I Have History Class Aftermath

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10

Yes! YES! YESSSSSSSSS! Now this is where it really begins. All those other albums that came before this are now practically dismissable and ignorable. Now, we finally have an album that has NO covers. And, I say it's about time! Ever since Out of Our Heads, we knew that the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards song team were capable of writing EVERYTHING in their albums. And, now! It finally happened! And the album is great! I'm so bloody happy!

There's still a little bit o' old time R&B stuff in here, but who cares? The only reason that anyone would care is if they make the mistake of comparing the Rolling Stones with the Beatles. When this album was released in 1966, the Beatles were taking their first MAJOR steps ... and it'll take a little while for the Stones to start making their own MAJOR steps in developing rock-and-roll. (And, really, they've done a lot to establish the rock-and-roll image, but not musically yet.)

And ... the odd thing about this album is that it's not done with a whole lot of energy. That's not a bad thing, of course, but considering these are THE STONES and they had the most energetic people in THE BUSINESS within their ranks. Oh well. It's a classic nevertheless.

There are some interesting songs in here (though, oddly enough, there's nothing in particular on here that really sounds like it deserves a spot on a Stones Greatest Hits package). The album opens up with the interesting Indian-tinged "Paint it Black," the slow baroque-ish "Lady Jane," a 60's pop "Under My Thumb," a Kinks-ish "Flight 505," and the album closes with an 11+ minute jam "Going Home." And ... ya know, I can't complain too much about these songs! They're all excellent ... now that the stupid covers aren't holding them back. I'm happy.

AND THEREFORE EVERYONE IS HAPPY!

Although, Keith Richards enthusiasts probably don't enjoy this album all that much. He's still here, but his awesome guitar licks have by and large been sacrificed in favor of changing the group's sound.

Overall Album Score: 9.0 out of 10 (SOLID. That's what this album is. It's like a darn good piece of wood!)

Average Song Score: 9.0 (An easy nine. This is the first Rolling Stones album that is enjoyable throughout with one minor exception. And that one exception probably even wasn't technically deserved. But I'm leaving it. Because I'm a bastard.)

Album Tilt: 9.0 (A thoroughly enjoyable album! However, I'm not going to give it a bonus-push here because I'm not too convinced that the album works that well as an organism.)

Artist Rating: 9.0 (The Stones do ORIGINALS and they're GOOD ORIGINALS! There's nothing utterly 'artistic' or 'daring' on this album, or at least enough so for me to convince me enough to give it extry points. I'm just happy that they aren't doing covers anymore. Phew!)

Track Reviews

Paint it Black 10/10

Ominous chords of a sitar open this song and then it turns into a fast-pitched, pounding song that's always very fun to listen to. Even though it uses a sitar, the Stones don't forget how to make a song kick. It's certainly characteristic of the 60's, but the song itself is timeless. Greatness abounds!

Stupid Girl 9/10

Aw! That's mean! Why's Mick being so mean? This is a more "regular" rock song. If it wasn't for this odd atmosphere (that I'm getting from that pounding bass), I would call this a throwback. But, as it stands, it's pretty interesting and unusual.

Lady Jane 10/10

Aw! How beautiful! Proving that "As Tears Go By" from their last album wasn't a fluke, the Stones follow up with this humdinger. It's largely a baroque-pop song that HAS NO DRUMS! It was Charlie Watts' day off, I guess. Yeah ... this is something that even The Beatles would have had to work VERY hard at surpassing.

Under My Thumb 10/10

Man! Aren't Jagger/Richards a great songwriting duo? The Stones' bleedin' forte isn't writing pop-rock. But when they write one, it's like they were just tossing it on the table. The melody is GREAT. Man. It's just so immaculate that ... I DON'T KNOW WHAT! The marimba is put to very good use in the background here.

Doncha Bother Me 8/10

Well, this song is out of place. It's R&Bish, and it doesn't fit in too well with the band's newly-adopted sound. It probably should have been left somewhere in December's Children. (Although Richards enthusiasts will enjoy Keith's licks on this one and ... that drumming is kind of unusual.)

Think 9/10

The form of this song is certainly a throwback to the R&B days, but what's with that buzzing guitar? That's kind of cool, actually. The melody's impeccable! Yet another highly enjoyable song!

Flight 505 9.5/10

This song really does sound a bit like the Kinks. (Any band that would start a ramblin' rockin' song with a bit of ragtime, I'm willing to give the originality-credit to the Kinks.) While you might also consider this another R&B throwback, this time, I don't give a crap. It's such a fun, enjoyable song that I just don't notice the oldie connotations enough to care. A great little rock-and-roll song! Gotta dig that bass, too! (I almost want to say that this song was an early incarnation of "Let's Spend the Night Together" ... they sure have their similarities.)

High and Dry 7/10

Well, I find this song a little bit on the BORING SONG. Though it's not an R&B throwback, thank goodness. This one sounds more like it borrowed more from bluegrass than anything. Charlie Watts does an odd and almost annoying drumming job here with those cymbals that just REPEAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN! Grr... The average rock band would probably kill to be able to write a melody like this, but for a Stones song, it's not the greatest. Oh well. And it's not like this song is bad, either. I'm probably just being nit-picky.

It's Not Easy 8.5/10

Hmmm... for some reason I don't feel to comfortable giving this track a 9. While it's certainly more exciting than the previous song and it does have some very nice Keith moments ... it just doesn't strike me as something great. (Again! That bass is awesome!)

I am Waiting 9.5/10

Wow! This one starts out to be almost dull. But then the chorus strikes up, which redeems this song entirely. (Even when it goes back to the dull part, it doesn't even seem that dull anymore.) A Sssssssuper song!

Going Home 8.5/10

Yeah ... it was 1966, and not too many artists would dare putting an 11-minute jam at the end of their albums. I mean ... isn't that kind of pretentious, anyway? Of course, the song starts out like a REGULAR song. And the song is pretty good. But then it just goes on and on. And it's a very quiet jam, too. Very quiet. What gets me, however, is that it is actually rather enjoyable. Mick gives a great vocal performance here. He piddles off nonsense, but he is passionate about it! (Man! Listening to Led Zepplin piddling off nonsense is not nearly as enjoyable as this!) And various instruments start up and die off throughout. It's a fun thing.

I don't know how to do math. Do you? Leave your mathematical equations here!