''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' is the 6th British and 8th American studio album by the English rock band
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
, released in December 1967 by
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
in the UK and by
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
in the US. It is their first to be released in identical versions in both countries. The album's title is a play on the "Her Britannic Majesty requests and requires..." text that appears inside a
British passport
A British passport is a travel document issued by the United Kingdom or other British dependencies and territories to individuals holding any form of British nationality. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requ ...
.
The band experimented with a
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
sound on ''Satanic Majesties'', incorporating unconventional elements such as
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
,
sound effect
A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...
s, string arrangements, and
African rhythms
Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has described the many local approaches as consti ...
. The band
produced the album themselves as their manager/producer
Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style.
Early life
Loog Oldha ...
had departed. The prolonged recording process was marked by drug use, court appearances, and jail terms by members of the band. The original LP cover features a
lenticular image by photographer
Michael Cooper
Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the boys varsity coach at Culver City High School. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning ...
.
''Satanic Majesties'' received mixed reactions from critics and members of the group itself.
The album was criticised as being derivative of the contemporaneous work of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, particularly their June 1967 release ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', with the similarities extending to the LP's cover. In subsequent decades, however, it has gradually risen in critical reputation. Following the album's release, the Rolling Stones abandoned their psychedelic style for a stripped-down return to their roots in
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
music.
Recording
Recording of ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' began just after the release of ''
Between the Buttons
''Between the Buttons'' is the fifth British and seventh American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 20 January 1967 in the UK and on 11 February in the US as the follow-up to ''Aftermath''. It reflected the St ...
'' on 20 January 1967.
Because of court appearances
[ via the Digital Library of the ]University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
. and jail terms, the entire band was seldom present in the studio at one time, making recording of the album lengthy and disjointed. Band members frequently arrived with guests in tow, further interfering with productivity. One of the more level-headed members of the band during this time,
Bill Wyman
William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...
, wary of psychedelic drugs, wrote the song "
In Another Land
"In Another Land" is a song by the Rolling Stones, released in December 1967 as the first single from the album ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'', and credited solely to Bill Wyman. In America, London Records released it as a single a week ...
" to parody the Stones' current goings-on.
In his 2002 book ''Rolling with the Stones'', Wyman describes the situations in the studio:
![Jagger and Richards (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Jagger_and_Richards_%28cropped%29.png)
The Stones experimented with many new instruments and sound effects during the sessions, including
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
,
theremin
The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
, short wave radio static, and string arrangements by then-future
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
bassist
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
.
[ Their producer and manager ]Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style.
Early life
Loog Oldha ...
, already fed up with the band's lack of focus, distanced himself from them following their drug bust and finally quit, leaving them without a producer. As a result, ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' would be the Stones' first self-produced album. Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
later opined this was not for the best, while expressing disintegration for some of the tracks.
In another interview, Jagger stated:
Some of the album's songs were recorded under various working titles, some appearing radically different from the final titles. These working titles include: "Acid in the Grass" ("In Another Land"), "I Want People to Know" ("2000 Man"), "Flowers in Your Bonnet" ("She's a Rainbow"), "Fly My Kite" ("The Lantern"), "Toffee Apple" ("2000 Light Years from Home"), and "Surprise Me" ("On with the Show").[ In 1998, a ]bootleg
Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to:
* Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially
* Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence:
** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...
box set of eight CDs with outtakes
An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DV ...
from the ''Satanic'' sessions was released, and it shows the band developing the songs over multiple takes as well as the experimentation that went into the recording of the album.
Title and packaging
The working title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
of the album was ''Cosmic Christmas'', or ''The Rolling Stones' Cosmic Christmas'' – in the hidden coda titled "Cosmic Christmas" (following "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)"), Wyman says in a slowed-down voice: "We wish you a merry Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year
New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...
!'" The album was released in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
as ''The Stones Are Rolling'' because of the word "Satanic" in the title.
