(Album) Between the Buttons (UK)

Between the Buttons (UK)

Released
January 20, 1967

Between the Buttons, released before the Rolling Stones’ main venture into Psychedelic music and after their releases of Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues. It’s an album in a tough spot, and even worse, the album was not even promoted properly. This results in Between the Buttons being almost forgotten, and even worse, without much of a backstory.

The only backstory this album has is that the songs were recorded here and there, and they had overdubs added on over and over again, creating an art easel with so much paint added on that the original idea was lost. However, what we do have is an album with a focus on perfection. Were they close to this idea? According to Mick Jagger himself, they were far from it.

The other part of the backstory comes from the album itself and not the songs. The album art comes from some fancy homemade filters and Brian Jones being a dick and not complying with the camera man. For some reason, the idea of Jones not caring is the exact opposite of what the “ethereal, druggy feel” is supposed to be.

Oh, and Jagger he hates everything about the album except for Back Street Girl, a song that ended up being excluded from the US release. Tough times for Jagger.

Yesterday’s Papers

(Every single song was credited to Jagger / Richards)

Although credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, this song is solely written by Mick Jagger. Supposedly, this song is about Jagger’s ex-girlfriend Chrissie Shrimpton, who broke up after she caught Jagger cheating (she would later attempt suicide through an overdose.. Probably many times. The song also contains a repeating theme for Rolling Stones songs about women, a certain mistreatment and idea that women are disposable.

Finally, we can get to the music. I just needed all the backstory I could get. This song gives us a peek at where The Stones are going to, featuring vibraphones and harpsichords. There’s a couple of things to note on this song: of course the vibraphone with an echo, but also and a semi-solo played by Richards on a distorted guitar. On top of everything is Jagger’s vocals, soft and steady throughout the song (I’ll also mention I love the harmonizing in the backing vocals.) Yes, the harpsichord is there, but it’s not in a big enough role to really mention. All together, it makes for a nice song and a different, fresh sound.

9 / 10

My Obsession

Backstory? Mick Jagger kinda likes this song.

The first thing my ears were drawn to was the heavy bass, that I really wish was a little more prominent in the mix. The guitar mixes well with the bass as well. There’s not much else to say about this song, unfortunately. It has potential. I can see Jagger having fun with this song, but other than that there’s only potential and nothing else.

7.75 / 10

Back Street Girl

It’s a very interesting song in all the good ways. The lyrics can be interpreted as another attempt to put women down, but we’re going to look past that and instead try to explain the feeling of this song. The vibraphone comes into play, but it’s an accordion that makes this song, as well as a soft acoustic guitar. The song is something completely unexpected from the Stones, and instead sounds like something someone would hear in the streets of Italy. It’s peaceful, it’s new, and it involves a peaceful and somber Jagger, and for that I appreciate this song.

9 / 10

Connection

It’s a rock and roll song with a prominent piano and a simple rhyme scheme. As simple as the idea sounds, it works very well, and is a very well done rock song without it getting out of control. And a very good snap back into reality from these different songs.

9.5 / 10

She Smiled Sweetly

The organ this song has cannot help this song. Jagger’s vocals are weak, and the length is where it should be, but other than that the song is pretty average.

7 / 10

Cool, Calm & Collected

This song brings out some neat noises, with a great bass line, a guitar that rides along doing it’s own thing, and the piano that has followed all of these songs brings a kinda ragtime feel, which gets even better when a harmonica comes in and speeds the song up to the end.  Also, kazoo solo. We’re at that point in music where we’re getting kazoo solos, and I love it. It’s a rock song with a foot-tapping beat, and while I don’t care much for the chorus, It’s a fantastic song.

9.25 / 10

All Sold Out

It’s a weird song, to say the least. Weird in the composition sense. The guitar sounds very nice, and the drums finally get a chance to sound good. If only this song wasn’t mixed badly, because I’m sure there was a flute somewhere. It’s also not an impressing song. Good song for filler though.

7.75 / 10

Please Go Home

It’s an odd mix of blues rock and psychedelic influences. Two guitars play a hard, distorted beat while the drums keep on playing their rock noises. The chorus plays with echo, the verses play with blues, and Brian Jones plays with an oscillator. It’s fun to be had, although it’s nothing to get excited over.

