I’ve long been fascinated by this period of The Rolling Stones’ career. It’s ripe for a book length study. Absent that kind of in depth analysis I hoped this thread might help illuminate it a bit more. At this stage they had moved on from being mostly an excellent scruffy blues/soul cover band with great original songs sprinkled in to a wholly original unit with a look as unique as their sound. They were hitting their creative stride and everything about them glowed with the excitement of something new and slightly dangerous yet irresistibly alluring. Swinging London and Carnaby Street. The music they made, their fashion sense, the women in their lives, the notorious 1967 drug raid at Redlands and its aftermath all make this one of the most compelling chapters in their history. It’s my fondest wish that this would be a repository for all things related to this era in The Rolling Stones history. They released three full length original albums and several singles (plus the Flowers album in the American market) in this timeframe. My playlist of this period begins with “19th Nervous Breakdown” b/w “Sad Day” and continues on through Their Satanic Majesties Request. “Child Of The Moon” rounds it out. It was, of course, not released until 1968 but feels more of a piece with the psychedelic material than with what came afterwards, in my opinion. Feel free to share opinions, pictures, remembrances of this era and anything else that would add to the discussion of this unique time period.
bought this at the show Memorial Auditorium 65 (long time ago, might have been 66). Have never seen it published anywhere. Looks like it was taken the afternoon of the show in the dressing room area. Ripped this off the elm tree outside the site: Yes, this very poster, which was featured in the Rock Art book. I can tell it was mine by the STP sticker outline that remains on it. Hung in my bedroom until I split and then I remember giving it to someone. Made its way to Professor Poster who I ran into at a SF poster show many years later and I nearly bought it back. He asked me to write a narrative on how I came to have it and what happened to it afterward. Wish I had bought it back. jb
'Aftermath' is a fantastic album and not mentioned enough in discussion of great Stones albums. Brian Jones is active and adds colours to many of the all original Jagger-Richards compositions.
Aftermath and Between The Buttons are my absolute favorite Stones albums...hoping to get some insight from other fans!
Aftermath and especially Between The Buttons are criminally underrated...whereas I think Beggar's Banquet is overrated. Love the next three after that, but that's the one Stones album I have tried time after time to get into and just can't
Yes, two of my favorites as well. Doesn’t really matter if it’s the U.K. or US versions. Must have the concurrent singles nearby of course if it’s the U.K. version of Between The Buttons. Great album covers as well. Prefer the US cover of Aftermath and Between The Buttons is probably my all time favorite Stones LP cover.
It’s an era that has slipped through the net somehow. I think it marked something they’ve always done, and that is following current trends. If The Beatles, Zombies etc could create baroque pop, then why not the Stones? The songs were very good from this era, ie She Smiled Sweetly, Back Street Girl, She’s A Rainbow etc. Child of The Moon from 1968 was almost a return to this sound, but was a lot harder edged. Likewise, New Faces from Voodoo Lounge was a bold attempt at a similar update, the same as Blinded By Love on Steel Wheels. However, Ronnie Wood, good as he is, couldn’t match the sonic textures Brian Jones placed on the 1965-1967 era material.
Man I can't get enough of this era. It's all such a distinctively different set of colors and shades than what the group did before or since and - for my money - the most exciting. Exile remains my top Stones platter, but I've definitely spent more time with the songs in this period. If the Stones work only existed from this era, they'd still make my list of absolute favorite groups. (There, I said it.)
They're the only years I'm really interested in when it comes to the Stones. It's all about Brian and his amazing talent for picking up an instrument and playing it. Interesting sonic textures all round. The extensive Satanic Majesties sessions boot is worth a listen. Brian's mellotron is amazing on all those takes of 2000 light years from home. They were incredibly prolific and always searching. I lose interest once we get past Sympathy for the Devil.
Jagger working the camera. Jones cracking a little smile at 2.17. I have watched this clip lots of times since it popped on YouTube in 2014.
Never got round to hearing Aftermath, love Satanic Majesties despite its flaws, BtB always struck me as kinda weak, but maybe I'll try it again....just seemed the Kinks were doing all this stuff much better.
Majesties is my fave stones album and I've loved it since 1967. Everything Aftermath to Beggars is amazing IMO.
The Brian Jones era is by far the most exciting and interesting era of The Stones for me. Thereafter they just became the clichéd rock band in my opinion.
I'd signal I'm Free (recorded a few months earlier than 19th Nervous Breakdown) as the start of this era which featured some great songs. However I've never been a big fan of Aftermath and Between The Buttons. The UK Aftermath featured too many weedy songs (Stupid Girl, Take It Or Leave it, Doncha Bother Me, Think, High And Dry, What To Do). The US (mono) Aftermath was much better (with the Goin' Home jam better placed as the closer). The UK Between The Buttons I also find stuffed with too many weedy songs (Yesterday's Papers, My Obsession, Connection, Cool Calm Collected, Complicated, Something Happened To Me Yesterday). The band ended up sounding more like Herman's Hermits and falling short of their real peers Beatles/Kinks. I understand why others like the quaintness, the charm of this 65/66 (recorded) period though. I love Satanic Majesties. It's one of my favourite '67 psychedelic albums (with Pepper, MMT and Piper). However, it was after this 65-67 period that their great age began.
I love that era, mostly because they explored what they could and couldn’t do. People saying they became an ‘average rock band’, ‘animated rock band’ or whatever, after 1968, are clearly just children of their time. Probably just moaning or yearning of their lost youth and that Brian Jones’ death was the fault of his own stupidity. The Stones became even more adventureous after 1968: They became better songwriters, better musicians, made leaps onto country, soul, funk, reggae, disco, punk. All while they didn’t loose their integrity one single bit. How’s that yer ‘average’ rock band?!?
I LOVE that period! Aftermath is one of my top 5 Stones records and part of their classic period in my opinion
It is a great and interesting period and certainly in the mid 70s I seem to recall Aftermath (UK) being regarded as a great album from that era. I grew up with all the singles and any tracks played on the radio back in the 60s but was way too young to buy my own albums. In the 70s post Exile/Goats Head I purchased the 60s album catalogue. It is still a popular period, a recent bootleg cd box based on Aftermath sold out immediately and the Universal Satanic package seemed to do very well. Sometime in the 90s (I think) Q magazine did a nice cd sized review of Aftermath which would fit in your jewel case cd.
I can see both sides of the "average rock band" argument but the thing is, to a large degree, the work the Stones did circa 1968-1972 created the archetype for so many bands that followed. If you look at rock bands before and after that era the Stones were hugely responsible for shaping the sound of "rock" from the late sixties/early seventies and into the eighties. I wouldn't say they were singularly responsible but, certainly, they were hugely influential. As to the 1966-1967 era, there is a lot of great music there. In a way, I'm glad it is "undiscovered," that keeps it much fresher!
I tend to start this period with The Singer Not The Song/As Tears Go By/I'm Free...so the tail end of 1965. I've always loved it...US December's Children through Child Of The Moon. In my book definitely underrated and under appreciated. I think there are two reasons for that. One -- the 'golden era' 1968 ~ 1972 where they were truly firing on all cylinders. Two -- the competition, namely The Beatles first and foremost, but also The Kinks and The Byrds...they were arguably better at combining creative pop and folk-rock and emerging psych. But I think it's only because of competition that the 'Stones are given such short shrift in this era. Aftermath and Between The Buttons have been huge favorites of mine for decades, including the songs people are posting as average or whatever. I'm certain a great many bands would have sacrificed a nut to reach that level of "average" in '65, '66 and '67.