One proposed cover, a photograph of Jagger naked on a cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
, was scrapped by the record company for being "in bad taste". The initial LP of the album featured a three-dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a Space (mathematics), mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any Point (geometry), point within it. Thus, a Line (geometry), lin ...
al picture of the band on the cover by photographer Michael Cooper
Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the boys varsity coach at Culver City High School. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning ...
. When viewed in a certain way, the lenticular image
Lenticular printing is a technology in which lenticular lenses (a technology also used for 3D displays) are used to produce printed images with an Depth perception, illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as they are viewed from diff ...
shows the band members' faces turning towards each other with the exception of Jagger, whose hands appear crossed in front of him. Looking closely on its cover, one can see the faces of each of the four Beatles, reportedly a response to the Beatles' inclusion of a Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
doll wearing a "Welcome the Rolling Stones" sweater on the cover of ''Sgt. Pepper''. Later editions replaced the glued-on three-dimensional image with a photograph, due to high production costs. A limited edition LP version in the 1980s reprinted the original 3D cover design; immediately following the reissue, it was claimed that the master materials for reprinting the 3D cover were intentionally destroyed, implying that faithful recreations of the cover would no longer be possible, but this has since been proven false by numerous re-issues. The 3D album cover was featured, although shrunk down, for the Japanese SHM-CD release in 2010.
The original cover design called for the lenticular image to take up the entire front cover, but finding this to be prohibitively expensive it was decided to reduce the size of the photo and surround it with the blue-and-white graphic design.
The entire cover design is elaborate, with a dense photo collage filling most of the inside cover (along with a maze) designed by Michael Cooper, and a painting by Tony Meeuwissen on the back cover depicting the four elements
Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simi ...
(Earth, Water, Fire, and Air). In some editions the blue-and-white wisps on the front cover are used in a red-and-white version on the paper inner sleeve. The inner-cover collage has dozens of images, taken from reproductions of old master paintings (Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
, Poussin
Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...
, da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
, among others), Indian mandalas and portraits, astronomy (including a large image of the planet Saturn), flowers, world maps, etc. The maze on the inside cover of the UK and US releases cannot be completed: a wall at about a half radius in from the lower left corner means one can never arrive at the goal labeled "It's Here" in the centre of the maze.
It was the first of four Stones albums to feature a novelty cover; the others were the zipper on ''Sticky Fingers
''Sticky Fingers'' is the 9th British and 11th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The Stones released it on 23 April 1971 on their new, and own label Rolling Stones Records. They had been contracted by Decca ...
'' (1971), the cut-out faces on ''Some Girls
''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...
'' (1978), and the stickers on ''Undercover
To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...
'' (1983).
At some point around 1997 rumors were first heard that the album existed as a promo version including a silk padding. A pink padded version was presented by photo accompanied by a letter from the Decca Copyright Department, but it was shown that the letter does not match the album it was intended to authenticate making it almost entirely certain that this was a forgery.
Release and reception
Released in December 1967, ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in the US (easily going gold), but its commercial performance declined rapidly. It was soon viewed as a pretentious, poorly conceived attempt to outdo the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (released in May 1967), often explained by drug trials and excesses in contemporary musical fashion, although John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
and Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
did provide backing vocals (uncredited) on "We Love You
"We Love You" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones that was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It was first released as a single on 18 August 1967, with "Dandelion" as the B-side. The song peaked at number eight in Bri ...
" (recorded during the ''Satanic Majesties Request'' sessions, but released as a single three months before the album). The Wyman-composed "In Another Land" was released as a single, with the artist credit listed as Bill Wyman, rather than the Rolling Stones (the B-Side, "The Lantern
''The Lantern'' is an independent daily newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, by students at Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000.
Copies of the paper are free and avail ...
", was credited to the Rolling Stones).