8.5 / 10

Who’s Been Sleeping Here?

I have a question of my own, why does the first guitar sound like it was recorded poorly? The song features a small harmonica, and anything else (like that piano) has been mixed in with everything else. Its got silly lyrics and a bass that begs to be heard, but that doesn't mean it’s interesting.

7 / 10

Complicated

The song starts off with drums before going into a fuzz guitar. The most “psychedelic” sounding song in the album, with an organ that plays something beautiful, but at the same time it’s the quietest instrument in the song, and that’s a shame. Besides that, Watts plays a strong drum beat, the both sets of vocals fit perfectly, and the song flows perfectly.

9 / 10

Miss Amanda Jones

This song is easily compared to the songs that The Stones used to play early in their career, with a guitar playing fast power chords and a second guitar doing short riffs. Once again, an organ comes into play, but it’s hardly noticeable, and once again, that’s a shame. A great song.

8.5 / 10

Something Happened to Me Yesterday

Now this is a magical song. Not because it’s about LSD, no shh ignore that for now. There’s several strange things about this. It contains nonchalant whistling, Brian Jones on an amazing saxophone (accompanied by a bright brass section, and Brian Jones doing vocals on the chorus. It’s quite an amazing composition, with so much things to note. It really plays on the bright LSD-type feeling, both in lyrics and style of the song. And, a shock, everything in the mix works. Even Keith Richards, who fits right in with his lead vocal introduction. And finally, we get a spoken exit, which ends the album in an elegant manner, if only the whole album felt like this.

9.5 / 10

I entered the album with low expectations. Several things were stacked against this album: Jagger hating it, me being told it’s a bad album, and I haven’t even heard of the songs beforehand except for Yesterday’s Papers. What shocked me, however, is finding out this album is an underlooked Stones album sandwiched between two different periods. Their “transition” period, really.

Almost all the songs are unique enough and strong enough to hold their own. Between the dabbles in psychedelic / baroque and heavy filters, the album rose above my expectations going in and had solidified it as one of my favorite Stones albums since Aftermath, and that’s a large statement. The album is not without it’s problems, which mainly stem from the mixes of the song. I guarantee the original, pre-remastered songs were much worse off, but most times certain instruments are just lazily added into the song. The drums, which have been very strong as of lately, are barely noticeable. Interesting instruments, like the harpsichord and the organ, disappear in the mix despite them having an important part in the song.

That being said, the songs are either good or bland. Mick Jagger doesn’t sound as inspired as usual, and everything sounds so one-leveled. This is good for some songs and kills other songs.

92.75 / 120

The album is very nice and unique, but none of the songs really make a lasting impression. At the time of listening, however, it makes for a nice experience. All together, it’s a great mix of songs with a large selection of what to listen to.
I can't say I recommend it, though. The album won't be for everyone, and especially not for the casual Rolling Stones fan (I think, because by that I mean people who only ventured into their hits.) But if you're looking for something new, look no further.

*Review* Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) [UK]

Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) [UK]

Released

November 4, 1966

This album pisses me off a little bit. It’s the UK version of the Greatest Hits album Big Hits, and it’s very different. Why not make it a different album all together? There are two extra songs compared to the US version, bring the total count from 12 to 14, and also three songs were removed from the US version for the UK version. Because of the large gap of time between the US and UK versions, they decided to put in Paint It Black and Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, which were songs released after the US Big Hits. When there’s that big of a gap, just make a new album.

Here’s the track list and the numbers I gave it before.

·         Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? – 8 / 10

·         Paint It Black – 10 / 10

·         It’s All Over Now – 7.8 / 10

·         The Last Time – 8.5 / 10

·         Heart of Stone – 8.5 / 10

·         Not Fade Away – 7 / 10

·         Come On – 8 / 10

·         (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – 10 / 10

·         Get Off of My Cloud – 9.5 / 10

·         As Tears Go By – 10 / 10

·         19^th Nervous Breakdown – 10 / 10

·         Lady Jane – 9 / 10

·         Time Is on My Side – 8 / 10

·         Little Red Rooster – 3 / 10

                                                             

Total: 117.3 / 140

4.5 / 5 stars. (Look, stars!)

