The Rolling Stones
Their Satanic Majesties Request

THE REVIEW

The Rolling Stones are not my favorite band: in their best lineup (the one with Mick Taylor), they would be around the 10th place among those I listen to most.

However, they are certainly the ones I've been listening to the longest: after all, a first love is never forgotten!

So now that we are talking about them again, both, unfortunately, because of the loss of Charlie Watts and because of the encounter with Maneskin (the Italian group of the moment), I thought of reviewing some of their albums: partly to have the chance to listen to them again, and partly, I hope, to help some younger friend who would like to deepen their knowledge but feels a bit lost given their vast production (the truth is their best period is relatively short).

Why start with "Their Satanic Majesties Request," an album criticized by critics, disowned by the Stones themselves, and not even with my favorite lineup?

Well, for sentimental reasons (it was, among other things, the first LP I bought), because it is a unique example in the British group's production, but above all because it is emblematic of a period when all of Rock was evolving from a phenomenon of pure entertainment to a phenomenon with artistic aspirations. I talk about aspirations because everything began by following a trend: Psychedelia. However, this trend was demanding: it required more expensive instruments, increasingly sophisticated electronic effects were used, complex arrangements with entire orchestral sections were required, song durations were longer, etc. Moreover, psychedelic music presupposed greater involvement of the listener: hence more importance to live concerts, along with the need to replicate fairly faithfully live what had been created in the studio.

This is how evolved Rock genres were born: Progressive, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Jazz Rock, etc. But many were the groups that preferred to return to the origins: to Blues, perhaps enriched with new elements taken from Folk, Country, and World Music. Among these, of course, are our friends, the Rolling Stones.

In "Their Satanic Majesties Request," precisely to incorporate the experiments suggested by the psychedelic trend, much space was given to Brian Jones: the multi-instrumentalist, in search of his role within the group, manages to make his most significant personal contribution here (it will be the last time, then he will end up excluding himself from the project he was one of the founders of).

Bill Wyman will also have the (unique) opportunity to make a contribution as a musician at 360 degrees: afterwards, he would return to limit himself (so to speak) to his role as a bassist.

But despite these elements of uniqueness, in some tracks of the vinyl, the unmistakable "sound" of the Stones of the origins is still recognizable: I am referring especially to "Citadel" and "2000 Light Years from Home" (which will remain for years in the live concert setlist). In other tracks, folk and country elements are inserted, which will be more present in the subsequent album "Beggars Banquet": I am referring to "2000 Man" (of which a cover will be made by Kiss), "The Lantern," and "Gomper."

Finally, noteworthy is "She's a Rainbow" for the use of the mellotron, played by Brian Jones, the piano part performed by Nicky Hopkins, and the string arrangement by John Paul Jones, future bassist and keyboardist of Led Zeppelin.