Their Satanic Majesties Request

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Their Satanic Majesties Request

Studio album by The Rolling Stones
Released	8 December 1967
Recorded	9 February - 23 October 1967
Genre	Psychedelic Rock
Length	44:06
Label	Decca/ABKCO (UK) ABKCO (US)
Producer(s)	The Rolling Stones
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B+) link
The Rolling Stones chronology
Between the Buttons (1967 UK) Flowers (1967 US)	Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)	Beggars Banquet (1968)

Their Satanic Majesties Request is a psychedelic rock album by The Rolling Stones recorded and released in 1967. Its title is a play on the "Her Britannic Majesty requests and requires..." text that appears inside a British passport. Also, if one was to look very closely at the cover one would see the faces of all four members of The Beatles hidden in the two bottom corners of the album.

[edit] History

Begun just after Between the Buttons had been released, the recording of Their Satanic Majesties Request was a long and sporadic one, broken up by court appearances and jail terms. Starting with this release, non-compilation albums from the band would be released in uniform editions across international markets.

Released in December 1967, Their Satanic Majesties Request was not well-received, being often viewed as a pretentious, poorly conceived attempt to outdo The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (released June 1967). Reaching #3 in the UK and #2 in the US (easily going gold) the album sold well initially, but its commercial performance declined rapidly. The response of the audience and the growing rejection of the flower power scene by Jagger and Richards would mean a turning point for the Stones; in 1968 the Stones would return to the hard driving blues that earned them fame early in their career.

In retrospect this is a unique and creative contribution by the Stones. It reflects the experimental proclivities and eclectic musical interests of Brian Jones and session arranger and future Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones. It indicates a free-wheeling direction that the group could have taken but rejected for a safer folk and country inspired sound. Like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band it reflects the psychedelic mood of the era. Unlike Sgt. Pepper, Their Satanic Majesties Request was considered a failure at the time. This album was held in particularly high esteem by the Rolling Stones-inspired band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who paid tribute to it through the release of their 1995 album, Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request.

Initial releases of the album featured a three-dimensional picture of the band on the cover, the first of four Stones albums to feature a novelty cover (the others were the zipper on Sticky Fingers, the cut-out faces on Some Girls, and the stickers on Undercover). Later editions replaced the glued-on 3-dimensional image with a standard photo.

Hard rock artists KISS covered "2,000 Man" on their 1979 album Dynasty, with guitarist Ace Frehley providing lead vocals. This version was notably longer, clocking in at nearly 5 minutes.

There are only two songs from the album which the Rolling Stones performed live, 2,000 lightyears from home (1989 U.S. Tour and 1990 Tour of Europe), and She's a rainbow.

In August 2002 Their Satanic Majesties Request was reissued in a new remastered CD, LP and SACD digipak by ABKCO Records.

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted.

"Sing This All Together" – 3:47
"Citadel" – 2:51
"In Another Land" (Bill Wyman) – 3:14
- The first appearance of a Bill Wyman song on an official Rolling Stones album. "Downtown Suzie" from Metamorphosis would be the second (and last) song written by Wyman to be recorded and released by the Stones
- Concludes with a recording of Wyman snoring
- Steve Marriott of the Small Faces is featured on guitar and backing vocals
"2000 Man" – 3:08
- Featured in the Wes Anderson film "Bottle Rocket"
"Sing This All Together (See What Happens)" – 8:34
- Contains a hidden coda entitled "Cosmic Christmas"
- John Lennon and Paul McCartney have long been rumoured to have provided backing vocals on tracks 1 & 5, and on the SACD release of 2002 a voice resembling that of Lennon's can clearly be heard
"She's a Rainbow" – 4:35
- Strings arranged by John Paul Jones
"The Lantern" – 4:23
"Gomper" – 5:09
"2000 Light Years from Home" – 4:45
"On With The Show" – 3:39

[edit] External links

Their Satanic Majesties Request

v • d • e Albums by The Rolling Stones
UK studio albums 1964-1967	The Rolling Stones \| The Rolling Stones No. 2 \| Out of Our Heads \| Aftermath \| Between the Buttons
US studio albums 1964-1967	England's Newest Hitmakers \| 12 X 5 \| The Rolling Stones, Now! \| Out of Our Heads \| December's Children (And Everybody's) \| Aftermath \| Between the Buttons \| Flowers
Studio albums 1967-present	Their Satanic Majesties Request \| Beggars Banquet \| Let It Bleed \| Sticky Fingers \| Exile on Main St. \| Goats Head Soup \| It's Only Rock'n Roll \| Black and Blue \| Some Girls \| Emotional Rescue \| Tattoo You \| Undercover \| Dirty Work \| Steel Wheels \| Voodoo Lounge \| Bridges to Babylon \| A Bigger Bang
UK EPs	The Rolling Stones \| Five by Five \| got LIVE if you want it!
Live albums	Got Live if You Want It! \| Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert \| Love You Live \| "Still Life" (American Concert 1981) \| Flashpoint \| Stripped \| No Security \| Live Licks
Compilations	Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) \| Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) \| Made in the Shade \| Sucking in the Seventies \| Rewind (1971-1984) \| Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones \| Forty Licks \| Rarities 1971-2003
Post-contract ABKCO albums	Hot Rocks 1964-1971 \| More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) \| Metamorphosis \| Singles Collection: The London Years\| The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus \| Singles 1963-1965 \| Singles 1965-1967 \| Singles 1968-1971
Miscellaneous	Jamming with Edward