Same complains from the US version. Because of the time gap, you can include things like Paint it Black and remove things like Good Times, Bad Times, which wasn't much of a hit. If you were going to choose a version, US or UK, go with the UK.
And why isn't You Better Move On on this.

Also, I boosted Lady Jane up from an 8 to a 9, because I like it more since it's grown on me. It seems to be a common theme with Rolling Stones songs, you have to melt it into your brain.

*Review* (Single) Paint It Black / Long Long While

*This is part of my ongoing, personal project of listening to every Rolling Stones material released, posted onto this blog for everyone to read and for opinions to flourish. The rating doesn't mean much, because I hate ratings, but might as well.*

Paint It Black / Long Long While

Paint It Black

(Jagger / Richards (and Bill Wyman!)

So what can I even pick out of this to talk about? The sitar? The guitar? The fact that everything fits so nicely together to make what could be The Stones first venture into psychedelic rock? Everything is just so nice: the demanding drum, the beautiful sitar provided by the man of exotic instruments Brian Jones, and what could be the best use of Mick Jagger’s voice on all their records, in this dark psychedelic masterpiece.

10 / 10

Long Long While

(Jagger / Richards)

So this is the kind of song I don’t necessarily like from The Stones, but in a shocking turn of events I like this song. The chorus is pretty cool, and the organ is a nice touch. And, oh, that guitar.

8.25 / 10

18.25 / 10

A fantastic single, pretty much on-par with the US version of the Paint It Black single, and it seems the US is getting more blues than the UK at this point.

*Review* Aftermath (UK)

Aftermath (UK)

Released
April 15, 1966

Mother's Little Helper

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

Let me start this album by saying Jesus. This is a big departure from normal Stones, and of course that means we have arrived at popular Stones. Properties of popular Stones include an amazing guitar, and vocals that can fit (hopefully). And this song, the song to start off this album, the song that gives you the first impression of what’s to come, is mighty fine.

10/10

Stupid Girl

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

This song made me chuckle at first for how it sounded, and then I chuckled for how the lyrics are written. And then I chuckled again about the lyrics themselves. It’s a harsh song, but the lyrics are written so silly, and then sung with the amount of passion not associated with harsh, and it’s funny. At the same time, there’s probably some emotion Jagger put into this. Some truth that we should probably know with all that touring with crazy fans.

8.75 / 10

Lady Jane

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

All this feels very baroque rock to me. Maybe it’s the harpsichord that Brian Jones so carefully inserts into this, and the other out-of-the-ordinary instrument he played, the Dulcimer. If you need a unique sound, pick up a unique instrument. I feel like I should like this more than I do, but all I can really do right now is appreciate it. Maybe it’ll grow on me later.

8 / 10

Under My Thumb

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

I honestly did not like this song before, because all I heard it from was live. And each live version didn’t do this justice by far. One of the reasons I like it is that Jagger could’ve pushed this song to be harder and faster if he wanted to, like a rock and roll song, but he didn’t. The slight marimba keeps this song at a beautiful light tone. I really want to give this a perfect ten, but I just don’t feel like Jagger’s voice deserves it, and for that, I truly am sorry. I just think someone else could do it better, perhaps. I don’t know actually, my brain is just so split on what to do on this song.

Also, this is a good time to say this, but what is up with Jagger and women?

9.65 / 10

Doncha Bother Me

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

The one thing I learned, if I had to pick, is that despite how awkward Charlie Watts looks in a lot of Stones material, he is very underrated. The drums on this sound so fun. This is Jagger’s homage to his roots of blues rock, which he loves. And, unlike his cover of blues rock songs, his own blues rock songs are pretty good. Unfortunately, this is another song that if I sit down and really focus in, I can’t seem to decide if I really like his voicework, or if I don’t particularly care for it. There’s enough rock here to pretty much cancel that out though.