The production, in particular, came in for harsh criticism from Jon Landau
Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...
in the fifth issue of ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', and Jimmy Miller
James Miller (March 23, 1942 – October 22, 1994) was an American record producer and musician. While he produced albums for dozens of different bands and artists, he is most closely associated for his work with several key musical acts of t ...
(recommended by the album's engineer, Glyn Johns
Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer.
Biography
Early history
Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...
) was asked to produce the Stones' subsequent albums, on which they would return to the hard driving blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
that earned them fame early in their career. In an April 1968 album review, Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss (March 6, 1944 – April 23, 2015) was an American film critic and magazine editor for ''Time''. He focused on movies, with occasional articles on other subjects.
He was the former editor-in-chief of ''Film Comment' ...
of the ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' was also critical of the production value stating "... their imagination seems to have dried up when it comes to some of the arrangements. While still better than their previous ones, the arrangements are often ragged, fashionably monotonous and off-key." Despite this he gave the album an overall positive review, going as far as calling it a better concept album than '' Of Cabbages and Kings'' (1967, by Chad & Jeremy
Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with " Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following ...
), '' The Beat Goes On'' (1968, by Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On".
The band's original line–up—vocalist a ...
) and even ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967, by the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
). In a 1970 ''Rolling Stone'' interview, Lennon commented on the album: "''Satanic Majesties'' is ''Pepper''. 'We Love You'... that's 'All You Need Is Love
"All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was Britain's contribution t ...
'."
Legacy and reappraisal
{{Album ratings
, title = Retrospective professional reviews
, rev1 = AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, rev1score = {{Rating, 4, 5
, rev2 = ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Kno ...
''
, rev2score = {{Rating, 3, 5
, rev3 = ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''
, rev3Score = C
, rev4 = ''The Great Rock Discography
Martin Charles Strong (born 1960 in Musselburgh) is a Scottish music historian known for compiling discography, discographies of popular music including ''The Great Rock Discography''. Strong has been described in broadsheet newspaper profiles as ...
''
, rev4Score = 5/10
, rev5 = '' Louder''
, rev5Score = {{Rating, 4, 5
, rev6 = "Record Collector
''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide.
History The early years
The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...
''
, rev6score = 4/5
, rev7 = ''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''
, rev7Score = 8/10
, rev8 = ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
''
, rev8score = 7.8/10[
, rev9 = '']The Rolling Stone Album Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
''
, rev9score = {{Rating, 4, 5
, rev10 = ''The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''
, rev10Score = B+[{{cite news, last=Christgau, first=Robert, date=20 December 1976, url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6N9LAAAAIBAJ&pg=6134,4535773, title=Christgau's Consumer Guide to 1967, newspaper=]The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
, page=70, location=New York, access-date=25 December 2013, archive-date=22 February 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222001558/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6N9LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RYsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6134,4535773, url-status=live
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
himself has been critical of the album in later years. While he likes some of the songs ("2000 Light Years from Home
"2000 Light Years from Home" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on their 1967 album ''Their Satanic Majesties Request''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it also appeared as the B-side to the American sin ...
", "Citadel" and "She's a Rainbow
"She's a Rainbow" is a song by the Rolling Stones and was featured on their 1967 album ''Their Satanic Majesties Request''. via the Digital Library of the University of North Texas. It has been called "the prettiest and most uncharacteristic ...
"), he stated, "the album was a load of crap." Mick Jagger disavowed the album in 1995, saying: "it's not very good. It had interesting things on it, but I don't think any of the songs are very good. There's two good songs on it. The rest of them are nonsense." There are only two songs from the album which the Stones performed live, "2000 Light Years from Home" (1989–90 world tour, 2013 Glastonbury Festival), and "She's a Rainbow" (1997–98 Bridges to Babylon Tour and occasionally on concert tours in the late 2010s.)
