I am a long-time part of this discussion board, and I know Satanic Majesties has been hashed and rehashed like yesterday's bath water, but I think SMR is not being given the credit it deserves as a work of art all unto itself. I came to this realization (at least in my own mind) after listening to it repeatedly in my car stereo. The more I played it and tried to listen beyond the surface, there is some very creative and imaginative song structure on this album. It's also something that no one could reproduce today in content, song style, and overall tone. To feel this way, I had to listen with an open mind, for I too felt at one time that this was just a collection of random noise. Deep below the surface, there are many things going on as far as instrumentation and flow of the songs. There had to be alot of thought given during the construction of these songs, because there is much more there than a casual listen presents. Overall, I prefer it to Sgt. Pepper, which is a collection of good, experimental stuff, but so much seems to be in the pop music vein. As a guitarist, I can pick up the guitar and string some chords together and come up with a pop tune, but I have not been able to reproduce the feeling and style of the music on SMR. A true rock n' roller is not going to like this album because it is not rock 'n roll. In some ways it pales in comparison to the Stones Big 4, but when its just compared against itself, to me, SMR is an important part of music history.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-31 21:54 by UnionHall.

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UnionHall
There had to be alot of thought given during the construction of these songs, because there is much more there than a casual listen presents.

I agree with what you say in terms of the album being its own unique and experimental thing, and therefore a record that shouldn't be judged according to the usual critical narrative of "the mistake before the band got back to basics with JJF." But by this token, I don't think the strengths come from a lot of thought going into the songs... it sounds quite the opposite, which is why it's hit and miss. I don't at all think they sat down and planned all the layers of noise, they just let it happen.

they were producing their own album for the first time, mick and keith were often absent from the studio, and a lot of smoke was in the air... not a recipe for a polished finished piece. More thought--not the same as creativity--probably went into the cover than the songs.

Agree with you on the above, but I think there are some FANTASTIC songs therein.

Citadel, 2000 Man / Light Years, etc. Some psyche fluff for sure, but, deep in throws of some chemistry, the album works wonders....

Psychedelic masterpiece. I like it way better than Pepper (flame away), YES I do. It rocks MUCH harder.

JR

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cc

they were producing their own album for the first time, mick and keith were often absent from the studio, and a lot of smoke was in the air... not a recipe for a polished finished piece. More thought--not the same as creativity--probably went into the cover than the songs.

I appreciate your insight into the making of SMR, and you definitely add another angle onto the outcome of the final project. Another thought: I really like the way it was mixed, a definitive example of stereo. I had been playing it on a mono record player, and when my parents bought a real stereo, I was blown away by the presence of sounds I had never heard before. It became a brand new album to me.

I have trouble listening to this one all the way through. Obviously there were lots of distractions at this time in the band. It does have some really good songs though - Citadel has some great riffs. I love the drumming in 2000 Man great beat. 2000 Light years and She's A Rainbow are all-time classics. The rest of it though intersting is not very listenable in 2008-2009 it is one of the Stones only work that sounds dated.

I love the original 3-D cover a classic - I miss album art work. This is not only the Stones best cover but one of the best cover's ever.

IMO all the songs are way better than they normally get credited. Might be the production, but I think even the Stones don't think they'r very good. But Sing this all together, Lantern, 2000 Man, 2000 Lightyears, Another Land, Rainbow, On with Show - they are all good songs underneath it all. What bring sit even more to the forefront is to plow through the Satanic Sessions.

We've discussed this before, and I really would recommend listening to the 8 CD box set of outtakes. It really shows that the album was spoiled a bit in the end-production, where they really overdid the spychedelic bit. The outtakes also show that it's much more of a Keith album than ever expected. I always expected Brian Jones to be of a great influence, but the outtakes show that this is not the case.

Mathijs

I love the album. It's not something I want to hear early in the morning in my car on the way to work. I must be in the right mood for it, but if I am I can enjoy it very much.

[www.iorr.org]

Mathijs

I love Their Satanic Majesties Request!

Had the album been released by some obscure band it would be seen in a much better light, the fact it's The Rolling Stones makes it all the more interesting though. I think the perfect/imperfect vaudeville feel and darker undercurrent present on the album gives a truer picture of UK music circa 1967 than Sgt Pepper etc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-01-01 22:25 by His Majesty.

What a departure to come back with JJF though!!! Completely different!!

I like this album a lot more than I used to...much better than Between the Buttons for me.

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slew
What a departure to come back with JJF though!!! Completely different!!

I don't think it's all that different actually, the production and attitude behind it is though, but strip the satanic tracks down, say citadel or 2000 light years and the sound isn't all that different at all.

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His Majesty
I love Their Satanic Majesties Request!

I think the perfect/imperfect vaudeville feel and darker undercurrent present on the album gives a truer picture of UK music circa 1967 than Sgt Pepper etc.

