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And if we close all our eyes together/ Then we will see where we all come from…
Working titles: All Together ; God Bless You Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Olympic Sound Studios, London, England, July 7-22 1967 *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2012
Mick Jagger: vocals Keith Richards: rhythm guitar, lead guitar Brian Jones: percussion, flute (unconfirmed) Bill Wyman: bass Charlie Watts: percussion Guest musicians: Nicky Hopkins (piano), John Lennon and Paul McCartney (backing vocals), “Everyone and Its Dog” (percussion), Unidentified sessionists (brass, vibraphone)
Sing This All Together captures the Rolling Stones at their most adventurous, diving headfirst into the psychedelic wave of 1967 with Their Satanic Majesties Request. It’s a bold shift from their earlier sound, reflecting a band willing to experiment and challenge expectations.
Shaped from an extended studio jam led by Brian Jones and brought to life by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the track builds a layered, almost hypnotic atmosphere. Instead of following a traditional structure, it pulls listeners into a free-flowing sonic journey.
It’s not just a song—it’s a snapshot of a band exploring new creative territory, embracing risk, and leaving behind a fascinating, if divisive, piece of their history.
More about Sing This All Together by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
A Psychedelic doorway into the Stones’ boldest experiment
When The Rolling Stones released Their Satanic Majesties Request in 1967 they opened a door into a world unlike anything in their catalog, and Sing This All Together stood right at the threshold. Emerging from sessions at Olympic Sound Studios and guided by Brian Jones’ restless experimentation, the track evolved from a lengthy instrumental jam into a communal psychedelic statement. With lyrics added by Mick Jagger and music shaped alongside Keith Richards, the song reflects a rare moment when the band leaned fully into the spirit of 1967. Blurring structure, sound, and message, it invites listeners not just to hear, but to participate—an unusual move for a group better known for swagger than surrender.
From studio jam to two-part vision
The origins of Sing This All Together reveal a fluid creative process driven by spontaneity. During the sessions, journalist Keith Altham observed a sprawling instrumental take, reportedly stretching to fifteen minutes, that would later be split into two pieces. From this experiment emerged both the album’s opening track and its extended counterpart, Sing This All Together (See What Happens). Rather than refining the material into a conventional structure, the band embraced its looseness, allowing the recordings to retain a sense of discovery. The transformation from jam to finished track reflects a band testing limits, reshaping raw improvisation into something that still feels unpredictable and alive.
Sound, texture and controlled chaos
Musically the track unfolds like a dense collage. Nicky Hopkins introduces the piece with a compressed piano figure before layers begin to accumulate—percussion, voices, and swirling textures. Charlie Watts anchors the rhythm with subtle shifts, while Richards provides both rhythm and distorted lead guitar. Jones, meanwhile, expands the sonic palette with Mellotron horns, flutes, and even saxophone, adding an almost surreal quality. The arrangement blends congas, maracas, tambourine, and other instruments into a hypnotic pulse. Rather than aiming for clarity, the production leans into excess, creating a soundscape that feels immersive, disorienting, and deliberately unpolished.
Psychedelia, influence and identity
Lyrically and conceptually the song reflects the era’s fascination with unity and expanded consciousness. Lines urging listeners to “open our heads” echo the broader ideals of the Summer of Love, aligning the Stones—briefly—with a movement they had previously kept at arm’s length. The track’s tone invites comparisons to The Beatles and their anthem All You Need Is Love, as well as to West Coast acts like The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. Yet beneath these parallels lies a distinct tension: the Stones’ version of psychedelia feels less optimistic, more ambiguous, as if exploring unity while questioning it at the same time.
Reception and the art of division
Critical responses to Sing This All Together have long reflected its challenging nature. Author Sean Egan interpreted the track as an exploration of humanity’s shared origins, evoking primal imagery and collective identity. In contrast, Jon Landau dismissed aspects of it as overly pretentious despite its melodic appeal. Later, Oregano Rathbone suggested the song’s message of inclusivity masks a darker, more unsettling tone. These divergent views underline the track’s complexity: it resists easy categorization, standing as both an ambitious experiment and a divisive statement. In the end, that tension may be exactly what makes it endure.
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