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The Rolling Stones in the press: “Stones – Mick Masterful on Beggars Banquet“(by Lon Goddard)
Perhaps the only album release that could compete with Apple on November twenty-second, the Rolling Stones do their popular respect justice and bypass all unrelated aspects of their image with a burst of unprecedented musical ability.
Track one is called Sympathy For The Devil and opens with a calypso bongo beat leading into a heavy piano and bass backed number with Mick bluesily churning a lyric concerning the devil’s effect on timeless society and its misuse of itself.
An open tuned acoustic used as a Hawaiian steel guitar via bottlenecking opens No Expectations. Nice piano here and Mick slows the soul down to a serene pace. The song is very tuneful and the title is self explanatory.
Dear Doctor is a satiric piece with nice harmonies about a long-haired boy about to be married against his will. Coming home to his mother he receives the final parental advice. “Don’t worry son,” he says “I’m not at all put out. Fortunately she fancies a cousin and leaves for Virginia, thus saving the day.” Mick draws out his words into a near Dixie dialect in this mandolin backed saga.
Back to old Stones’ Blues on Parachute Woman. Heavy drums bass and echo provide a sound reminiscent of “Little Red Rooster” days. Nice to hear a good harmonica number from what was always one of the best blues groups existing. Jig-Saw Puzzle is a lengthy bottlenecked simple packed Dylanesque extravaganza. Nice backing and vocals with well worded lyrics. Meanings will take some decoding. Screaming guitars as the intensity builds.
Street Fighting Man needs little introduction. Excellent backing from acoustic guitars, maracas, piano and drums among others. Opening sound just a bit like “Jumping Jack Flash” and lyrics cheekily taken in part from Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. As a unit, this song is compact and brilliantly recorded. Doc Watson-like blues guitar open Prodigal Son. Tremendous atmosphere on this Memphis blues number with Mick altering his voice and the sound much like Leadbelly. A lot of musical strength in the picking behind; definitely one of the best on the album. Stray Cat Blues is wild pounding and heavily instrumental. Almost threatening opening leads into a story of a fifteen-year-old cat(?) far from home. Visions of promiscuity trail this fable. A driving arrangement puts it far ahead on the L.P.
Back to bongos and finger picking on Factory Girl. Violin sounds lend a faint country western feel to the story which is a tale of a factory girl. But this Factory Girl is a very beautiful girl who is the object of the singer’s affection and very beautiful tribute to her. Salt of the earth is the last track and fittingly so. Almost church-like in its simplicity and arrangement. Wirth plenty of variety and a lot of substance. This album marks another milestone in music.
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