8.75 / 10

Goin' Home

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

Jesus Christ, this is eleven minutes of blues. Jam blues. If you want some background, this is the first song from a rock and roll group to extend past Bob Dylan’s record of six minutes a song, and then apparently, although not properly cited on Wikipedia, was an inspiration for The Doors to extend The End to abnormal lengths. Except The End was more fun to listen to. Because I listen to too much Beatles, I’m going to relate this to Beatles: It’s like the difference between Dig It on the Let It Be album and the full jam version. Do you really want to listen to that much? I don’t. Bill Wymen and his bass was pretty enjoyable in this song, and Jagger was pretty nice. Other than that, it’s just eleven minutes of blues and Jagger improvising lines and random noises every once in a while. I do appreciate that they stayed on track throughout the whole song, and it starts to really pick about two minutes before the end. And Jagger’s talking to little girls telling them to touch him.

7.30 / 10

Flight 505

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

Oh I want to like this. I want to like that beautiful fuzz bass. But I really don’t care for Jagger’s part in this. And they really need to bring that piano up a bit in the mix, because I want to hear piano in my rock-and-roll. And once again, Charlie Watts drumming is excellent.

7.25 / 10

High and Dry

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

I want to give some more praise to Watts here, but he’s really only doing one thing here.  I also cannot think of anything to say here, except I imagine The Stones bouncing up and down to this song like an old cartoon.

7.25 / 10

Out of Time

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

Brian Jones really loves his marimba. There’s a limit of how many times you can use that instrument, and you really are pushing it. It’s a nice song, but I think it went on a bit too long. It could’ve worked as a three and a half minute song, and maybe even four if you needed it to be longer. I also like Jagger’s voice work (maybe I should explain something: I’m targeting Jagger’s voice a lot because it was the main reason I didn’t care about The Stones. It’s a distinct voice that many people love, but not really me. I don’t love it, but it can work in places.)

8.25 / 10

It's Not Easy

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

This song tricks you to think it’s going to be a slow song with that beginning, but nope. I hear that organ, don’t try to hide it, because it sounds nice. In fact, everything sounds nice here and it does well within perfectly acceptable times UNLIKE OUT OF TIME.

8.75 / 10

I Am Waiting

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

I think this song surprised me continuously, because until the song was over I just had “I” written down. Either that or I was memorized listening to it. This song’s quite lovely, and I have no complaints.

9.25 / 10

Take It or Leave It

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

Why do they insist on pushing the organ down to be the quietest instrument? That disappoints me. There’s quite a unique range of instruments on this. And that’s all I have to say about that.

8.5 / 10

Think

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

I’m running out of things to say about these later songs, and I’ll give my opinion why during the summary. I really have nothing to pick out of this song, good or bad.

6 / 10

What To Do

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

A fun song with some nice harmonizing here and there, and some fun surf-rock like “bow bow bow” things. I don’t particularly agree with this being the last song on the album, it just seemed to blend in with everything else on the B-side.

7.5 / 10

115.2 / 140

Quick summary: excellent album, fantastic album, everyone should at least listen to the front side of this.

Long summary: Sit down, we’re going to have quite a lengthy talk. There was a lot going for this album. The beginning was full of great songs. Even Goin’ Home, while I didn’t completely 100% agree with it, was nice to some extent, and it paved the way for future bands. The B-side, however, felt like filler. It felt like so much filler to me, and it’s a shame. The A-side completely dominated. But let’s not hate on this album anymore, let’s go to the good things in life. This album was completely made by Jagger / Richards, and oh boy does it show. That’s a great thing, because when they make songs they can do it better than when they cover, especially when it comes to blues rock. The B-side, while not as good as the A-side, was still enjoyable at times and should not be overlooked by any means. Does this album deserve the reputation it has? Eh, maybe it’s a tiny bit overrated in the Stones catalogue, but it’s still a fine album nerveless. Would I recommend this album? Yes. To anybody, really, although I won’t be mad at all if they don’t like it.

*Review* (Single) 19th Nervous Breakdown / As Tears Go By

*This is part of my ongoing, personal project of listening to every Rolling Stones material released, posted onto this blog for everyone to read and for opinions to flourish. The rating doesn't mean much, because I hate ratings, but might as well.*

(Single) 19th Nervous Breakdown / As Tears Go By

Oh boy, after a hiatus, I’m back. We finally step into what I personally think was the peak of The Rolling Stones. I’ll probably do some research to see if I’m right.

19th Nervous Breakdown

(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

I love rocking pieces. I honestly can’t find anything to pick at on this song. All I can say is, “oh my, that bass.”

