Beggars Banquet - Rolling Stones (The)

...that the Stones had from Beggars Banquet to Exile On Main Street is one of the strongest in the history of modern music, with each standing as a proud representation of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world. This though was at the time a return to form from the Rolling Stones, with their previous release, Their Satanic Majesties Request, being seen as trying to move into an area that they just weren’t comfortable in. The album returns to the ...
...of their strongest songs from that genre, whilst still managing to move beyond set boundaries and create a far more eclectic and expansive sound.

The album was the last to feature Brian Jones, but his input on the album is key and provides some of the best instrumental work on the album, allowing the others to try and go beyond themselves to reach the required sound and feel. Unfortunately though, the album was released at around the ... more

When you look at the back catalogue of the Rolling Stones, the main things that comes to mind is the sheer diversity of the material and the amount that they managed to produce over the years. But even with this, the run of four albums that the Stones had from Beggars Banquet to Exile On Main Street is one of the strongest in the history of modern music, with each standing as a proud representation of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world. This though was at the time a return to form from the Rolling Stones, with their previous release, Their Satanic Majesties Request, being seen as trying to move into an area that they just weren’t comfortable in. The album returns to the Rhythm and Blues roots of the group and provides some of their strongest songs from that genre, whilst still managing to move beyond set boundaries and create a far more eclectic and expansive sound.

The album was the last to feature Brian Jones, but his input on the album is key and provides some of the best instrumental work on the album, allowing the others to try and go beyond themselves to reach the required sound and feel. Unfortunately though, the album was released at around the same time as The Beatle’s White Album, with the cover of the album, initially a bare white piece with writing, sharing many similarities with The White Album, which was released a month previously. This though should not have a huge effect on the audiences of today, as we can enjoy both without much fear of considering any possible similarities between the two. But if we do, we can consider that both were more stripped back and came away from the psychedelic elements of both their previous releases, but then I have always viewed both groups rather differently. The Rolling Stones are more primal, whereas the Beatles had more of the ballad and pop elements, allowing both to be somewhat removed, although only to a certain extent as they are both great bands.

Track Listing

1. Sympathy For The Devil 6:18
2. No Expectations 3:56
3. Dear Doctor 3:22
4. Parachute Woman 2:20
5. Jigsaw Puzzle 6:06
6. Street Fighting Man 3:16
7. Prodigal Son 2:52
8. Stray Cat Blues 4:37
9. Factory Girl 2:09
10. Salt Of The Earth 4:47

Total Run Time 39:43

1. Sympathy For The Devil *****

This song was probably the most controversial of the Rolling Stones career, which for the most part was brought about by the title rather than the lyrics of the song itself, which don’t really suggest a great deal to agree with it. The song itself though is the longest on the album and has a nice piano, bass and drum part throughout that helps to create a consistent rhythm and build when necessary. The lyrics talk about situations in history and literature, from the temptation of Christ to the contemporary politics, providing a great deal of allusion that as a listener can allow us to enter into the song far easier with previous knowledge. In terms of opening the album, this does it with flying colours, creating a great starting point from which the listener is hooked, and despite the length of the song, keeps you initiated and held upon the “whoo whoo”s and lyrics that permeate through the final minute of the song.

2. No Expectations *****

The acoustic guitar that opens that track brings the mood down from the height of the previous track, which introduces the slide guitar that for me really makes this blues based track. This song fro me though really shows how well the Rolling Stones could pull off a blues track, with some great Mick Jagger vocals and instrumental backing from a group that really could play it. The lyrics include a few classic blues lines and mentions, notably the use of the train station, and revolve around the end of relationship that seems to be have been broken off by the other end of it, a near integral part of many blues songs. But it is the backing that makes this, with the playing tight and well levelled (at least in the remastered edition I am listening to), which helps to keep the song together.

3. Dear Doctor *****

From the blues, we turn to a more country based song that features a Mick Jagger impersonation of an American country vocal, which would be repeated on other classic tracks, Far Away Eyes being just one example. The acoustic guitars again make up the main backing, with a harmonica playing in the background during the duration of the track. The lyrics talk about the singer preparing for his wedding to a woman that he has no desire to marry, but with the help of his mother he gets dressed. And then as he reaches into his pocket to get the ring, he finds a note, saying she has run away with his brother to his relief.

4. Parachute Woman ****

This is a far shorter track compared to some of the others and is really a short break before the next far longer track. The sound on this song is far larger and goes beyond the acoustic elements of the previous two tracks, allowing the more suggestive lyrics to become less of the focus and more of the sound itself. This along with Factory girl, make up the shorter, probably weaker elements on the album, as they lack any great deal of imagination, but still manage to come across as well suited to the album, breaking up some of the longer, more concentrated pieces.

