A few weeks ago a friend of mine (yes,
Col) asked why I hadn’t written a blog for some time. Well, the official reason
is I came to the end of my creativeness and was becoming a bit self-obsessed
with the current shit state of modern music. You tend to run out of things when
you get to my age – examples being hair! But, when I was listening to Beggars
Banquet a few weeks back, I felt it deserved the Mol’s Sound Words
treatment.
The Stones released Beggars Banquet in
the 6th December of 1968. It was a career defining moment!! It was, in a sense,
the last true blues album they were to release!
The record was launched to the press
that combined with many bottles of red wine and a massive cream pie fight! One
of the great PR stunts of all time if you ask me!!
Many people recognise Sympathy for the
Devil as the main ‘single’, but there is so much more to enjoy, respect and
consider when thinking about the future of The Stones
Cast your minds back to Satisfaction
and the heady days of The Stones’ rise to fame and you will hear a band that
were infamously finding their feet (albeit glittered in number ones and run ins
with the law and the establishment) – they had arrived!
But, if you consider the
‘satisfaction’ era and the link with the ‘Jumping Jack Flash’/’Gimme Shelter’
era, you will find a completely different band on Beggars Banquet that is
nicely sandwiched in between them!
Beggars Banquet was, if you like, a
cross over and a turning point between the singles success of the 60’s to the
excess and outright genius of the late 60’s and early 70’s that, in my opinion,
defined The Stones at their very best, darkest and controversial that would
culminate with the death of peace and love in the bloodbath that turned out to
be Altamont
While The Stones were enjoying their
post-Jumpin’ Jack Flash heyday, Led Zeppelin released Led Zeppelin 1. A great
great album, I’m sure you’ll agree, but The Stones, maybe jealous of their
adversaries, went back to their roots by releasing Beggars Banquet. But during
this recording, they edged nearer to a darker more menacing side that was
beginning to show up on tracks such as Paint it Black and Have You Seen Your
Mother Baby (Standing in the Shadows). You could say the Stone’s had a lot to
thanks Led Zeppelin for
Brian Jones was considered early on
the Stones’ career as the leader up to this point, but was slowly slipping into
an un-controllable drug fuelled nightmare that would ultimately prove his
undoing and his sad death! Although penning many singles successes before this,
Mick & Keith took the reins at this stage and went onto work on Beggars
Banquet
Another outcome of the downfall of
Brian Jones would result in the Stone’s greatest asset – the arrival of Mick
Taylor! Taylor, an all together different musician and human being to Jones,
would bring a silky guitar style that would, in itself, compliment the guitar
style of Keith Richards over the coming years. I’m sure Jones’ death wasn’t
coincidental, but the outcome did produce one of the greatest musical backbones
a band will ever see!!
The songs
There have been many comments and
films about the opening track on Beggars Banquet - Sympathy for the Devil. A
truly wonderful song steeped in controversy and outstanding lyrics from a
resurgent Jagger who was slowly becoming the mouthpiece for the younger
generation who was beginning to stand up to the establishment (which he has
sadly become a member of!). On Sympathy, Jagger examines the talking points of
the time to ask the question – if there is so much trouble in the world ranging
from the war in Vietman to the assassination of the Kennedys, then surely the
devil DOES exist. Whether this is the true meaning of the song, who knows! But
I’m sure Jagger would like to think his lyrics were indeed about ‘Mr D’
But, in my opinion, Street Fighting
Man is one of the greatest (if not the best) protest song of all time and see
The Stones at their very best! Jagger – screeching, snarling like an escaped
lunatic, is simply outstanding! Gimme Shelter aside, this is quite possibly his
finest moment as a singer
The opening acoustic riff grips you in
the same way as any other great intro such as My Generation by The Who or
Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin does – right in the bollocks!! You stand up! You
wake up! There is no doubt that this song fuelled the protest movement of the
late 60’s – and rightly so!!
But the true beauty of Street Fighting
Man is not the fact that it’s a gritty, tough and powerful war cry to the
protest movements who were clashing with the brutal American police over the
Vietnam War, but the fact that it opened the flood gates to the true protest
songs that followed and exist right up to the present day!
Before SFM, the likes of celebrated
song writers such as Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan were writing protest songs
with subtle undertones of discontent. But, post SFM came the likes of Crosby,
Still, Nash & Young writing songs like Ohio and the likes of The Clash and
The Sex Pistols writing about the shit, grim days of the late seventies in
Britain. In a sense, it forged a new violent, hard-hitting generation of protest
songs that didn’t give a shit about Big Yellow Taxis, but cared more about
setting fire to them!
