Marking its 55th anniversary today is one of the most controversial LPs by the Rolling Stones, Their Satanic Majesties Request, which was released on December 8th, 1967. It was the band’s one and only full blown foray into psychedelic music, a move which resulted in accusations of them creating a “second hand Sgt. Pepper”, while offering some of the band’s most inventive, adventurous music.
Production on the album stared way back in January of ’67 and dragged on throughout the year thanks to a combination of ongoing legal issues and sheer self indulgent chaos. Various band members were regularly being distracted by court appearances and jail time, which meant that it was rare for the entire band to find themselves working in the studio at the same time. When band members did show up, it was often with entourages in tow, further compromising productivity. One of the most level headed band members, Bill Wyman, had this to say about the album’s production:
“Every day at the studio it was a lottery as to who would turn up and what – if any – positive contribution they would make when they did. Keith would arrive with anywhere up to ten people, Brian with another half-a-dozen and it was the same for Mick. They were assorted girlfriends and friends. I hated it! Then again, so did Andrew (Oldham - band manager) and (he) just gave up on it. There were times when I wish I could have done, too.”
Wyman channeled his frustration into the song, In Another Land, which parodied the mayhem and confusion of the sessions. With the band’s manager bailing, the group were left to their own devices to try to cobble together an album in the midst of all the drug addled madness. Retrospectively, the group has recognized the shortcomings of the experience and the effect on the final product. Jagger stated:
“It’s really like sort of got-together chaos. Because we all panicked a little, even as soon as a month before the release date that we had planned, we really hadn't got anything put together. We had all these great things that we'd done, but we couldn't possibly put it out as an album. And so we just got them together, and did a little bit of editing here and there.”
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."
Along with Jagger’s harsh appraisal, critics and fans were sharply divided by the album with some praising its risks while others dismissed it as a rip-off of Sgt. Pepper. Personally, I find it one of the group’s most intriguing albums with some of my favorite songs from the band. Citadel, She’s a Rainbow and 2000 Light Years from Home offer a triptych of psychedelic perfection and are worth the price of admission alone. Yes, there are sloppy indulgences like Sing This All Together and On With the Show, but I think it’s unfair to slag it as a “lesser Pepper”. For me, the two LPs are like sides of a coin. Where The Beatles offer the “lighter” side of the LSD experience, The Stones, as was often their role in the dichotomy between the two bands, lured the listener into the darker recesses of psychedelia. The two should be taken together as offering a complete spectrum of the drug culture.
The album’s title and cover were also sources of controversy, comparison and criticism. The title, which was a play on the "Her Britannic Majesty requests and requires..." text that appears inside a British passport, had to be modified for some markets due to the term “Satanic”. The album was released in South Africa and the Philippines as “The Stones Are Rolling” in order to avoid offense to the more religious public. The original cover concept for the album was to have a photograph of Jagger naked on a cross, but that was scrapped as being too crass. They ultimately settled on an idea which, again, drew comparisons to Sgt. Pepper, but AGAIN, if you understand the friendly rivalry between the bands, makes perfect sense as you find numerous references in each to the other band. The Beatles cover had “welcome the Rolling Stones” written on a doll's jumper while the Stones had photos of The Beatles interspersed among the flowers. It was all done in fun and to make light of the supposed rivalry between the bands. Original pressings of the cover featured a “3D” effect, which was intended to be used for the entire front cover, but had to be scaled back because of the expense. In the end, the group photo got reduced and is surrounded by a psychedelic boarder graphic with the photo affixed to the center.
After this album, the band would turn sharply away from any further dabbling with psychedelia & overt experimentation in their music and return to their raw blues roots. It's a move which would define the rest of their career and contribute to the departure of Brian Jones, who's multi-instrumental prowess was largely responsible for driving the groups more adventurous arrangements. With that being the case, Satanic Majesties Request becomes a bizarre detour in the group’s musical canon. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic summed it up thusly:
“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, Mellotrons, 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.”