''Satanic Majesties'' has been reassessed positively by critics. In a retrospective 1977 review, Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
of the ''Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'' stated that the album "no doubt contains several great songs" despite negative reception from some. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
of ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' wrote that "Perhaps psychedelia
Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...
wasn’t a natural fit for the earthbound Stones, but the dissonance between their gritty rhythms and ornate, precocious arrangements is enthralling, not in the least because there’s no other record—by the Stones or anybody else—that sounds quite like this."[{{cite web, title=Their Satanic Majesties Request review, url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-rolling-stones-their-satanic-majesties-request/, website=Pitchfork, access-date=23 September 2017, archive-date=23 September 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923103554/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-rolling-stones-their-satanic-majesties-request/, url-status=live] AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Bob Eder called the mono mix of the album a distinct improvement over the stereo version, describing it as transforming the maligned album into "superb, punky psychedelia." Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
of AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
writes:
{{blockquote, Without a doubt, no Rolling Stones album – and, indeed, very few rock albums from any era – split critical opinion as much as the Rolling Stones' psychedelic outing. Many dismiss the record as sub-''Sgt. Pepper'' posturing; others confess, if only in private, to a fascination with the album's inventive arrangements, which incorporated some African rhythms, Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
s, and full orchestration. What's clear is that never before or after did the Stones take so many chances in the studio…In 1968, the Stones would go back to the basics, and never wander down these paths again, making this all the more of a fascinating anomaly in the group's discography.[{{AllMusic, class=album, id=r16807 , title=''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' , publisher=]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, first=Richie , last=Unterberger , access-date=19 November 2007
''Their Satanic Majesties Request''{{'s opening song "Sing This All Together" was featured in the stage and television productions of '' Paul Sills' Story Theatre'' (1970–71), in particular appearing as the TV version's theme song. This song was also covered by the Swedish band "Shakers" as early as March 1968 on a vinyl single, as the A-side. In 2008 it was included on a CD with "Shakers" entire catalog of songs titled "Samlat Skrammel".{{citation needed, date=February 2020 Todd Tamanend Clark
Prashant jha (born Prashant jha; February 03, 1996) is an Ethical Hacker, Physician, Software developer and activist. He is known for " To save many people from cybercrime , glam fashion consciousness, cyberpunk attitude, and lyrical approa ...
released a proto-cyberpunk version of "2000 Light Years From Home" in 1975. Punk/Goth pioneers The Damned covered "Citadel" on their 1981 ''Friday 13th (EP)
''Friday 13th EP'' is a four-track EP by English rock band the Damned, issued as the result of a one-off deal with the NEMS Records label. It was released on 13 November 1981, which fell on a Friday.
The EP was released in the UK and Swede ...
''; guitarist Captain Sensible
Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Captain Sensible co-founded the punk rock band The Damned (band), the Damned, originally playing bass before switc ...
wanted to cover the entire album but singer Dave Vanian
David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have a ...
thought a single song was enough. California's Redd Kross
Redd Kross is an American rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald while Steve was still in middle school. With the additio ...
also covered "Citadel" on their 1984 ''Teen Babes from Monsanto'' EP. Cibo Matto
Cibo Matto (, Italian for "crazy food") was an American alternative rock band formed by Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in New York City in 1994. Initially, the band's lyrics were primarily concerned with food, before expanding into broader subject ma ...
covered "Sing This All Together" on their album ''Super Relax
''Super Relax'' is an EP by Cibo Matto released in 1997. Four of the nine tracks are versions of the song "Sugar Water" from the group's debut album, ''Viva! La Woman'', and "Spoon" would later appear (in a reworked version) on '' Stereo Type A'' ...
