BILLY‘S MUSIC PICKS BILL MACPHERSON
The Rolling Stones (ABKCO Records) From the opening congas and
Jagger’s yelps on the majestic Sympathy For the Devil, you can sense this album is a Stones classic -- and you’d be dead right. There’s not really a weak track on it, and several – Street Fighting Man and the aforementioned opener – are in the pantheon of their best, most popular songs ever. Beggars Banquet is the first of
a quartet of Jimmy Miller-produced classics. To me, the four 1968 to1972 albums exemplify the Stones at the height of their creative and musical prowess, and while most fans extol Let It Bleed or Exile On Main Street, this one and Sticky Fingers are my personal favourites. But they’re all excellent – it’s really a matter of individual taste vis-à-vis some of the changing personnel and
musical influences brought to bear. Unfortunately, excepting maybe Some Girls and Tattoo You, they haven’t reached anywhere near these heights since. This is the last full album Brian
Jones was a part of (he drowned the next summer) and his influences are apparent in some great slide work and eastern instruments like sitar and tamboura. But by the time this was finally released – held up by the provocative “bathroom graffiti” cover art -- it was the Jagger/Richards show for the most part, along with the superbly capable rhythm section of Watts and Wyman. Great session men like Nicky Hopkins on piano, Rocky Dijon on congas and Rick Grech on fiddle add to the classic sounds here, ranging from down-and-dirty rock- and-roll to bluesy, quietly emotive ballads like No Expectations. They explore their country/roots side too, but there is no question this is the
Stones in full flight, even if one of the songs here – Reverend Robert Wilkins’s Prodigal Son - is a cover that was originally credited to Jagger/Richards. Sympathy For the Devil finds
the Stones in a look-at-us-we’re- badasses mode, but you can’t deny the power of the lyrics, or forget the intoxicating chorus as Jagger whoops and growls at the close: “…pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name, but what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game.” De-accelerating abruptly, No
Expectations is sparse and moody – mournful, almost. Dear Doctor is lyrically clever and country in its sound, as Jagger faces the music of an unwanted impending marriage only to be relieved at the bell. It’s got great vocals and a great sound. Parachute Woman, with some fine
harmonica by Jones and Jagger, and Stray Cat Blues are sexual, slinky numbers with just the right amount of sleaze in the lyrics and music, especially the latter – debauched innuendos throughout along with a driving Richards riff. Jigsaw Puzzle is one of the few
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times Jagger describes his mates in song, building steadily from its low-key start and is followed by the powerhouse, guitar-driven Street Fighting Man. The album closes with a couple of plaintive numbers, Factory Girl and Salt of the Earth, but repeated listens to both reveals their complexity, especially the latter with its choir-led acceleration. All in all, Beggars Banquet is
excellent. It shows the band’s range and dexterity, delivering its own unparalleled musical styling and unique sound. It’s an understated classic; Rolling Stone magazine has it #57 in the Top 500 of all time.
HHHH and a half out of five
continued on page 57
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