Pros: It's the definitive version of the Stones classic!
Cons: It could have used the single ("Paint It Black") as a bonus track
The Bottom Line: Now, you can hear Aftermath, in terms of track selection and production, as you were always meant to in the first place! What better recommendation can there be?
Musical_Guru's Full Review: Aftermath [UK] [Remaster] by The Rolling Stones
We, the American fans of the Rolling Stones, have been getting the shaft for decades.
You see, while Apple Corps finally saw fit in the 80s to release the UK versions of all the Beatles' albums (in every case except Magical Mystery Tour, the definitive versions were UK), Allen Klein, the man who oversaw the Stones in the 60s, insisted that the American versions of the Stones' early albums were the only ones that would be released on CD. This made for incredible music, yes indeed, but you didn't get to hear the albums as the Stones intended them. Instead, you got the same treatment that the Beatles (and everybody else) got in the US -- a hodgepodge of the big hit single, its B-side, and whatever songs the US label deemed "commercial" enough for American audiences. The stuff they cut out was consigned to bastardizations like December's Children (And Everybody's) and Flowers, or, in some cases, never released at all. It was a sad, sad situation, and one that forced die-hards like myself to try our luck with our CD burners and tape recorders to duplicate those British originals.
But now we don't have to! ABKCO Records has finally seen the light! Out of Our Heads, Aftermath and Between the Buttons have been released in pure British form! And these are all great, to be sure, but if you want a real treat, a real masterwork that's been buried in the sand for thirty-five years, you've got to pick up Aftermath. The sound of this disc will, before the opening track is over, make you wonder how anyone dared to hide it for so long.
For starters, you should probably know that if you're a fan of the version that's been available for forever, this new version is different. Instead of "Paint It Black" (only released as a single in Britain back in '66), you get "Mother's Little Helper," just as good a song anyway. It would have been nice, though, if they had stuck "Paint It, Black" on the end as a bonus track (perhaps with its original B-Side, "Long Long While"). But they didn't, and that's my only complaint.
The other stuff you love is all here, albeit in a different order--and! You get two new songs that were banished to Flowers before! One is the gorgeous "Take It Or Leave It," and the other (in a longer version than Flowers!) is "Out of Time," one of the best songs of the Stones' mid-'60s period. AND!!!! One more new song! This one, "What To Do," used to be found only on More Hot Rocks. It's a great end to this one.
Now, as if that wasn't difference enough, there's something even cooler here. The British Aftermath had a far more experimental, and superior, production job. American stereo in 1966 tended to have a balanced effect, where you heard half the sound in one speaker and half in the other. British stereo, however, threw off the balance according to which instruments should dominate the song. Therefore, you get incredible clarity of the sounds in these songs. The sitar in "Mother's Little Helper" sounds like it has its own channel. But the mix is more cunning than that: the melodic part is on the right, and the low, droning strings are on the left. Brilliant, and beautiful. Ditto for the dulcimer on "Lady Jane," the marimba on "Under My Thumb," (this mix does the most for Brian Jones, doesn't it?) and the vocals on every song. "What To Do" has a marvelous effect, in particular: all the vocals are on the left, as is the bass and drums, while the lead and rhythm guitar keep the right channel to themselves. The result, combined with an absolutely sparkling remaster, sounds like it was run off the press yesterday.
Now to be fair, I wasn't born yet in 1966. I am not speaking for a great number of people who were, because they mostly grew up with the American version and only knew it in that package. So in a large sense, this UK Aftermath is really more of a treasure trove for fanatical Stones fans than anyone else. But, if you are interested in hearing what Aftermath was SUPPOSED to sound like when the lads made it, or if you just want to hear a new twist on an old favorite, this disc is well worth seeking out. It sounds great! And, having been waiting for years to hear it like this, I'm bouncing off the walls for it!
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