5. Jigsaw Puzzle *****

This track has always been related to Bob Dylan in terms of the lyrical style, but as a long time Dylan fan, I have never seen any great connection, other than it being slightly more surreal and ambiguous compared to most of the Rolling Stones other songs. But despite this, the surreal elements of the lyrics really make the track, backed up by the dynamic backing of the band and the movement of the song from a quieter opening to a more epic finish, similar in style to Sympathy For The Devil, a track it is often seen as a partner to. The song talks about members of the band and simply seems for some part to be an expression of the groups creative forces and abilities to take on any genre that takes their interest.

6. Street Fighting Man *****

This one of those classic Rolling Stones tracks that everyone knows when they hear the opening guitar part that for me is one of the best track openings I have heard, instantly intriguing you and bringing you into this world and tension and riots, something far too poignant for the events that occurred at the time it was released. The song in truth does sound like a call to arms for the common man to stand up to governing figures and bring about a change in the world, a common message for many songs in the sixties, but one that allowed change to occur. The production of the vocals, which feel doubled up, allow them to become less clear and focus, as if they are caught in a world that has lost its direction, and the rest of the instrumentation falls into this also, creating a large, slightly unfocused sound that makes this track the classic that it is.

7. Prodigal Son *****

We then return to another blues track, this time not written by the group, but instead covered in excellent fashion, with the vocal impersonation done by Mike Jagger perfect for the material. The song, as you might guess is about the story of the prodigal son from the Bible, which despite its obvious Christian leanings does not feel overly religious, as the blues feel of the track help to give it a wider feel that is suited to a greater variety of suggestion. The backing is great with the acoustic guitars strumming throughout to create a blues/country feel that for me makes this one of the strongest tracks on the album. The speaker system that I use also brings about the bass drum, which draws into greater prominence later on in the track when the prodigal son returns, something that I struggle to hear on other less powerful speakers, but interesting nonetheless.

8. Stray Cat Blues *****

This has blues in the title and electric blues as it genre, as this is another great track, which many relate to drugs, but could simply be an expansion of the lyrical ideas started on Jigsaw Puzzle. The lyrics themselves revolve around a woman that seems to be a bit of a masochist, although they also seem to suggest that she is only fifteen years old, but with the great guitar on the this track the lyrics become less of a focal point. But in truth though, this is simply an excuse for a power vocal session from Mick Jagger, who provides some nice almost lazy screaming vocal parts.

9. Factory Girl ****

This is the second and last of the short tracks on the album, which I feel constitute the weakest on the album also, as they do feel almost devoid of some of the creativity that makes the other tracks so good. This is a nice laid back piece nonetheless that fits in well with the rest of the album, which does have a common man feel about, the factory element of the title perhaps emphasising this too much. The instrumentation is built around a nice drum beat and interesting interludes of various instruments, the nature of which I wouldn’t be sure of until I had seen a list of them.

10. Salt Of The Earth *****
This the final track sums up some of the feelings and ideas suggested on the album, with the title putting this across well, as it is simply about talking to the common man who works hard for his money. Could this be interpreted as another go at establishment? Perhaps, and then always perhaps not, as this is a far softer song for the most part and only builds up into as gospel feel finish that provides more of an epic finish than a great message. But however you want to interpret the song, it is a great finish, allowing the album to start and finish on a high, which is one of the reasons that I hold this album is such high regard, as it contains some of the best work of the Rolling Stones and is so consistent in its strength and packaging as a whole. Most albums have a few select tracks that make them worth listening to, but great albums have those tracks throughout and this is one of those albums. It is also interesting to note about this track, that it features co-vocals from Keith Richards, a rare occurrence in the earlier albums.

Thus, when I consider this album as a whole, it has to stand as one of my favourites among the work of the Rolling Stones and one of my favourites overall, as it is such a great sounding recording, with diverse songs and consistently strong lyrics and instrumental backing. Most good albums can have glimpses of that, but few can sustain these things without sounding monotonous or else collapse all together. This was a time when the Beatles, Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones were all at their peak, producing records of such high quality and renown in an attempt to match and improve upon their contemporaries. This does get said quite a lot, but it is true and no truer than at this time, but it was the Rolling Stones that outlasted the others, and it was because of albums like this and those proceeding it that resulted in that, they were strong albums with enough room and diversity for them to move on and continue in a similar or completely different vein. The diversity of genre was one of the greatest strengths of the Rolling Stones and this was an album when they were beginning to realise that, producing an album that returned to their roots as well as giving them room for more creative endeavours. 

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