The best ideas, they reckon, happen in the pub. I don’t drink, never have, but still in my younger days, in the boozer with the lads, we’d plot ways we were going to make millions. Then we’d write songs. Occasionally we’d be pissed off about whichever girl we’d decided was “the one” at the time, and on one occasion about a decade ago, me and a mate made some barmy decisions about one that definitely wasn’t.

The point is, I get it. I get why a load of blokes would be sitting there one night and go, “what if we recorded ‘Aftermath’ in full?” No one quite knows why you’d do this, but everyone thinks its an ace idea. Most of these ideas stay in the pub, of course, but Hollis Brown are made of sterner stuff.

Next thing you know they are hotfooting it into a studio, with a shed load of whiskey and 24 hours. The result is “In The Aftermath.”

These words from HB main man Mike Montali are basically it: “It was a whirlwind recording session—we were on no sleep and getting liquored up. You can definitely hear the looseness on that final track, ‘Going Home,'” the singer recalls, laughing. He continues: “We weren’t focused on cleanliness—we were after a feeling.”

That’s essentially it, too. This breakneck run-through of the US version of the album (not the UK one that was at the time the longest record on a vinyl LP – I think?) is all about vibe. “Paint It Black” (and its amazing what the absence of a comma can do)  is rollicking garage rock. The rest of them are too.

I hadn’t listened to the original album in years, but I did in preparation for this (I love The Stones, and it was a good excuse), and in the cold light of day in 2022, it’s a downright nasty record. Experimental, for sure. Brilliant, yes. Brave, of course, but “Stupid Girl” and ]Under My Thumb” would not be made nowadays. Hollis Brown know this too, but they approach both with glee, making them as primal as the originals, but without trying to compete.

When they play “Lady Jane” its relaxed and sun-dappled and thankfully Montali is not doing a pound shop Jagger impression, that would not have worked.

This was the first Stones record with all originals, and in “Dontcha Bother Me” there’s very much a prototype for what they were to be, here on the Brown version, the harmonica is quite stupendous. There’s a thrilling 1960s feel to “Think”, and “Flight 505” is a personal favourite of mine, and when the line “suddenly it dawned on me that this was not my life” hits you do wonder how The Stones navigated the next 60 years so well, in the main.

HB really ramp up the roots on “High N Dry” and the drums on “It’s Not Easy” give this version a real urgency, while the acoustic led “I Am  Waiting” sounds extra trippy. Maybe it was just that point in the 24 hours? Who knows.

Cards on the table. I’ve always considered the original of “Goin’ Home” a little unnecessary (jamming isn’t my idea of fun) so its kind of cool that this one is merely seven minutes – and as Montali says, it’s a ragged beauty.

Hollis Brown have previous in this area. They’ve been known to perform entire Velvet Underground sets, which given the fact that Lou Reed is something of a nuisance, makes this a much easier endeavour. I’ll take issue with Montali when he sad in interviews that “Aftermath” was something of a lost classic,” as I’m not certain it was ever lost to anyone, but “In The Aftermath” is fun – and still seemed like a good idea in the morning, given that they didn’t attempt to copy, merely channel, The Stones.

Rating 8/10