The Rolling Stones Album: “Their Satanic Majesties Request”

As any serious music historian knows, this album was the Stones' "Sgt. Pepper." It sounds like no other release in their impressive catalog. And it IS a departure. But, that's the point! Why have so few people NOT gotten it. Are they simply NOT LISTENING? "Satanic Magesties" is an awesome piece of work. And psychedelia never sounded so good as it does on the brilliant "2000 Light Years From Home." And it sounds great on "Sing This All Together," "Citadel," and "In Another Land" (Bill Wyman's 'underwater' vocals are both freaky and effective for the style of the song...NOT thin or weak like a reviewer stated!). And "2000 Man" and "She's A Rainbow" are two of the bands best efforts to date. Overall, a very much underappreciated and underated Stones album. Just give it a chance and listen to it with an open mind (and ears) and I think you'll discovery a true masterpiece. It's different all right...But, in keeping with the "Spirit Of '67" and the band itself...it's a GAS! GAS! GAS!

"When The Beatles take you on a trip, maybe you should pack a sandwich because you might get hungry on the way. When The Stones take you on a trip, you had better sublease your apartment and pack a trunk. You may be gone for a long time."

- The Beatles Book, "On With The Show", by Edward E. Davis, page 175, Copyright 1968 by Cowles Education Corporation)

No, no lonely hearts club band here. In some cases, barely recognizable pop songs. If 'Pepper' was carefully put together, '...Satanic Majesties...' is what happens when you put five celebrity musicians in a studio amidst drug busts and their aftermath trying their darndest to not do a 'Pepper'.

The great songs might have made a great EP - "Citadel", "In Another Land", "2000 Man", "She's A Rainbow" and "2000 Light Years From Home". And if it can fit, "The Lantern" could be included. But what do you do with the "Sing This All Together" opus, "Gomper" and "On with The Show".

But, for some reason, this is one of my favorite Stones albums. Maybe I like the experimentation of the psychedelic era more than others. And if you agree, this is one example of that era you will thoroughly enjoy.

"Sing This All Together" sounds sinister and so unlike singing all together (I have read that this was done on purpose). "Citadel" with its great backing and unearthly medieval lyric. "In Another Land", showcasing Bill Wyman's compositional talents, suggests he should have been given more space to let that talent show. "2000 Man" in which a 1967 composition predicts a future that isn't too far off the mark. In "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)" someone says "Where's that joint?" and I get the feeling it was found and inhaled for about 8 solid minutes. The girl in "She's A Rainbow" has the most colorful sexual experience ever depicted in song. "The Lantern" seems to fit if you can picture a foggy, psychedelisized evening in old London town. "Gomper" is "Within You Without You" turned upside down with a mysterious girl at its core. Then, a blast into outer space that more than exemplifies the mystery and emptiness of it all. Kubrick captured that in his film '2001'; The Stones capture it here in song. You are brought back to earth to a seedy bar in "On With The Show" which seems to have all the earthly treats available provided by the sneering emcee Mick Jagger. Strange, muffled conversations are heard that you wish you could make out as if they would reveal some secret the album holds.

They don't make albums like this anymore. Yes, maybe they shouldn't, but I'm glad this one exists.

For those who remember the days when you might find hidden gems in your plastic vinyl discs, how does one play the final track on side one, "Cosmic Christmas", so, you can hear "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" in all its glory on a CD?

In the vinyl days, you changed the speed of your player from 33 and a 1/3rpm to 78rpm (I don't think playing it at 45rpm worked) to hear "We Wish You A Merry Christmas".

The packaging is fine, but couldn't there have been a limited edition 3D cover so we could get Paul and Ringo back in the picture?

And these Certificates of Authenticity that ABKCO provides in the first edition release of their SACD hybrid reissues of The Stones albums that they control - just who came up with this idea? It is not a guarantee that by buying all 22 new remasters once you will get all the unique, different 22 pieces of the Certificates puzzle, which ends up being a black and white representation of the '...Satanic Majesties...' cover. This colorful cover is done the most injustice by having these Certificates in black and white.

