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Rating: "Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long time
stole many souls and took much faith from men"
A tribal drumming that lasts for 6 minutes and 23 seconds, animalistic and unsettling screams. Jagger's voice and Hopkins' piano. Four chords. A blazing yet calm beginning that in an instrumental and vocal crescendo explodes into one of the best electric guitar solos by Richards and in rock as a whole. And it fades slowly...
This is how "Beggars Banquet" opens, the best, the most varied, the most innovative, the most scandalous and shocking album by the Stones: with "Sympathy for the Devil"; is there really a need to translate it? The Devil, personified by an ever-luciferian and sarcastic Jagger, presents himself to the world. And he does so with great courtesy and a hint of presumption, boasting of his numerous successes and pointing the finger at men, engaged through the centuries in fighting and dying "for the gods they themselves had created". He was there, when Jesus Christ wandered in doubt and pain, and personally ensured that "Pilate washed his hands, thus sealing His fate"; he was around St. Petersburg when he saw that "it was time for changes"; he was there at Kennedy's death. Is it a world dominated by evil? Surely dominated by a superior entity, which clearly is not the one expected by the religious and believers. This "demonic sabbat" created a lot of uproar in its time and was censored multiple times. And the Stones were accused of satanism and whatnot. It is truly said that ignorance breeds terror and fanaticism...
A sweet acoustic guitar opens "No Expectations". It's a "ballad" with a much calmer rhythm than the previous track. The "tough and dirty" Rolling Stones demonstrate here more than in other compositions their value as "songwriters" and their ability to easily step out of the pure and raw "rock song". Jagger's voice is more melancholic and of incredible depth, the piano inserts dialogue with the guitar in a heavenly union. It's about love, broken love, fickle love, love "like water flowing over a rock". A love disappointment, then. A love disappointment that needs healing. "Help me please doctor! Can you put my heart back in place?". The 3 minutes and 24 seconds of "Dear Doctor" lead us towards similar but more ironic themes, highlighted by a more "sing-song" sound and a spectacular falsetto voice halfway through the track. The Richards-Jagger vocal duet works very well and is accompanied by a simple acoustic guitar riff that is engraved in the mind at first listen and a perfectly fitting harmonica.
The following "Parachute Woman" is one of the less successful tracks of the album. A pounding rhythm of guitar and harmonica accompanies Jagger's voice which ranges between high and low tones. The brief harmonica "solo" at the end is worth noting. Of a completely different caliber is "Jigsaw Puzzle", one of the best tracks on the album. The ever-present Hopkins’ piano plays a fundamental role here and matches perfectly with Richards' slide. The lyrics are a collection of hallucinated visions, linked together without an apparent logical thread.
We are halfway through the album. The themes and tones have been many and manifold. But let's not forget we're in the summer of '68, the year of protest, clashes, occupied universities. "It's the right time for fighting in the street, boy" (but is it really so...? ). "Street Fighting Man" gives voice to the youth movement of that time, with considerable musical energy but with a hint of regret. Because in "sleepy London" there's no more place for a "man fighting in the street". The only alternative to rebel against the system and scandalize the bourgeois and the prudes is to sing things in a rock band that were previously unsayable. And that's exactly what the Stones did. And they did it excellently. Just look at the lyrics of "Stray Cat Blues". Musically, the song adds nothing new to the Stones' sound. Blues influences and hard rock anticipations, classic chord progression, distorted guitars and Richards' final solo. It's the lyrics that are the real novelty. Of unprecedented violence and rawness. Who is speaking is none other than a pedophile addressing a boy no older than fifteen. "Oh yes, you're like a stray cat... I bet your mother doesn't know you scream like that... doesn't know you spit like that... doesn't know you bite like that... you're so far from home but your mother doesn't care that much...".
The elegy of "Factory Girl" brings us back to calmer themes, though not without a certain "social protest". The girl mentioned works in a factory, has no money, her trousers are torn and her clothes are stained. The album closes with the chorus of "Salt Of The Earth, a toast to those who are part of this world but are excluded from it, to the workers, the regular soldiers and their families. A choral prayer, an anthem of hope, a glimmer of light. Hopkins' piano is sublime, Richards' slide is engaging, Jagger's voice is moving. The worthy conclusion of a timeless album.