10/10

As Tears Go By

(Jagger, Richards and Andrew Loog Oldham)

*Copied from the previous single, where this was the A-side.* A very beautiful song. Very beautiful indeed. And there’s orchestration to this, and you can’t complain about that. And Jagger doesn’t push his voice, because if he did the song would be ruined.

10/10

20/20

Fun fact: this is a beautiful single, and so far the only single to receive a perfect score. Ladies and gentlemen, this is beautiful. The UK got a great deal on this baby.

*Review* ELO - The Electric Light Orchestra (No Answer)

*I'm not a professional music connoisseur, and as such everything here is opinion-based and usually made during my first listen to a song / album.*

I’m going to take a break from the regular reviews of The Rolling Stones to take a look at the one art rock band that I personally think tops them all, Electric Light Orchestra. Of course, not all of their stuff is art rock. It’s Symphonic Rock, hard rock, but a lot of their early stuff (post-The Idle Race, although a lot of their stuff was Psychedelic which is a form of art rock at times.) has that beautiful artsy sound.

And Luckily, ELO doesn't have differences (that I can see immediately) between US and UK albums besides their unfortunate name mistakes.

The Electric Light Orchestra (No Answer)

Released
December 1971

10538 Overture

This is a pretty big hit for ELO in the UK, and coming from the first song of their first album no less. No love in the US it seems though. The song uses some beautifully placed Cello love, but keeps the same structure throughout, and repeats most of it’s phrases with changes within the lines of different brass parts. Most people would be so confused to hear such a hard-and-heavy hit that relies of string and brass instruments. My one and only problem is that it perhaps goes on too long, since the song is mostly the same until the end.

8.75 /10

Look At Me Now

This has a strange demo feel, like McCartney’s first album; and by that I mean the vocals seem to have been recorded first, alone, and then the instrumentation was thoughtfully placed around it. Quite a bit of contrast from the hard rock hit from before, but that’s about it.

7/10

Nellie Takes Her Bow

You can really tell the difference between a Lynne composition and a Wood composition so far. Lynne seems to be more about making everything neat, and Roy just does what he thinks I guess. A slower song like Look At Me Now, but that’s exactly what Lynne wants you to think. About 2:20 into the song, we start to change, and that’s the beauty of some of these lesser known ELO song; they’re very much like full orchestra pieces having several movements. The change isn't drastic though, as it’s still slow, but it does take on a violin solo. Also, Lynne adds some sort of vocal effect that I really don’t know if I like or not. I feel like a bit more could have been put into this song, but as is it’s pretty nice with nice backing vocals to accompany everything else. (Also, I thought it was bow, as in violin bow. I mean, try putting the pieces together, it’s EL Orchestra)

7.75 / 10

The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd, 1644)

Wikipedia has a nice word to describe this song: Baroque-and-Roll. A Roy composition that is very story-heavy, but at the same time uses the available orchestration to a great extent. He really was going for less of a song and more for a story, and like I said, art. It’s hard not to expect art pieces from a band like this. This is also the longest song on the album, clocking in at just over 6 minutes, and maybe it isn't worth it. Art’s fun and all, but the listeners have to be in it as well. I imagine Roy was very happy making this, because a lot of work goes into things like this, more so than Mick Jagger and his filler albums. It’s a weird piece that has some weird transitions between it’s movements, but it does have that nasty ending note. Nasty in a good way.

6.75 / 10

First Movement (Jumping Biz)

Very interesting. It’s hard to explain all of these pieces, but this is something different. It’s very upbeat, but not too much. It’s like an intro to a movie. I think I enjoy this piece, because it’s fun and short. A song like this wouldn't work long (see the song right before this, although that was more art than this song.)

