THE ROLLING STONES: THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES' REQUEST (1967)
I always feel uncomfortable about joining in the choir and calling Satanic Majesties' Request the Stones' «weirdest» album. This somehow implies that there are certain things we typically expect of the Stones — and certain things we definitely do not expect of them. But these expectations themselves are due to nothing else than the Stones eventually setting themselves in a predictable creative rut with the oncoming of middle age, much like every other artist, and isn't it a bit ridiculous to judge the Rolling Stones of 1967 by the future standards of, say, the Rolling Stones of 1976? In a way, it would almost be weirder if the Rolling Stones did not go psychedelic in 1967, like almost everybody else did at the time, except for a few stubbornly obstinate heroes (Somethin' Else By The Kinks — now there's a truly weird album by that year's standards!). And seeing Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in kaftans was, after all, no more weird than seeing Eric Clapton with frizzed hair, or The Hollies wielding sitars and playing with tape effects.
There are two reasons why, when discussing the Golden Age of the Stones (1966-72, and not one year less), one should never make an embarrassing exception for their psychedelic suite. One: even despite all the personal troubles that they had in 1967, Jagger and Richards had only recently reached top songwriting form, and top songwriting form does not go away that easily once it has been reached — even if one finds plenty of things to complain about in the arrangement and production departments, it is hard to deny the sheer quantity of compositional ideas contained in these songs. Two: claims that the Stones were «aping the Beatles» with their psychedelic creativity are ridiculously simplistic. The Stones did embrace psychedelia, but they put their own and nobody else's stamp on it. As I quickly run the usual gamut of psychedelic classics of the era in my mind (Sgt. Pepper, Are You Experienced, Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, Days Of Future Passed, etc.), there is not a single one of these that could be selected as a «blueprint» for Satanic Majesties. Because this was not a simple case of «hey, let's just drop everything we did before and go play some sitars!» This is a case of taking everything they had learned in the previous three years — the darkness, the nastiness, the art of the guitar riff, the unpredictable experimental instrumentation — and applying it to the emerging new musical idiom: a synthesis like no other.
Their Satanic Majesties Request - The Real Alternate Album
The Real Alternate Album Their Satanic Majesties Request (Red Tongue Records / RTR-004) - 2012
Instrumental Outtakes & Live
Limited and numbered edition of 500 copies in box with holographic cover.
Side One To Seven Are All Instrumental Outtakes In Excellent Stereo, All Recorded At The Olympic Sound Studio London, Between June And October 1967. Side Eight Contains Live And Cover Versions.
Tracktitles A2 + E4 (which are 1-2 + 2-4 on the CDs) are misspelled on the cover: The Latern > The Lantern.
Thank you very much for the record. they have great things!
ReplyDeletedo you happen to have a link to load this ?
ReplyDeletelink is there look for the four stars....
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