I don't want to linger any longer praising the musical and historical importance of this album. I'd rather spend a few words on the cover. At its time, it was obviously a scandal. Nothing more than the wall of any public bathroom, covered with anonymous writings. But is it really just this? Personally, I see in this image an "ode to the ugly", a work worthy to stand alongside the great masterpieces of pop art (not for nothing the cover of another Stones album, "Sticky Fingers", was designed by Andy Warhol) and at the same time a highlight of the loss of values of the time. It reads: Bob Dylan's dream, LOVE, the peace symbol. But where are they written? On a squalid wall of an even more squalid bathroom. It's the destruction of the hippie myth "peace & love", reduced to mere writings and juxtaposed with symbols of questionable taste. The "swinging sixties" are nearing their end… but that's another story.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Sympathy for the Devil (06:25)
Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for long, long years
Stole many man's soul and faith
I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out
"Who killed the Kennedys?"
When after all
It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reach Bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint
So if you meet me, have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, mmm yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, mmm yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, mmm mean it, get down
Tell me baby, what's my name?
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name?
Tell me baby, what's my name?
I tell you one time, you're to blame
What's my name?
Tell me baby, what's my name?
Tell me sweetie, what's my name?
02 No Expectations (04:00)
M. Jagger/K. Richards)
Take me to the station
And put me on a train
I've got no expectations
To pass through here again
Once I was a rich man and
Now I am so poor
But never in my sweet short life
Have I felt like this before
You heart is like a diamond
You throw your pearls at swine
And as I watch you leaving me
You pack my peace of mind
Our love was like the water
That splashes on a stone
Our love is like our music
Its here, and then its gone
So take me to the airport
And put me on a plane
I got no expectations
To pass through here again
06 Street Fighting Man (03:16)
Ev'rywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy
'Cause summer's here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy
But a-what can a poor boy do
'Cept to sing for a rock 'n' roll band
'Cause in sleepy London town
There's just no place for a street fighting man, no
Hey, think the time is right for a palace revolution
'Cause where I live the game to play is compromise solution
Well then what can a poor boy do
'Cept to sing for a rock 'n' roll band
'Cause in sleepy London town
There's no place for a street fighting man, no
Get down!
Hey, said my name is called disturbance
I'll shout and scream, I'll kill the king, I'll rail at all his servants
And then what can a poor boy do
'Cept to sing for a rock 'n' roll band
'Cause in sleepy London town
There's no place for a street fighting man, no
Get down!
07 Prodigal Son (02:53)
(Rev. Wilkins)
Well a poor boy took his father's bread and started down the road
Started down the road
Took all he had and started down the road
Going out in this world, where God only knows
And that'll be the way to get along
Well poor boy spent all he had, famine come in the land
Famine come in the land
Spent all he had and famine come in the land
Said, "I believe I'll go and hire me to some man"
And that'll be the way I'll get along
Well, man said, "I'll give you a job for to feed my swine
For to feed my swine
I'll give you a job for to feed my swine"
Boy stood there and hung his head and cried
`Cause that is no way to get along
Said, "I believe I'll ride, believe I'll go back home
Believe I'll go back home
Believe I'll ride, believe I'll go back home
Or down the road as far as I can go"
And that'll be the way to get along
Well, father said, "See my son coming home to me
Coming home to me"
Father ran and fell down on his knees
Said, "Sing and praise, Lord have mercy on me"
Mercy
Oh poor boy stood there, hung his head and cried
Hung his head and cried
Poor boy stood and hung his head and cried
Said, "Father will you look on me as a child?"
Yeah
Well father said, "Eldest son, kill the fatted calf,
Call the family round
Kill that calf and call the family round
My son was lost but now he is found
'Cause that's the way for us to get along"
Hey
08 Stray Cat Blues (04:38)
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)
I hear the click-clack of your feet on the stairs
I know you're no scare-eyed honey.
There'll be a feast if you just come upstairs
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
I can see that you're fifteen years old
No I don't want your I.D.
You look so rest-less and you're so far from home
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Oh yeah, don'tcha scratch like that
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Bet your mama don't know you scream like that
I bet your mother don't know you can spit like that.
You look so weird and you're so far from home
But you don't really miss your mother
Don't look so scared I'm no mad-brained bear
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
Oh, yeah
Woo!
I bet your mama don't know that you scatch like that
I bet she don't know you can bite like that.
You say you got a friend, that she's wilder than you
Why don't you bring her upstairs
If she's so wild then she can join in too
It's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Oh yeah, don'tcha scratch like that
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
I bet you mama don't know you can bite like that
I'll bet she never saw you scratch my back
10 Salt of the Earth (04:51)
M. Jagger/K. Richards)
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth
And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
In fact, they look so strange
Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let's drink to the uncounted heads
Let's think of the wavering millions
Who need leaders but get gamblers instead
Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio
And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
Or don't they look so strange
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the two thousand million
Let's think of the humble of birth
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