7.75 / 10

Mr. Radio

No, it’s not Mr. Blue Sky yet. Go away. It can be easily compared to this song though. It’s a combination of Mr. Blue Sky and Telephone Line. It’s a nice, simple story as well, mixed in with some of the most beautiful composed orchestration on the album. But you know, behind the story, and the orchestra, it’s just a good song. Nothing more, nothing less. (Although guilty pleasure to the use of backwards violins at the end)

8/10

Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre)

For a second I thought it was going to start the beginning of The Wall; those piano notes are either exactly the same or close to Outside the Wall. The feeling of the song definitely matches the 49th Street Massacre part, with it’s dark and demanding piano and beating drums and the cellos make their stand. Halfway through the song we get something a bit different, but still manages to keep a dark and creepy atmosphere. Oh, and there’s wind instruments, that’s a bit weird. This song is almost fun, and I actually smiled at around the 3 minute mark when the high-pitched background vocals started (probably for the song reason though). So far, this album really tries its best to be art.

6.75/10

Queen of the Hours

Lynne gets his third written song in a row, and it’s more of what I like. More music and less art, but it’s still pretty much art (but pretend it isn't so I can stop saying the word art for a bit.) Something I’m going to note here is that a lot of the song blend in together, and not in the way that one track overlaps into the other track, but they all start to sound the same (besides 10538 Overture.) That’s not the best thing to do. Nothing much to say about this song except that it has a nice length.

7.5/10

Whisper in the Night

Wood ends this album with something beautiful. We go back to the slow lyrical style of the album with this song, and it’s very lyrical. And one of my #1 guilty pleasures appear on this song, although only for a short amount of time, a slide guitar solo (a soft one). Other than that, though, it’s alright. Very soft, very beautiful, but very much the same as the rest of the album.

8/10

68.25 / 90

In Conclusion

I love ELO, I love Lynne, and as a violin player I love orchestration. I have a great appreciation for everything that was attempted here and their other albums (and Lynne’s producer work on everything from his albums to his fellow Wilburys’ albums.) I would not recommend this album to many people. This is an album for specific tastes, and people who just like ELO. I can forgive them for this being their first album, but both Lynne and Wood has had experience with albums (Wood has four with The Move and a single with Acid Gallery, and Lynne has possibly six with both The Move and The Idle Race.) There’s something here for sure, but is it music? Yes it’s music, of course it’s music. Just not the type of music that will ever be accepted like regular rock.

I'm not saying I'm glad they decided to rock more later, but I'm implying it. I love me some baroque, but maybe not a lot of baroque that wants you to know its baroque. Forced Baroque, perhaps?

*Partial Review* Out of Our Heads (UK)

Out of Our Heads (UK)

Released
September 24, 1965

I’m going to rate the songs that are different on the album, and then rate the album as a whole, but I’m not going to go over any of the songs on the previously released Out of Our Heads (US).

Additions:

She Said “Yeah”

Whoa, where did this intense track come from? It sounds nice (the ending sounds a bit weird when it just suddenly ends), but we’ll have to see if it can hold up to the track it replaced.

9/10

Gotta Get Away

(Jagger / Richards)

A nice little song, simple yet effective.

8/10

Talkin’ Bout You

(Chuck Berry)

It doesn’t sound as rocking as it should and I’m disappointed.

6/10

Oh, Baby (We Got a Good Thing Going)

(Barbara Lynn Ozen)

This sound sounds more rocking than the Chuck Berry cover, and it works better here than it did on The Rolling Stones, Now!. I don’t like using the word filler, but hey, this might be it. Not as much as Talkin’ Bout You, but still.

7.5/10

Heart of Stone

(Jagger / Richards)

This is a good song with solos that are good as well, as I’ve said back in the 1964 single with B-side What a Shame. I also want to give it something higher than 8.5, but I feel like 8.5 fits this.

8.5/10

I’m Free

(Jagger / Richards)

Really good song that really works well as the album’s closer. It has a nice feeling to it, and that is probably because it’s not a cover. I can’t really pick anything out of this per se, but the instruments seem to flow well together. The guitar solo isn’t anything to note, but it doesn’t have to be, I feel like a complicated solo would ruin this song.

9/10

Subtractions

The Last Time

Unfortunately this song didn’t make the cut. It’s a shame, because I actually like this song a bit.

I’m Alright

Good, this song didn’t belong. It’s alright (pun not intended), but I definitely won’t miss it.

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

Removing this song from the lineup quite possibly put a dent into the record itself. I feel like when the kids in UK caught word that the American’s got this song on their record, and they didn’t, they were angry. This was, and still is, a pretty popular song among radio and everything else.

