Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
maybe you had to be there, February 14, 2000
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.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stones' Psychedelia, January 15, 2001
The much maligned Their Satanic Majesties Request is The Rolling Stones obvious response to The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's album. The band dived headfirst into the psychedelic sounds of 1967's Summer of Love and the album sounds like no other in their catalog. Despite the criticism and attempt to keep pace with the Beatles (including the original 3-D cover), the album contains some excellent songs. The album opens up strong with the overture "Sing This All Together" with it's horns and sound effects and then slides right into the grinding guitar of "The Citadel". Bill Wyman's only lead vocal on a Stone's album is "In Another Land" and upon listening to it you can hear why it was his first and last. He has a tremendously thin voice and he makes Ringo Starr sound like Pavarotti. "2000 Man" is fast-paced and along with "2000 Light Years From Home" are the best songs on the album. The reprise of "Sing This All Together" is a major misstep and is a really bad song, but they pick up again with the flowery "She's A Rainbow". This album has taken an undue amount of heat, but as the years have passed, it should be looked at for what it is, a solid foray into the psychedelic arena by one of the best bands of all-time.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Creative, interesting, beautiful, and underrated., November 3, 1998
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Unique Masterpiece
In 1967, EVERYBODY went psychedelic: Cream, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Traffic, the Doors, and all the rest of them, including, yes, the Beatles and the Stones.
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Published on November 2, 2006 by Duncan Youngerman
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