None of the above would exist if it
wasn’t for SFM. That is testament to just how important this song really
is!
In No Expectations, The Stones show
their more subtle side. This is a truly lovely song that would rear its head in
the future on songs such as Wild Horses and Shine a Light. Its content is the
epitome of the blues song footprint – slide guitar, soft piano notes and the
bittersweet lyrics of loss and heartbreak (“Take me to the station, and put me
on a train, I got no expectations”)
Dear Doctor was a bit of a piss take
directed towards the blues singers of old asking their physician for a cure for
the blues! But, I kind of think this is slightly disrespectful by The Stones –
don’t bite the hand that feeds you! The comedy moment on the song is Brian
Jones’ impression of the nagging woman Curtis is about to marry, but changing
her mind and running off with his cousin Lou in Virginia (much to his relief -
haha). “Curtis! I’m sorry to hurt you! But I’ve no courage to speak to your
face” Brilliant stuff!
Prodigal Son sees The Stones taking
the blues to the extreme with a stunning drum production! This is where the
album’s blues roots truly take hold! “Well poor boy, stood there, hung his head
and cried” - Robert Johnson couldn’t have written it better! You could easily
imagine Mick & Keith writing this on some lonely railroad cross section in
the delta wearing a bib and brace and a straw hat!!
Stray Cat Blues is an epic piece of
rock n roll with Keith in fine form. The opening bars hears Jagger having what
can only be described as intimate relations with a young sexually aroused
lady that eventually breaks into Charlie banging away and crashing into a
superb intro! It sounds more at place on a Led Zeppelin record never mind a
rock n roll band with a ‘Jazz Drummer’
Also, if you think about the history
of the sound of sexual encounters in recorded music history, think of Rocket
Queen by Guns n Roses and anything at all from the ridiculous Mottley Crue and
you know where they got their ideas from when you listen to Stray Cat
Blues!
The lyrics on this song would never
have been allowed for release where it released some 3 or 4 years earlier. No
record label would go near it due to fear of a backlash at the edgy lyrics!
And, once again, it shows The Stones really didn’t care and they went ahead
with it just the same! “I bet you momma don’t know you scream like that, I bet
she never saw you scratch my back” The dark, hedonistic lyrics on albums such
as Goat Head Soup, Let It Bleed, Some Girls and Sticky Fingers originated in
Stray Cat Blues!
Factory Girl sees The Stones make
fun of working class women in a strange sense that they somehow wish for a
relationship with an ‘ordinary’ girl. It’s a lovely song, but i couldn’t really
see Mick or keith swapping Anita Pallenberg or Marieanne Faithful for some bird
called Rita who works in the Jacobs factory!
The final track on the album, Salt of
the Earth, sees The Stones’ paying testament to their hordes of fans with a
left wing anthem that spills into a kind of gospel free for all with the
obvious influence of Big Mamma Thornton and Robert Johnson. This is true feel
good music for the masses that imagines the Stones’ having genuine fun in their
work! “Raise your glass to the hard working people”
Keith sings the intro with what many
people describe as “a voice only a mother could love”. Personally I think Keith
has a lovely, kind, gently voice for a man known his toughness street savvy
reputation. But, once again, Keith went onto sing a few songs for the Stones
and in a solo career that seen him release a few decent albums. Happy off Exile
on Main Street being one of the more successful songs
As a Stones’ fan, I do understand the
importance of albums like Let it Bleed and Exile on Main Street as they will
always be some of the greatest albums ever written and hold a firm place in my
life and heart, but, to simply cast Beggars Banquet aside as A-N-other Stones
album is ludicrous! This is where the Stones’ truly cut their teeth and this is
where they discovered the true sense of blues music that would come to define
and enhance their career!
Prior to the release of Beggars
Banquet the controversy that followed the Stones around and the bullshit
headlines created by Andrew Loog Oldham were a walk in the park compared to
encounters The Stones’ would partake in post-Beggars Banquet. Drugs, drink,
dabbling in the dark arts and death were to follow
I’m not saying what the Stones’ got up
to following the release of Beggars in commendable, but it was a line in the
sand that started them on their long, crazy journey to be the greatest rock n
roll band in the world and go onto produce some of the finest music ever
written that may well never be matched
That title is still evident and fully
deserved today
Mol
