Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties Request - Review

Songs: Sing this all Together, Citadel, In Another Land, 2000 Man, Sing this all Together(See What Happens), She’s a Rainbow, The Lantern, Gomper, 2000 Light Years from Home, On with the Show

Type of Music: Late Sixties Psychedelic Pop/Rock 

Comments:

Let me start by saying that I like this Album a lot.  A lot of people have compared it to Sgt. Pepper at the time and many still consider it to be the Stones answer to that record. As a general rule, Sgt. Pepper was considered a better effort and, as a result, Their Satanic Majesties Request became the forgotten Rolling Stones Record. As such, it is pretty underrated in my mind.

In the first place, this album is not really comparable to Sgt. Pepper. Only She’s a Rainbow would have fitted on Sgt. Pepper. And only George Harrison’s Within You Without You and, maybe, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds would fit on Satanic.

No, to me Satanic is the Jagger/Richards interpretation of the Summer of Love, with strong early Pink Floyd influences. And it’s much more of a concept-album than Sgt. Pepper as it maintains more or less the same atmosphere throughout the record.

Because of that you’re not going to listen to this album each and every week. Jams like Sing this all together (See what Happens) and Gomper are simply too long, too spacey and too messy to enjoy too often. It’s one of those records that you will forget about, find again after a year or two and give it another spin. You won’t regret it.

You know why? Because if you forget all the strange sound effects Satanic is just a good Rock Record. The opener Sing this all together is a nice pop song. And Citadel is one of the great Stones Rockers. What a pity that almost nobody knows it!

Bill Wyman wrote In Another Land and also sings the verses that remind me of Sitting on a Fence. It was the only time Bill sang a song on a Stones Record. You’ll survive it!! But pay attention to the excellent chorus sang by Mick.

What else do we have? I consider The Lantern, Gomper and 2000 Man okay, though not great. And the Album closer On with the Show is the only reason that could explain why people keep comparing this record to Sgt. Pepper.

Did I save the best for last? Yes, I did. Without any doubt She’s a Rainbow is a perfect pop song and 2000 Light Years From Home is a haunting psychedelic anthem that beats David Bowie’s Space Oddity by a 100 runs. 

So that’s Satanic in a nutshell. Not too many people like it or know it. But I consider it a great Warming Up for the best Rolling Stones period that now lies just around the corner. Stay Tuned!!!

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: Stones Fans for Sure. And if you like early Pink Floyd, you should buy this one as well!!