Skip to content
Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube

psychedelic Scene Magazine

psychedelic Scene Magazine

  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Categories
    • Music
    • Interviews
    • Lists
    • Books
    • Art
    • Columns
    • Science
Menu
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Categories
    • Music
    • Interviews
    • Lists
    • Books
    • Art
    • Columns
    • Science
Navbar
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Categories
    • Music
    • Interviews
    • Lists
    • Books
    • Art
    • Columns
    • Science
Menu
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Categories
    • Music
    • Interviews
    • Lists
    • Books
    • Art
    • Columns
    • Science

The Psych Ward: Their Satanic Majesties Request Request by the Rolling Stones

PrevPreviousArtist Spotlight: Dan Kwarcinski
NextWhat Makes Psychedelic Music Psychedelic?Next
  • Rob Cavenagh
  • April 21, 2023
  • 7:49 am

The Psych Ward: Their Satanic Majesties Request Request by the Rolling Stones

Every band has a leader, a cute one, a smart one or (often) a work in progress. In the mid-1960s it seemed like several bands had their own local guru: The Doors had John Densmore, the Beatles had George Harrison and the Rolling Stones had Brian Jones (he likely being a work in progress too). Not a guru in the traditional “mountaintop sage” definition but a guru in the sense of being the band’s direct channel to the psychedelic world. 

In the mid-1960s many popular rock bands were exploring their inner eyes, their spiritual sides and the lure of instruments not considered part of the rock canon. Sitars and mellotrons and strings and tablas and a whole host of groovy percussion instruments were being explored in recording studios all over the world. While The Beatles had George Martin and his enviable

Essentially a concept album before it was a regular thing, Their Satanic Majesties Request is a combination of song ideas and song concepts taken very far.

work ethic in their corner, the Rolling Stones at the time of Satanic Majesties (the name is a play on the text  “Her Britannic Majesty requests and requires” text that appears inside British passports) had recently parted ways with Andrew Loog Oldham, their manager and producer. 

Where the Beatles managed to record Revolver and Sgt. Peppers in mere months, the Rolling Stones took nearly all of 1967 to complete their psychedelic opus – and produced it themselves. Drug busts (the impetus for Loog Oldham’s departure), jail time and general disorganization seemed to be the order of the day for the sessions. As would be seen later on Exile on Main Street, the recording process rarely saw the whole band together on recording takes. Large entourages and hangers-on for Mick, Brian and Keith made for irregular production and little efficiency. 

Their Satanic Majesties Request album cover

Essentially a concept album before it was a regular thing, Their Satanic Majesties Request is a combination of song ideas and song concepts taken very far. Beginning with “Sing This All Together” which recurs as a thematic divider again  (as “Sing This All Together (See What Happens)”) you get the idea that the Stones – without a playground monitor – were in over their heads unsupervised and were struggling to deliver an album. Bill Wyman’s composition “In Another Land” (working title “Acid in the Grass”) was his own statement concerning the lack of focus and extra personnel in the studio. He even sang the lead vocal! 

In spite of many a critic looking down on the record (Keith included), the enduring legacy of the legendary “She’s A Rainbow” and “2000 Light Years From Home” are testaments to the power of Mick and Keith’s crafty songwriting – despite the collective band’s best efforts to the contrary. While initially (and subsequently) derided for their change of style – seen by many as a copy of the Beatles psychedelic efforts on Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Their Satanic Majesties Request was seen as the nadir in an otherwise productive era. The arrival of Jimmy Miller as producer for subsequent records marked a return to the Stones’ blues roots and more importantly – a return to form.

Gallery

Recent Articles

Maggot Brain album cover
The Psych Ward: Maggot Brain by Funkadelic

The Psych Ward: Maggot Brain by Funkadelic

•
June 2, 2023
Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms
The Heroic Dose vs. the Art of Dosing People

The Heroic Dose vs. the Art of Dosing People

•
May 31, 2023
Artist Spotlight: Kati Astraeir

Artist Spotlight: Kati Astraeir

•
May 29, 2023
PrevPreviousArtist Spotlight: Dan Kwarcinski
NextWhat Makes Psychedelic Music Psychedelic?Next
Loading...
  • Columns, Music

The Psych Ward: Maggot Brain by Funkadelic

  • Rob Cavenagh
  • June 2, 2023
  • No Comments
  • Features, Science

The Heroic Dose vs. the Art of Dosing People

  • Bénédicte Mannix and Mike Bonertz
  • May 31, 2023
  • One Comment
  • Art

Artist Spotlight: Kati Astraeir

  • Kati Astraeir
  • May 29, 2023
  • No Comments
  • Columns, Music

The Psych Ward: Oddessey and Oracle by The Zombies

  • Jason LeValley
  • May 26, 2023
  • No Comments
  • Interviews

Psychedelic Ways of Knowing: An Interview with Dr. Rachel Harris

  • May 23, 2023
  • No Comments
  • Interviews, Music

Interview with Cream Lyricist Pete Brown

  • Basssam Habal
  • May 21, 2023
  • No Comments

Gallery

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Sign up for our Newsletter

Sign up for our mailing list to receive updates on trending stories, featured music articles, artist highlights and much more!

Contact Us

psychedelic Scene

Magazine

  • Home
    Home
  • About Us
    About Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us
    Contact Us
  • Art
    Art
  • Books
    Books
  • Music
    Music
  • Film
    Film
  • Interviews
    Interviews
  • Reviews
    Reviews
  • Lists
    Lists
  • Features
    Features
Copyright @ 2023 All Rights Reserved Psychedelic Scene Magazine

Designed & Developed by: SYNC Digital Management

psychedelic Scene

Magazine