beggars banquet (1968) – the rolling stones: london records, ps-539

The late 60’s were a busy time for the Rolling Stones. Think about it for a moment: they were at the height of their “competition” with the Beatles for being the most important band in the world. They were considered the enfants terrible of rock for no other reason than the fact they wrote the song Satisfaction that had (gasp!) suggestive lyrics, and perhaps also because they were much uglier than the Beatles.

However, they were prolific. Between 1964 and 1967 they averaged two albums a year, with all except their debut finding their way in the top-5 on the US charts (the debut hit 11). That they did so by avoiding the sort of cutesy-pop sound of other British Invasion groups like Herman’s Hermits, the Dave Clark Five, and the Kinks (and the Beatles), focusing instead on gritty, gnarly, hardscrabble blues and American roots music makes their accomplishment even more impressive.

However, both their prolificacy and adherence to American roots ended when they put out Their Satanic Majesties Request, which not only took a very long time (by Stones’ standards) to record, but was also really just a hot mess of forced pseudo-psychedelic claptrap, intended to be an answer to Sgt. Pepper’s. Even Mick Jagger noted that, “there’s a lot of rubbish on Satanic Majesties.”

Which might explain why their follow-up in 1968 marked a deliberate return to the more basic blues/roots based music without the pointless decorations of artificial psychedelic arglebargle. Beggars Banquet not only signaled that the Stones knew what their music was, but that they were embracing it without reservation. It also was the start of a string of five incredible freaking albums, starting with Beggars Banquet and culminating with Goat's Head Soup, which finally proved that from 1968 to 1973 the Stones were, without doubt, the most important band in the world, beating the Beatles, the Who, Led Zeppelin, and all others.

Side 1: Sympathy For The Devil No Expectations Dear Doctor Parachute Woman Jigsaw Puzzle
Side 2: Street Fighting Man Prodigal Son Stray Cat Blues Factory Girl Salt Of The Earth

Beggars Banquet is really an astounding album. The groovy bongo-fueled Caribbean vibe of Sympathy for the Devil segues into the slide-guitar cowboy atmosphere of No Expectations, and from there it just keeps going touching on country, rock, honky-tonk, folk, and more. For a band that didn’t stray very far from traditional American roots they sure did have a wide range.

Of course, this indulgence in American music isn’t for everyone, and it certainly wasn’t for my 10th grade self. Sure, I already knew (and loved) Sympathy and Street Fighting Man, but by the time I got to Jigsaw Puzzle on side one, I started to wonder if I’d made a mistake in buying an entire album just for two songs. Then a funny thing happened: I heard side two with it's more nuanced impression of traditional American music, and more importantly, bits and pieces of all the songs continued to stick with me. The bluesy bridge from Parachute Woman and the chorus from Factory Girl became something of an earworm. By the time I went through my third listen the album hooked me – countrified slide guitar and theatrical nasally cowboy whine-singing and all.

Which makes the gatefold photo, of the lads dressed as Victorian English lords wallowing in gluttonous hedonism sort of incongruous.  But whatever.  It was the 60's after all.

(Cantankerous Old Coot Rant: Here’s reason #746 why the late 70’s/early 80’s were way better than today: there were scores of record stores all over the place selling tons of absolute kick-ass used albums for dirt cheap. For example, I picked up Beggars Banquet when I was 10th grade from a used record store for only a few bucks (about $9 after adjusting for inflation). A couple of weeks back I was in one of the very rare used record stores still around and saw a previously-owned copy of this same album. It cost $35. End Rant)

Now that I am older and somewhat more catholic in my musical tastes, I have a greater appreciation for the depth of the music and influences on this album, and much less prejudice toward genres to which I normally do not listen. In particular, I noted the remarkable subversive nature of the music, given the state of the world at the time. Remember, 1968 was the height of international protests both in the US and Europe. It was when MLK and RFK were both gunned down by savage geeks; when North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive; when Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the black power salute at the Olympics, and when Nixon was elected. Yet, while musically Beggars Banquet featured safe blues and country, almost all of the songs carry subversion within the lyrics. In the context of the day, even Factory Girl comes off as a direct confrontation of the status quo.

The test of music, of course, is how well it holds up regardless of context. A good song will remain as listenable, enjoyable, and lyrically relevant today as it was when it was first recorded. It’s that timeless quality that separates, say, Get Up, Stand Up from Pass The Dutchie, or Solsbury Hill from Sussudio. By this measure, Beggars Banquet is a classic album, and after finishing this listen, I felt a solid sense of appreciation that I didn’t the first time I listened to it, all those years ago.

Up Next: I was told there would be bongos.