Play With Fire

Another good song that was replaced. While not my favorite, it’s still a beautiful song.

The Spider and the Fly

I don’t necessarily care where this one goes. I’m very split about if I like this or not, but my feeling point to “I kinda don’t like it, but not enough to actually say I don’t like it.” But still, people do like this song, so removing this song didn’t help.

One More Try

I like I’m Free better for a couple reasons, one for the style of the song and another for how it doesn’t fade out.

95 / 120

Amazing. That really is just simply amazing. My score for the UK version is the same as the US version. To producer Andrew Loog Oldham (who produced both versions), bravo, you’ve managed to take out the important singles and still manage a 95. You deserve a lot of credit. Anyway, I personally thought the album was a tiny bit weaker than the US version if just for the exclusion of the popular singles. The reason for this is the UK music industry didn’t like to use popular singles on their albums, which is reasonable but at the same time could hurt an album if you don’t fit the album with right replacements. All in all, Mr. Oldham is fantastic and we should all appreciate him. 

*Review* Aftermath (1966)

Aftermath

Released
April 15, 1966

JP died, and I am Sean

I warn you, I say filler and compliment the instrumentation a lot in this review, just sayin’

1. Mother’s Little Helper

Here are one of the few songs where The Stones sound “cool”

Its dark, real, and overall has a nice texture with the guitar feedback and the sickly little riff. Really nice, and a good way to start the album

2. Stupid Girl

Aftermath is really a shining example of what Brian Jones’s contributed to the album.A nice little sexist ditty, Stupid Girl is repetitive but it has a nice flow and the organ makes this song stick out.  

3. Lady Jane

This little b-side is one of my favorite songs from The Rolling Stones. It has a flowing sincerity to it that should not be there, but you can feel it, or at least I can.Richard’s subdued guitar Brian Jones and his little dulcimer, form a really solid base, while Jagger’s voice along with the harpsichord make this song stand out from the rest of the catalog

4. Under My Thumb

Oh, oh damn, this song, its a perfect little jam. Seriously, everything about this song works, and it does it in such a tight manner. The marabias (Jones being awesome), the piano mixed with acoustic, the drums, the distorted guitar and bass, and then you add Jagger and his little coughing sounds, and you can feel the flow of the melody.

Side note, most live versions of this song are a tad disappointing for me, no marambias, and the song is reduced a bit, but the Almount version is a nice slow jam.

5. Doncha Bother Me

Nothing much to the song, except the nice drums and great slide guitar.

6. Going Home

Oh, sweet Jesus why did this have to be 11 minutes long?

The song is nice but it seems like they only made it so long as to kill album space. I mean, this is the first album where Jagger and Richards wrote everything. While the song drones on, it makes for good background music. Seriously, what the hell?

7.Flight Of 505

Besides sounding like the title of a Twilight Zone song, this song is pretty unremarkable. Ian Stewart’s piano is nice though

8.High And Dry

While I consider this song as filler,(like the last 3 songs) it is complemented by the nice guitar picking, sweet bass, and a good harmonica to fill in the sound. Say what you want about the Stones, but they are very competent musicians

9.Out Of Time

Whoa, marimbas and organ, oh this song is already good from the start. With a swelling chorus, loaded piano, this song gets it right on the dot, I miss when The Stones were a great pop band.

10.It’s Not Easy

Alright, this is where the filler train starts up again. For me, most Rolling Stones albums contain insincere filler, but that is the thing I love about Aftermath, the filler is always serviceable.

11.I Am Waiting

A nice little pleasant song, very soft. Good guitar picking, good dulcimer action, good stuff.

12.Take It Or Leave It

I know this song is filler, but I have a soft spot for it. I think its the chorus, and Jagger’s dictation of the lyrics.Also I can relate to the lyrics, which is hard for a Stones song.

13. Think

Oh yeah, I love the fuzz of the guitars on this track. A nice little song that I also hold close.

14. What To Do

I can’t stop thinking of the Buddy Holly song when I hear this. Again, filler, but good filler. Potato chip like filler

Aftermath represents the forgotten part of the stones, the era where they were a damn fine pop band. With catchy hooks and choruses, and excellent instrumentation by Brian Jones, Aftermath remains one of the best Rolling Stones albums