Aftermath by The Rolling Stones

Aftermath, the Rolling Stones' fourth British album, came out on Decca on 15 April 1966, with an American edition following on London in late June. They recorded it in California, at RCA Studios, across December 1965 and March 1966, squeezed between tours, with Andrew Loog Oldham producing, and for the first time every song came from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Brian Jones is the secret weapon, coloring the blues with sitar, Appalachian dulcimer, marimbas and even a Japanese koto, and the songs wander into folk, country, baroque and Eastern flavors. The writing has a new, darker bite, circling power, desire, obsession and modern society, with women cast in roles some listeners found ugly, and "Under My Thumb" and "Mother's Little Helper" are the ones that have lasted. The British version ran over 52 minutes, the longest pop LP yet, while America swapped four songs for "Paint It Black". It topped the UK chart for eight weeks and stands as the Stones' first great album.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.