The Rolling Stones' classic album "Beggars Banquet"

"Beggars Banquet" is the legendary classic album by The Rolling Stones. The studio work of the iconic rock band saw the light of day towards the end of 1968: the record marked the Rolling Stones' return to their rhythm and blues roots, which pleased their loyal fans... Almost all of the songs were written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. "Beggars Banquet" was also the last album recorded with the participation of Brian Jones, who tragically died in the summer of 1969... Let's remember the story of its creation.

Style, content...

Today, most critics call "Beggars Banquet" the best record of The Rolling Stones' career... And indeed: it is a great album in every way: a great rock'n'roll record, a significant achievement in both lyrics and music! "The Rolling Stones can be justly proud of this work, with which they marked a return to their more classical sound after previous psychedelic experiments. As the band themselves stated, "Beggars Banquet" "changed everything for The Rolling Stones".

One of the interesting features of the sessions was that Mick sang live a lot - that is, he recorded the vocal track at the same time as the instrumental tracks, rather than layering vocals on top of an already recorded number. This little thing intangibly but definitely improves the feel and sound of the record. Another notable aspect of the album was the portraits that the band commissioned photographer Michael Joseph for the spread cover. The photos, reminiscent of the work of the old masters, show The Rolling Stones dressed in outlandish clothing that seemed to blend the Swinging 60's in London with Dickensian villains.

"Beggars Banquet" is a cohesive work in style and spirit, and all tracks are easily recognisable in their own right - because each with their own differences. "Factory Girl" is a simple song with a very simple lyric about a cat waiting in the rain for her owner, Factory Girl. This number, by the way, features a country violin. "Parachute Woman" is only at first glance a moderate blues, but it's actually an R&B number with a strong echo of harmonica... Although this record marked the beginning of perfection for The Rolling Stones, this album marked the last appearance of the band's founder and original leader, Brian Jones, who drowned seven months after the release of "Beggars Banquet" at the age of 27....

Prerequisites...

Mick Jagger brought the unmixed master tapes for the new album to Los Angeles in mid-July 1968. With him came Jimmy Miller, a 27-year-old American who had been the producer of all the bands Steve Winwood had been in, and whom the Stones had signed to help them with the album. Mick also brought with him the cover artwork for the upcoming album, which largely inspired the title of the record... The best shot for the double spread photo on the inside was a picture of the Stones dressed as ragamuffins: they are all seated around a huge dinner table in some kind of castle, with fantastic scenery and atmosphere... The photo will be printed in dark brown shades, and only some things (like cherries in a bowl) will be coloured pink, like postcards from the 1920s. Although the record itself was recorded at Olympic Studios in London back in the spring, they brought it back to California for finalisation. The material had already been mixed once in London, but they were so unhappy with it that they called Glyn Jones, their in-house engineer, to redo the mix. Jones was in Los Angeles producing the second Steve Miller Band album, and Mick brought the tapes there: they were mixed in mid-July from evening until four or five in the morning for about a week, after the Miller Band sessions at Studio 3 in Hollywood. There, behind the walls of Studio 3, the Stones had recorded parts of their early albums two and three years earlier.

Song list

"Sympathy for the Devil"

The album's famous opening track, "Sympathy For The Devil", was written while Mick Jagger was reading about the occult. He and Keith Richards - who co-wrote nine of the ten tracks for "Beggars Banquet" - originally gave the song the less shocking working title "The Devil Is My Name". In their powerful lyrics, the Stones present the appearance of Satan at crucial moments in history: there are references to the crucifixion of Christ, the Russian Revolution, World War II and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Musically, the song is also notable for the piano work of session master Nicky Hopkins.

"No Expectations."

"No Expectations" is probably the best of the songs in the classic song sense. It's a very cohesive country-style ballad, but very smooth. The lyric is simple but elegant:

"Take me to the airport,
Put him on a plane.
I have no hope of passing through here again..."

"Dear Doctor."

"Parachute Woman"

"Jigsaw Puzzle"

This track shows a strong Dylan influence:

"There's a tramp sitting on my doorstep,
Who's trying to waste his time.....
He's a walking rope.
And here's the bishop's daughter
On the other side.
She looks a little jealous.
She's been an outcast her whole life..."

"Street Fighting Man"

"Prodigal Son"

"The Prodigal Son" is almost a biblical story about a son who leaves home and then returns. It's sung in a modern formulation, although some things, are taken straight from the Bible. Mick sings it in a deep southern voice accompanied by harp and acoustic guitar.

"Stray Cat Blues"

"Factory Girl."

"Salt of the Earth"

"Beggars Banquet" features many brilliant guitar solos by Richards, who said at the time that the five-string tuning he discovered for the sessions helped him improve his playing. Richards recalled:

"The adjustment really encouraged me, it changed my life. I got into a kind of buffer. I just really thought I wasn't getting anything out of direct concert tuning..."

Richards also used the technique on later Stones hits such as "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Start Me Up". As for "Beggars Banquet," the only song not written by Jagger and Richards was "Prodigal Son," composed by Mississippi bluesman Robert Wilkins back in 1929. Wilkins was 72 years old when the Stones paid tribute to his work, and he was enjoying an increase in royalties. Each track on the album took between three or four and eight or nine hours to complete. Most of the songs were written in advance, so studio time wasn't taken up with fuss. One track is currently untitled, but it was originally titled "Silver Blanket".

Conclusion...

"Beggars Banquet" is a first-class rock 'n' roll work that also exemplifies the core musical and aesthetic values of the genre. These values were present in all the great rock 'n' roll records of the past, and it is likely that their importance will not fade with the passage of time... "Perfect art! That satisfying spontaneity that can only be achieved through deep reflection..." - the perfect description of this iconic record!