You bring to light one of my main thoughts about SMR, His Majesty. The darkness, the feel, the overall tone of the album, I think, could not be reproduced by anyone. It is a completely dated album that will always be timeless. I can give Sgt. Pepper a casual listen to anytime and forget it. When I listen to SMR, I feel as if I am drawn deep into the music (hopefully that doesn't mean I need professional help). I just think there is more to this album than is given credit for. As I said, it's not what one would consider to be a classic rock album, but a psychedlic masterpiece. No matter what, it is always a subject for intelligent discussion.

I can see the similarities with Citadel. I don't have the 8 disc set I'd love to hear it.

I'll have to give it a listen - I have not listened to it in it's entirety for a long while.

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UnionHall

You bring to light one of my main thoughts about SMR, His Majesty. The darkness, the feel, the overall tone of the album, I think, could not be reproduced by anyone. It is a completely dated album that will always be timeless. I can give Sgt. Pepper a casual listen to anytime and forget it. When I listen to SMR, I feel as if I am drawn deep into the music (hopefully that doesn't mean I need professional help). I just think there is more to this album than is given credit for. As I said, it's not what one would consider to be a classic rock album, but a psychedlic masterpiece. No matter what, it is always a subject for intelligent discussion.

Yeah it sounds totally dated, but at the same time completely fresh!

I don't see it as a blot on their career landscape, I see it more as an interesting experiment.

I don't see TSMR as a failure in any sense. It was one avenue they went down, and did some great work. Again - the songs are very strong. And it has never sounded dated to me either.

<<perfect/imperfect vaudeville feel>>

A fitting description of Satanic Majesties, I think. I see it - based on the Satanic Session discs - as a bit of a missed opportunity. Still there's enough of brilliant stuff on the LP that makes me put it on the stereo quite often.

<< I don't have the 8 disc set I'd love to hear it>>

slew, I would imagine it can be found at the 'Hot Stuff' forum here on IORR - just use the 'search' option at the top. I assume it's available on a couple of torrent trackers as well

...it seems like you can grap it here as either mp3 or FLAC: [www.iorr.org] [don't know if all links still works]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-01-02 02:55 by Sohoe.

I've always considered TSMR being a maserpiece. Citadel, 2000 Man, 2000 Light Years From Home, She's A Rainbow and The Lantern are all outstanding plus the unbelieveble adventure Sing This All Together (see what happens) gives the listener. It's like Revolution#9 except listenable! (sorry John). I like the original mono mix the best but the 2002 remaster isn't bad. I really like what they did with the vinyl gatefold cover back in 2002. It'll never be anything like the original but still great, that sparkly look

I sometimes wonder why they decided not to list Cosmic Christmas on the label (or sleeve). I've seen pictures of Their Satanic testpressings that have it included.

I'm also a gigantic fan of the cover. I think it's one of the best covers ever done. I think I read somewhere that Jagger did it with some photos and a pair scissors??? Anyway, it's getting rather hard to find real good looking cover with the 3D picture. Specially the UK ones. They almost always have some blemishes like water marks or some sort of white lines on the sides that ruins the whole experience looking at it! Anyone else noticed that white lines? Could it be some glue starting to eat up the picture? Did it come like this from the factory or...? It took me some time to find really good looking picture.

what do you guys like about the cover? I think it's garish to look at and suggests the music will be much worse than it is.

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His Majesty

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slew
What a departure to come back with JJF though!!! Completely different!!

I don't think it's all that different actually, the production and attitude behind it is though, but strip the satanic tracks down, say citadel or 2000 light years and the sound isn't all that different at all.

Yeah, and the flip side ("Child of The Moon") stands musically very much middle of those 'periods'.

In fact, it was during the Satanic era Jagger learned that typical jaggerish sound of dramatic, relaxed 'slow motion' way of singing ans phrasing that is very much presence in JJF (I mean, the "aaaaaaaalllriiiiiight noooow..."), repeated ,for axample, again in a chorus of "Honky Tonk Woman".

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-01-02 12:38 by Doxa.

it's an ok album but not a masterpiece imo , but honestly it is completely different than the beatles sgt. pepper, which i think is overrated * revolver &the white album are far superior. TSMR is a must have for any stones collection but the mono mix of it is the best

It's interesting. I rarely ever listen to it. I think the Sgt. Pepper rip-off claims come from Beatle nuts who've never actually heard it. We used to laugh at the cover in high school. A very hard album to take seriously, really.

[thepowergoats.com]

Wouldn't the imperfect vaudeville feel apply more to "Between the Buttons"?

There was one of those Mojo magazine pieces a few years ago
whrere they asked a famous movie director, whose name I can't
remember now (Demme maybe?), his favorite Saturday night record,
and his was TSMR. He said he would put it on at parties and watch
people's reactions: "That's the Stones? I never knew."
They came across pretty impressed that it was the Stones.
I've done that, too. The response is the same.
It's a terrific party record (I don't mean jumping around dancing
like it's a B-52s album). I did it last year at my Christmas party.

Thoedore Richards claims this to be her favorite Stones album.