I'm glad to give five stars to an album the critics despise. (I also liked Self Portrait by Dylan, another critics' target.) Satanic Majesties (and a couple of singles of the period -- Jack Flash/Child of the Moon, We Love You/Dandelion) does a beautiful job of filtering psychedelia through the jaded tough-guy rhythm 'n' blues of the Stones. Conceptually, the whole album hangs together pretty well (distance, alienation, death, sleep, street life, etc., intruding into the flower power cocoon), and underneath are some great riffs from Keith (e.g., Citadel). The real point, however, is that here the Stones were willing to experiment, even if they were accused of being derivative or misguided. They experimented even more successfully the next time with Beggar's Banquet before the perfection of Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile gave them a successful formula (throw in a countryish tune, a blues/soul remake, etc.) that unfortunately dampened their willingness to take these kinds of risks again.

This review is for people who know the album well, but are not sure if the 2002 Abkco remaster is worth buying the album again. Buy it! The 80's Abcko CD's are muddy and flat. The remasters are clean and dynamic, with nice seperation between instruments.

Hearing the remaster is a revalatory experience which made me appreciate the album all the more. I now understand that the rumbling drum in beginning of "2000 Lightyears" is the engines igniting, taking you for a journey. Turn that one up loud, it is a thrill ride. "See What Happens" and "Gomper" are no longer tedious excess, but actually jams that go somewhere. The joy of "On With the Show" comes through now. Now I understand that the acoustic beginning of "2000 man" is to be a breath of fresh air half way through side one. It is so pretty, now. Wyman's bass in the middle of tune is great. He plays wonderful full warm notes that just carry the part. Yes, Wyman's bass can finally be heard on the remasters! "She's a Rainbow" now has punch to it...now it sounds like a true Stones song, rather than a Beatles parroting. This is definitely a Stones album.

I think a lot of the people who are down on this album only heard the crumby early CD. With the old CD you get an impression of a cluttered mess of an album. With the remaster you hear the nuances of a band achieving mastery of their craft in an expanding art form. Pick up a copy.

I love the Stones, and I love Britsh rock, particularly of the 60s and 70s, so I love this album. Many Stones fans aren't too crazy about this album, but they just might be prejudiced against it by some pre-conceived notion of what the Stones are supposed to sound like. Frankly, I'm sick of hearing people pan this one as a lame attempt to jump on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper Band Wagon. Sure it's from that era, and lots of pop music from any given era will be influenced by contemporary trends, and I would not be at all surprised if the Stones were inspired (as everyone was) by the Beatles at the time (1967) to do a comparably creative album with a comparably expensive album cover, but all things considered, I do not think that _Satanic Majesty_ sounds particularly like _Sgt. Pepper_, except that they are both products of British Pop-Rock Culture of that time (so were many other worthy classics, such as Pink Floyd's _Piper at the Gates of Dawn_). There was a creative explosion going on at the time; other bands that were involved in that whole scene included the Moody Blues, Yardbirds, and many others, and the way was being paved for great sounds to follow in the next few years like Zep and King Crimson. The mellotron was a groovy new keyboard instrument which the Stones used most effectively on songs like "2000 Light Years from Home." The lyrics evoke many exotic images, while the beautiful melodies, tones, and harmonies evoke many moods. "She's a Rainbow" beautifully blends voices, piano (Nicky Hopkins is awsome), guitar, and strings for a sound I could only describe as "Rock n' Roll Mozart." Most of the songs, as on most Stones albums, are by that prolific pair: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. "In Another Land," however, is by Bill Wyman and is a great song with many effects and instruments. So maybe there are a few minutes of self-indulgent extended instrumental filler, but virutally every song is great. That is what made the 60s a great period for bands like the Stones; they were a bluesy rock band, but they were so much more than that. Don't listen to all the negative, cynical hype; light some incense, turn on your lava lamp, and give this wonderful album a chance.