Customer Reviews

Their Satanic Majesties Request (Mlps)

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4 star:		(1)
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TRUE COLLECTORS ITEM. COMES IN HARD COVER MINI LP SHAPE ALBUM, WITH ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING 3-D COVER AND A CARD OR STICKER IN THE BACK (LOOKS SILVER). THERE WERE 2 ALBUMS RELEASED. ONE WAS IN MONO THE OTHER IN STEREO. THE STEREO WAS THE BEST SOUND TO CHOOSE FROM. SINCE IM A COLLECTOR OF JAPAN RELEASES. SOME ARE NOT MEANT TO BE OPEN AND OTHERS ARE. THIS GEM IS ONE OF THEM NOT TO OPEN. SO I CANT TELL YOU IF ITS IN STEREO OR THE MONO VERSION.

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various music supplies and recordings from the 60's and 70's.

"Their Satanic Majesties Request" saw the light of day in November of 1967 and to this day brings the most spirited debate of its merits than all other Brian Jones era music combined!

When you engross yourself in the myriad of reviews through 40 years you'll notice that many on the negative side aren't taking issue with the songs but the departure of the previous Jagger/Richards formula and the idea of following the Beatles-"Sgt. Pepper."

The criticism is highly unjustified. Abandoning your previous output of genius is certainly acceptable if the results don't tarnish the past and how do you fault any band from emulating a Beatles album?

"Their Satanic Majesties Request" is musically phenomenal in the consistency of the compositions and nothing that the ears absorb show the ten tracks sounding forced or uneven.

"Sing This All Together" lays the groundwork for the eventful journey. As Jagger delivers the message for the album the music perfectly blends to make for a superlative track. Especially on the remastered version you can experience the guitar mix as if you were at the control room board. "Citadel" turns up the psychedelic volume a few notches and the energy level is hard to surpass. "In Anther Land" gives us a track penned by Bill Wyman and the additional treat to hear him deliver the words. "2000 Man" is brilliant. Jagger's vocal inflection and the guitars are without flaw. How about the way Mick throws us a curve and sings "And my kids don't understand?" Putting himself in the role of the older generation that was often criticized by the 60's rockers. "Sing This All Together" makes a return but this time it is titled "Sing This All Together" (See What Happens) and stretched from 3:46 to over eight minutes. "The Lantern" reaffirms the synergy between Jagger's vocals and the instrumentation. "Gomper" may surprise you for the skillful results of landing in the realm of a George Harrison Rubber Soul/Revolver composition. "2000 Light Years From Home" can create the moods of hypnotic, magical, and haunting all in a matter of a few notes from the keyboards. Ending the festivities as if you are listening to a barker from the circus "On With The Show." A rather ironic title since it sadly signifies the end to some of the best forty plus minutes that will emanate from a CD.


Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"

These Stones role doobies! This album should suck, and for the longest time, I thought I did. Ah, but I learned my lesson. For those who honestly don't know, this is the group's psychedelic album. A lot of people view it as a cheap shot at Sgt. Pepper, but that's pretty far from the truth. To me, it sounds like the Stones just took a bunch of everything that was going on in '67 and mashed it together in a big melting pot.

So you've got your loud, fantastically catchy acid-rock a la Jimi Hendrix ("Citadel"), your universalist marching band anthems a la just about everyone back then ("Sing This Song Together"), your creepy, dissonant space freakouts a la Pink Floyd ("2000 Light Years from Home"), some druggy folk a la Traffic ("The Lantern," "2000 Man"), and even some world music inspired jamming a la nobody else at the time ("Gomper," "Sing This Song Together (See What Happens)". For fear of being hated by everyone, I am going to come out right now and say I like all of "Sing This Song Together (See What Happens)". It's unlike anything else you'll ever hear - a chaotic combination of free jazz and world music, with a "sex part" thrown in just for good measure. Even the album's defenders tend to crap all over it, but I think it's a really enjoyable, if odd, jam.

Actually, I pretty much enjoy every song on this album. Only two are true classics, and "On with the Show" is a pathetic attempt to send us all home laughing. And it's not like this can compete with Are You Experienced? or Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. But it's cool! "The Lantern" is one of the grooviest things in history, with rumbling piano and blues guitar licks. Bill Wyman's "In Another Land," with hazy "underwater" vocals and a catchy harpsichord line, must be about an acid trip or something. And it is quite good! "Gomper" proves that no Brit could play bizarre instruments like Brian Jones.

"2000 Light Years from Home" is my favorite. The mellotron is so spooky! The rumbling bass vamp is so cool! And the piano-bashing intro rules! And despite its uncanny similarity to the Beatles, "She's a Rainbow" is a fantastic little pop song, with a brilliant string arrangement from future Zeppelin member John Paul Jones.

This album shouldn't work at all, but it does. It does very well. Why? Because the early Rolling Stones could do anything, that's why. Oh, and you know why record companies suck? I'll tell you why. The trippy, brass-and-harmony fortified "We Love You" and the gently psychedelic "Dandelion" somehow missed the final cut on this album! They're both great songs, but they were only put out as a single. Why? I'm just guessing it has something to do with those stupid UK single separated from album practices, practices that make no sense to me.

Perhaps THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST is supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek parody of the psychedelic excesses prevalent in 1967. If so, it succeeds in such aspirations "majestically." Or maybe Mick and the boys were only ripping off SGT PEPPER'S as a lark-- I'd like to think this is the case. Merry Pranksters weren't exclusive to California, after all.

To really appreciate this album in all its glory, one must see the original LP with its murky animated 3-D plasticine artwork (Look-- they turn their heads!). To savor the music however, a CD is quite sufficient.

This set has a lot of terrific songs on it. The only reason it gets a middling rating is "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)" --an unnecessary endless jumble that brings SATANIC MAJESTIES to a screeching halt-- much like Lennon's car crash does to the White Album on "Revolution #9." Both tracks badly mar the records they are on, yet neither experience would be truly complete without them. So, we must muddle through somehow.

THEIR SATANIC (etc.) has the distinction of containing both (to my mind) the best and worst examples of the Stones' golden era (1965-'73). The latter of course, being the cacophonous song mentioned above. Now, my all-time favorite Rolling Stones track may surprise you--- its....."On With The Show." For all its intended prurience, this one has always made me smile. You see-- there's a bit of Merry Prankster in us all!

Por fin se le esta haciendo justicia a esta obra maestra de los Stones poco comprendida en su tiempo, con esta edicion en miniatura igual al arte del vinilo original y como siempre los Stones, pioneros en su musica y arte de caratula.