"Aftermath" is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The album was recorded at RCA Studios in California in December 1965 and March 1966, during breaks in the band's international tours. It was released in the United Kingdom on 15 April 1966 by Decca Records and in the United States in late June by London Records. "Aftermath" is the band's fourth British and sixth American studio album and follows a series of international hit singles that increased the band's fame and commercial success. "Aftermath" is regarded as an artistic breakthrough for the Rolling Stones, being their first album composed entirely of original material credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Brian Jones contributed extensively, experimenting with instruments not typically used in popular music, including the sitar, Appalachian dulcimer, Japanese koto, and marimbas, alongside guitar and harmonica. The album incorporates a wide range of musical styles and chords beyond the band’s previous Chicago blues and R&B influences, drawing on pop, folk, country, psychedelia, Baroque, and Middle Eastern music. Lyrically, Jagger and Richards explored themes of love, sex, desire, power, dominance, hate, obsession, modern society, and rock stardom, with women appearing as prominent characters in dark, sarcastic, and provocative narratives. The release was delayed due to controversy over the original proposed title, "Could You Walk on the Water?", which London Records considered pote