest single album to date. The American album was shorter and had a different track listing. To be frank, the US version was a butchered- version , a common practice at the time-but it remained a good album partly because the US featured the strongest Stones track from the sessions, "Paint It, Black" whereas that song was left off the British version. Probably the best thing to have done artistically would to make one double album with all or most of the songs-but this had never been done before. The first major double album in the rock genre was Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde which was released only a month after the British version of Aftermath. Another alternative would have been to just pick the best 14 songs instead of saving them for singles. Neither happened and thus album did not make quite make the same impact as this album could of.
Why did the Stones record two albums worth of songs for one album? British groups of the mid-1960's typically released many of their singles as non-album tracks. British acts of the time also sometimes released albums with no singles material on them, so that record buyers wouldn't have duplicate copies of the same song. Usually British albums had more tracks than the average American album- thus British groups like the Stones and the Beatles would often record 16 or more songs to be considered for a album . American albums would often include singles that were not released on albums in Great Britain thus totally messing with the original British track listing.
American labels took advantage of this productivity by using those extra tracks to create more albums. So thus the Beatles American label, Capitol was able to create 12 Beatles albums from 1964-to 1966 out of the same body of work that created only 7 British albums. The tally for the Rolling Stones for the same period was 8 American albums drawn from 5 British albums.
Songs recorded during the Aftermath sessions and what albums they first appeared on.
1. 19th Nervous Breakdown (US UK single A-SIDE) (US UK Big Hits -High Tide and Green Grass)
2. Sad Day (Single B-SIDE) Compiled much later
3. Mother's Little Helper (UK Aftermath) (US Single A-Side) (Flowers)
4. Doncha Bother Me (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
5. Goin' Home (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
6. Long Long While (single B-SIDE) (US UK More Hot Rocks)
7. Take It Or Leave It (UK Aftermath) (US Flowers)
8. Think (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
9. Ride On Baby (US FLOWERS) (US UK More Hot Rocks)
10. Sittin' On A Fence (US FLOWERS) (US UK More Hot Rocks)
11. Paint It Black (US Aftermath) (US UK Single A-Side)
12. Lady Jane (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath) ( US Flowers)
13. Stupid Girl (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
14. Flight 505 (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
15. High And Dry (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
16. I Am Waiting (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
17. If You Let Me (US UK METMORPHOSIS)
18. It's Not Easy (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
19. Out Of Time (UK Aftermath) (US Flowers)
20. Under My Thumb (UK Aftermath) (US Aftermath)
21. What To Do (UK Aftermath) (US, UK More Hot Rocks
22. Looking Tired (unreleased)
- Tracks of My Tears-this Miracles cover is only rumored to have occurred.
Recordings sessions list (sourced from The Complete Works of
the Rolling Stones 1962-2019) by Nico Zentgraf http://www.nzentgraf.de/books/tcw/works1.htm
List includes additional musicians who played on each track.
December 3rd
- 10th, Los Angeles, RCA Studios, Hollywood. Producer:
Andrew Oldham. Sound engineer: Dave
Hassinger.
Doncha Bother Me -Ian Stewart on piano;
Aftermath-version
Goin' Home I -Ian Stewart on piano;
version II with chatter and
re-start
Goin' Home II -Ian Stewart on piano;
Aftermath version
Mother's Little Helper I -backing track
Mother's Little Helper II -with guide
vocals (KR singing the intro)
Mother's Little Helper III -Aftermath-version
Looking Tired- unreleased track with Ian Stewart on piano
19th Nervous Breakdown I -with early
vocals and and more guitar
19th Nervous Breakdown II -same backing
track as version III, still
with early vocals
19th Nervous Breakdown III -7“-version
Ride On Baby -Ian Stewart on piano, Jack
Nitzsche on piano; Flowers-version
Sad Day -Ian Stewart on organ, Jack
Nitzsche on piano, 7“-version
Sittin’ On A Fence -Flowers-version
Take It Or Leave It -Jack Nitzsche on
organ; Aftermath-version
Think I -Necrophilia-version; with additional overdubs in the
last third of the song
Think II -Aftermath-version
6th - 9th March 1966 Los
Angeles, RCA Studios, Hollywood. Producer: Andrew
Oldham. Sound engineer: Dave Hassinger.
Flight 505 -Ian Stewart on piano;
Aftermath-version
High And Dry -Aftermath-version
I Am Waiting -Aftermath-version
If You Let Me -Metamorphosis-version
It’s Not Easy -Ian Stewart on
organ; Aftermath version
Lady Jane I -Jack Nitzsche on
harpsichord; instrumental (a fake?)
Lady Jane II -Jack Nitzsche on
harpsichord; Aftermath-version
Long Long While -Ian Stewart on
organ, Jack Nitzsche on piano and
tambourine; 7“ version
Out Of Time I -Ian Stewart on
organ, Jack Nitzsche on piano; instrumental
Out Of Time II -Ian Stewart on
organ, Jack Nitzsche on piano; Aftermath-version
Paint It Black I -Jack Nitzsche on
piano; edited instrumental backing
track of version
III
Paint It Black II -Jack Nitzsche on
piano; slightly longer version with
definite ending of III; Guitar Hero-version
Paint It Black III -Jack Nitzsche
on piano; 7“-version
Paint It Black IV -Jack Nitzsche on
piano; edit
Stupid Girl -Ian Stewart on organ,
Jack Nitzsche on harpsichord;
Aftermath-version
Tracks Of My Tears (Smokey Robinson) -unverified
Under My Thumb -Aftermath-version
What To Do -Ian Stewart on piano;
Aftermath-version
ALBUM RELEASES
AFTERMATH (UK VERSION) Released April 15, 1966 The British version of Aftermath used fourteen of the twenty one tracks .
Side one .
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
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
The American version had only eleven of the tracks. It featured ten of the songs found on the British version of Aftermath as well as "Paint It (Black), the Rolling Stones current single which had not been included on the British album. Thus 15 songs of the original 21 appeared on one of two Aftermath albums-leaving six remaining tracks.
Side One
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
7. "Flight 505[1]" 3:27
8. "High and Dry" 3:08
9. "It's Not Easy" 2:56
10. "I Am Waiting" 3:11
The seven remaining tracks were dispersed in the following manner: "19th Nervous Breakdown' was released first as single but was also found in both the US and UK on the Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass album . Two songs "Sad Day", and "Long Long While)' appeared originally in Britain as B-sides on singles, and only showed up later on compilations . Two songs ("Ride on Baby" and 'Sitting on the Fence") were relegated to the 1967 compilation album, Flowers (released in the US)and in the 1972 compilation, More Hot Rocks (released in both UK and the US, and one song "If You Let Me"was left in the vault till it's appearance on the 1975 rarities compilation Metamorphosis.
"Looking Tired" was never released .It is really very confusing.
It is surprising to me that nobody has ever tried to compile all 22 songs onto one album collection. The Rolling Stones do not own their material from this era.
I have been told that a session guitarist, Vincent Bell, actually played an electric sitar on "Paint It Black" and Brian Jones merely mimicked playing the sitar. Is this true?
ReplyDeleteIt seems unlikely. Vincent Bell has never been credited publicly with playing on the record, and Brian Jones was certainly capable of playing what he did in record. I did, however see some sources claim that the same electric sitar that Bell popularized was used in Paint It, Black but I am not sure if that is true.
ReplyDeleteYou're missing "Lookin Tired"
ReplyDeleteOr rather, "Looking Tired."
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robert. I will add it.
ReplyDelete