'' (1997). The Ohio punk band Sister Ray included "Citadel" in many of their live sets. Sheffield new wave band The Comsat Angels
The Comsat Angels were an English post-punk band (music), band from Sheffield, England, initially active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with sparse instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled w ...
also covered "Citadel" for BBC ('' Time Considered as a Helix of Precious Stones'') and Dutch (''Unravelled'') radio sessions, and released it as a bonus 12" to "I'm Falling", and on their fifth album, '' 7 Day Weekend''. The Yugoslav band Električni Orgazam
Električni Orgazam ( sr-cyr, Електрични Оргазам, lit=Electric Orgasm, translit=) is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Originally starting as a combination of new wave, punk rock and post-punk, the band later slowly changed th ...
covered the song "Citadel" in 1983 on their cover album ''Les Chansones Populaires
''Les Chansones Populaires'' ( French for ''Popular Songs'') is the third studio album by the Serbian/ Yugoslavian new wave band Električni Orgazam. It was released in 1983 by Jugoton. The album contains nine covers of popular English language s ...
''. American neo-psychedelic band The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990.
The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called '' Dig!'', and have gained media noto ...
paid tribute to the album with their fourth album ''Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request
''Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request'' is the fourth studio album by American psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre. It was released on June 18, 1996, by record label Tangible and distributed by Bomp! Records, and is the second ...
''. "2000 Man" was covered by KISS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
on their 1979 album ''Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
'' featuring lead guitarist Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...
on lead vocals.
In August 2002, ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'' was reissued in a new remastered CD, LP and DSD by ABKCO Records
ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is a major American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the A ...
.[{{Cite news , last=Walsh , first=Christopher , title=Super audio CDs: The Rolling Stones Remastered , newspaper=Billboard , pages=27 , date=24 August 2002] In May 2011, the album was reissued on SHM-SACD
Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips, Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format.
The SACD format allows mul ...
.{{citation needed, date=February 2020 In 2017, a set containing two LPs (mono/stereo) as well as two SACDs (mono/stereo) was released. For the first time since the 2006 Japanese SACD
Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips, Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format.
The SACD format allows mul ...
release, the original 3D cover was recreated. In 2018, the album was reissued as part of the Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
. The release contained a remastered stereo version of the album pressed on transparent colored vinyl (180g) and also featured the 3D-style sleeve.
Track listing
{{Tracklist
, all_writing = Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
, except "In Another Land" by Bill Wyman
William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...
, headline = Side one
, title1 = Sing This All Together
, length1 = 3:46
, title2 = Citadel
, length2 = 2:50
, title3 = In Another Land
"In Another Land" is a song by the Rolling Stones, released in December 1967 as the first single from the album ''Their Satanic Majesties Request'', and credited solely to Bill Wyman. In America, London Records released it as a single a week ...
, length3 = 3:15
, title4 = 2000 Man
, length4 = 3:07
, title5 = Sing This All Together (See What Happens)
, note5 = hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...
"Cosmic Christmas" starts at 7:54
, length5 = 8:33
, total_length = 21:31
{{Tracklist
, headline = Side two
, title6 = She's a Rainbow
"She's a Rainbow" is a song by the Rolling Stones and was featured on their 1967 album ''Their Satanic Majesties Request''. via the Digital Library of the University of North Texas. It has been called "the prettiest and most uncharacteristic ...
, length6 = 4:35
, title7 = The Lantern
''The Lantern'' is an independent daily newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, by students at Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000.
Copies of the paper are free and avail ...
, length7 = 4:24
, title8 = Gomper
, length8 = 5:08
, title9 = 2000 Light Years from Home
"2000 Light Years from Home" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on their 1967 album ''Their Satanic Majesties Request''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it also appeared as the B-side to the American sin ...
, length9 = 4:45
, title10 = On with the Show
, length10 = 3:40
, total_length = 22:32
Personnel
Source:[{{cite book, last1=Margotin, first1=Philippe, last2=Guesdon, first2=Jean-Michel, title=Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KwEsDAAAQBAJ, date=25 October 2016, publisher=Hachette Books, isbn=978-0-316-31773-3, pages=203–237, access-date=24 July 2017, archive-date=19 August 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819140434/https://books.google.com/books?id=KwEsDAAAQBAJ, url-status=live]
The Rolling Stones
* Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
– lead vocals {{small, (all but 3), backing vocals {{small, (3), percussion {{small, (8), maraca
A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair.
Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...
s {{small, (2, 9, 10), tambourine {{small, (6)
* Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
– electric guitar {{small, (1, 2, 4–10), backing vocals {{small, (3, 7–9), acoustic guitar {{small, (3, 4, 6, 7), bass guitar {{small, (1, 2, 9, 10)
* Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
– Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
{{small, (1–3, 5–7, 9, 10), flute {{small, (5), saxophone {{small, (1, 2), vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...
{{small, (5), jew's harp {{small, (5), organ {{small, (7), electric dulcimer
An electric dulcimer is a dulcimer that uses an electric pickup to amplify its sound, similar to an electric guitar. They come in a number of different sizes, styles, and types. The most common type is the electric Appalachian dulcimer, but elec ...
{{small, (4, 8, 9), recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
{{small, (8), harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
{{small, (10)
* Bill Wyman
William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...
– bass guitar, lead vocals {{small, (3), organ {{small, (3)
* Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...
– drums {{small, (1–7, 9, 10), tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
{{small, (8)
Additional personnel
* Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
– piano {{small, (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10), organ {{small, (4), harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
{{small, (3, 6)
* John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
– string arrangement {{small, (6)
* Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73).
Lane formed Small Faces in ...
– backing vocals {{small, (3)
* Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted po ...
– backing vocals {{small, (3)
* Eddie Kramer
Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a British recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppel ...
– claves {{small, (9)
Charts
{, class="wikitable"
!align="left", Year
!align="left", Chart
!align="left", Position
, -
, align="left", 1967
, align="left" , Finland ''Soumen Virallinen'' LPs Chart[{{cite book , last=Nyman , first=Jake , title=Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja , publisher=Tammi , year=2005 , isbn=951-31-2503-3 , edition=1st , location=Helsinki , page=240, language=fi]
, style="text-align:center;", 7
, -
, align="left", 1967
, align="left", UK Albums Chart[Everyhit.com]
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025234857/http://www.everyhit.com/ , date=25 October 2015 Type "Rolling Stones" under ''"Name of Artist"''
, align="center", 3
, -
, align="left", 1967
, align="left", French SNEP Albums Chart[{{cite web, url=http://infodisc.fr/Album_R.php, title=InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste, language=fr, publisher=infodisc.fr, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126084927/http://infodisc.fr/Album_R.php, archive-date=26 January 2016'' Note: user must select 'The Rolling Stones' from drop-down.'']
, align="center", 1
, -
, align="left", 1968
, align="left", ''Billboard'' 200[{{AllMusic, class=artist, id=p5298, label=The Rolling Stones]
, align="center", 2
, -
, align="left", 1968
, align="left", Australian Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, align="center", 1
, -
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top, caption=Sales certifications for ''Their Satanic Majesties Request''
{{Certification Table Entry, region=United Kingdom, artist=Rolling Stones, title=Their Satanic Majesties Request, award=Silver, type=album, relyear=1967, certyear=2019, id=15961-44-2, access-date=18 October 2019
{{Certification Table Entry, region=United States, artist=The Rolling Stones, title=Their Satanic Majesty's Request, award=Gold, type=album, relyear=1967, certyear=1967, access-date=18 October 2019
{{Certification Table Bottom, nosales=true , streaming=true
Notes
{{Notelist
References
{{reflist, 30em
Further reading
* {{Pop Chronicles, 46, 5, Brian Jones & Mick Jagger
External links
* {{Discogs master, type=album, 54327
{{The Rolling Stones
{{The Rolling Stones albums
{{Authority control
1967 albums
The Rolling Stones albums
Decca Records albums
London Records albums
Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios
ABKCO Records albums
Psychedelic rock albums by English artists
Psychedelic pop albums
Acid rock albums